I do hope someone can help.
I cannot make or receive calls even though the display is working (phone numbers/address book etc) and my internet connection is OK.
My friend left a message on my ansaphone and the phone rings as far as she is concerned but not at my end.
There is no sound at all my end.
I am with talktalk (!) and they have looked into any problems on the line - they say there are none and I haven't heard from them since.
I did buy a new phone a couple of months ago so got that set up but the problem remains.
I would be so grateful if anyone can help. Please, please in laymans terms!!!

You say you have broadband? So therefore you have the phone connected via a filter to the phone socket? If so then try this.

Remove the filter from the socket. Plug the phone and only the phone into the socket. Dial it from your mobile (assuming you have one) and see if it rings.

If it does unplug the phone and replace the filter. Unplug the broadband router from the filter and plug the phone into the filter. Dial the number from a mobile again.

If the phone rings plug the router back in and dial again from the mobile.

The idea is to see where it stops ringing. I suspect that the filter is faulty so would not be at all surprised to find the phone rings directly in the socket but not via the filter. If it rings with only the phone plugged into the filter but not when the router is also connected then that could be the router or it might still be the filter.

If you have a spare filter then try using that and see if the phone rings.

If the phone does not ring direct in the socket then if you have the NTE5 type socket with a two part front panel remove the lower section. This will reveal the test socket. Plug the phone alone into there and dial the number. If it rings there you have a dodgy face plate. These can be replaced, though if you don't have any extensions you could leave the phone and broadband plugged into the test socket.

Using the test socket will also isolate any extensions you have so will also indicate if it is the extension wiring causing the problem. Though most faults with the extension wiring would affect the broadband as well.

But that is probably enough for now

Thank you so much for your help but a BT engineer arrived at 0800 today (I wasn't told he was coming) and there was a problem in a 'box' 500 metres away. It has now been fixed but he recommended I buy new rechargeable batteries as the current ones have been in the phones yonx.
Ta once again.

Do you have Infinity broadband from BT or an equivalent fibre broadband from another provider?

With Infinity and similar broadband the phone and broadband services are separate all the way to the very last street cabinet near your home. Only there do the two come together to be poked down the same pair of wires into your home.

So it is entirely possible for the broadband part to be intact but the phone side to get disconnected between the exchange and the final cabinet.

There is also a fault where one of the two wires in the line pair breaks. This can stop the phone working but sometimes the broadband signals manage to "jump" the break as it were. Though you might expect to see a noticeable fall off in broadband performance if that were the case.

We have the same problem with the broadband working and the phone out of action. On the BT website it has instructions like those in post number 2 above but with a little video showing what the box should look like. The trouble is that ours is nothing like it but is a little square box with one screw in the middle and no socket for the phone line to go into. From this box there is an extension to a proper socket on the same wall. I think they will change this set up when the engineer comes on Wednesday. Of course the box is in an awkward place, as is another extension socket! I will have to empty a cabinet so it can be moved!

Well, the engineer never turned up! We got a phone call about 5 saying they were too busy, what with the floods and all. I told them in no uncertain terms that there were no floods on the Isle of Wight and I was very disappointed. They are now coming on Monday morning! Over a week without the landline (we are away from tomorrow)