TAE Phone Jack

TAE (Telekommunikations-Anschluss-Einheit) is the German telephone connector, standardised by Deutsche Bundespost in the 1980s. It uses a flat asymmetric plug body with a coding tab that distinguishes two variants: TAE-F ("Fernsprecher" — for analogue voice phones) and TAE-N ("Nicht-Fernsprecher" — for fax machines, modems, and answering machines).

The coding tab prevents users from accidentally connecting a fax line to a phone socket on a multi-line installation. German wall outlets typically expose three TAE positions: an F socket for the phone and two N sockets for ancillary devices, all wired to the same line in series.

For modem or fax use in Germany, a TAE-N-to-RJ-11 adapter is required. The connector is occasionally still found in Austria and Switzerland in older installations, though both countries have largely migrated to RJ-11.