In article ,
mm wrote:

So even a real Touchtone phone doesn't have to be connected right
anymore?

That depends on what constitutes a "real" Touchtone phone. The oldest ones
have to be wired right. The newer (all now at least 10-15-years old)
Touchtone phones didn't care.

To me, a "real" Touchtone phone is at least 15-years old, was made by Western
Electric, and was of the old Desk or Wall or Princess configuration. Those
phones are "polarity" sensitive as are the first generation, round-button
Trimline phones that use a dial light transformer to illuminate the buttons.

With the pair connected one way, the Touchtonetm keypad will work -
depressing a button/key will "break the dialtone".

With the pair reversed, the phone will ring, you can talk on it, but you can
NOT dial a call. The keypad doesn't work. It stays SILENT when any key is
pressed. It doesn't "break the dialtone".

Even the later model Trimlinetm phones had a "polarity guard" making
red/green orientation unimportant.

Said another way: If you have a Touchtonetm phone that has a non-working
keypad (NONE of the keys make a noise at all), check and note the keypad
function when the offending phone is plugged-into other jacks.

The central offices have a way to make it right even if it
is wrong?

Yes, as long as it is an ANCIENT, Western Electric phone.

Is that true everywhere? or at least in Baltimore?

Probably.
--

JR