How to Hook Up a Telephone Answering Machine With Cox Cable Modem Installed
By Maya Austen
Every Cox cable modem comes equipped with a telephone jack. Generally a telephone cable is used to connect the modem's phone jack to the line jack located on the base of a landline telephone. But if you want to use an answering machine with your Cox digital phone service, your digital phone signal must pass through the answering machine before being passed on to the telephone. Therefore, the setup process is a little different.
Step 1
Verify that the coaxial cable, connected to the cable wall outlet put in by the Cox installer, is connected to the modem's RF "Cable" terminal. Make sure that the Ethernet cable connecting the modem's Ethernet port to the computer's Ethernet port is secure (if applicable). And confirm that the modem is connected to a power source.
Step 2
Plug one end of a telephone cable into the Cox cable modem's "Tel ½" phone jack. Plug the other end of this cable into the answering machine's "Line" phone jack.
Step 3
Insert one end of another telephone cable into the answering machine's "Tel" phone jack. Insert the other end of this cable into the telephone line jack located on the base of the telephone.
Step 4
Connect the answering machine to a power source.
References
Tips
- If voice mail service is included in your Cox digital phone plan, contact the Cox customer support center to request an increase in the number of rings that must pass before a call is forwarded to your voice mail box. Be sure to set the number of rings it takes for your answering machine to pick up to a number fewer than the number of rings it takes to forward the call to your voice mail service.
Writer Bio
Maya Austen began freelance writing in 2009. She has written for many online publications on a wide variety of topics ranging from physical fitness to amateur astronomy. She's also an author and e-book publisher. Austen has a Bachelor of Arts in communications from the New England Institute of Art and currently lives in Boston, Mass.