Do you need a phone jack for WiFi? (For Beginners)

ByGraeme WiFi

Do you need a phone jack for WiFi? Many people ask this question, especially when they move into an apartment or house that has no internet. If you currently have no internet then check with your landlord if there is cable or fiber in the building, and how you can get it installed.

If you only have a phone jack for WiFi, then you probably need to check if the service is active, and if there is DSL available in you area. If so, then you will need to purchase a DSL router and sign up with an internet provider to get connected.

The simple answer is that you don’t need a phone jack for WiFi, but if you only have phone jack enabled services then yes you can use it to connect a service which in turn provides you with WiFi.

Table of Contents

Do you need a phone jack for WiFi?

So, do you need a phone jack for WiFi?

As we have said, no you don’t need a phone line for WiFi. It depends on the type of internet that you have signed up for, and who your provider is.

If you have a phone jack in your house then you don’t automatically have internet. You will need to sign up for a service that will enable the line and also an account to sign into the service.

This means that you definitely do not need a phone line to get some internet and WiFi in your home, but if a phone jack is all you have then there are some options for you to get internet through it. It is not the best kind of internet available in the modern age though.

Can you plug a wireless router into a phone jack?

No. You cannot. This is because a phone jack is generally a smaller connector called an RJ11, while an Ethernet or network cable uses a larger RJ45 connector. If you could get a phone jack into a WiFi router then it will not work, and if you could then it is possible to cause damage to the Ethernet port on your WiFi router.

A phone jack does two things: provides DC current and makes phone calls. If you need to connect a phone line to connect to the internet then you will need DSL, dial-up or ISDN enabled service on that line.

Dial-up and ISDN are not recommended connections unless you have absolutely no other choice available in your area. These are slow and expensive, and will not handle most of your modern internet traffic requirements.

What can I use if I don’t have a phone jack for WIFI?

There are other options available to you if you don’t have a phone jack installed in your home. Other internet types such as fiber and cable have different connectors and equipment that are needed to connect to the internet.

Coax can look very similar to a TV style connector, and fiber will have a fiber connector box that breaks out with Ethernet into a router or WiFi router. 

In either case you will need a cable modem or a fiber router in order to connect to the internet, as well as an account to sign up for the internet. Fiber and coaxial are much better choices than dial-up or ISDN.

Dial-up is slow, while ISDN has too many problems. If you use these then you won’t be able to use the phone line to make calls. Also, most ISP’s charge much more money for dial-up access than for ADSL or cable.

Can I get internet from a phone jack?

Yes you can connect to the internet through a phone jack. In fact most people used to connect to the internet via DSL and dial-up which often has a telephone jack as the main connection jack. 

In the USA, the most common form of internet access is provided by DSL, which uses an RJ11 connection, so it can work over a phone jack. If you have DSL or another form of broadband then you can use the phone line to connect to the internet.

This does not necessarily mean that phone line based services are the best connection for modern day internet use though. Many people prefer fiber internet and cable services, and new comers such as StarLink are starting to make a footprint in rural areas where there is no service at all.

Conclusion: What can I use if I don’t have a phone jack for WIFI?

That is up to you as there are many options available and it all depends on your situation. As we have said previously, you don’t need a phone jack to get onto the internet, but if that is all you have then yes, you can get some internet services through a phone line.

Phone lines are usually a shared resource, and will only allow one person to make calls at a time. So, you will need a way to share this connection with multiple people, which can be achieved using a VoIP (Voice over IP) service such as Skype or Teams.

These services use a broadband connection (and an internet connection) rather than a phone line.This is also how people connected to the internet via telephone systems before broadband internet services became available.

So, if you want to use the phone line for internet, then you can do so with VoIP. Note that there is some security risk to using VoIP.

Graeme is a CompTIA and Microsoft Certified IT professional with an interest in computers, cybersecurity, internet technologies, WiFi routers, and Internet Service Providers. He is highly knowledgeable and has over 20 years of experience working in the industry and has written for places such as CBT Nuggets, InfoSec, and Engineering.com.