As a telephone engineer, I’m asked regularly “can I move my BT master socket?”. The official, short, simple answer is “no”. Sorry. But..
Don’t Go Yet! There’s More To It Than “No”!
There are ways around this problem. Furthermore, I have even heard that there are independent engineers who might actually move it (allegedly… 🙂 ) for a lot less than Openreach…
There are valid reasons “why” . Also, there are ways to “move it” without actually moving it, as I explain here. I have written about the latest version BT Infinity master socket here
First of all, your BT master socket isn’t “yours” anyway – it’s actually the property of the former independent subsidiary of BT called Openreach, They are a neutral supplier and maintainer of wires to your house, whether you get your internet from BT, or not. Sadly, you can’t deal with them direct. Your provider will mobilise them.
It’s a bit like your gas and electricity meter. it belongs to your provider. It’s their property. Openreach can potentially either “walk away” from sorting out faults when their equipment has been moved without their permission. Also, they could charge somewhere around £150 to put things right. They’ll charge you roughly the same to move it, too. Talktalk charge slightly less.
However, I’d ask “Why you need to move it in the first place…?”
Your BT master socket is actually “your friend”
When it comes to solving problems with your service. Take the small front cover off. You’re then at the border between you and provider . If you plug into the socket behind the small front cover and still have problems with your broadband or phone, it’s your not your fault – it’s most certainly theirs. And the fault can be passed over to them to fix without fear of any charges coming your way.
Your BT master socket is a very quick and easy way of isolating faults. This will be the first action any customer service agent will ask you to do. If you’ve messed with it yourself, and caused a fault, then you risk a charge. I’ve written a case study on this here.
It’s Designed to Connect Around Your Home.
If you do need to move a phone socket, then simply wire one to your master socket, even if it’s a case of it being a few inches away. It’s designed to have extensions attached to it, and it’s not hard to attach them, It can be a bit fiddly for the unfamiliar. If you ask Openreach to move the BT master socket, they will charge somewhere around £150. You may have to wait a fair while for the work to be done. It’s not worth the wait, cost, or hassle.
Your Router Has Helpful Little Data Sockets That Can Solve The Problem
If you want to plug your broadband straight into it to improve performance, but have your PC or laptop elsewhere, then there’s another way of doing this. If you have space, plug your broadband hub directly into the master socket. Next, connect an ethernet socket into it using an ethernet lead (known professionally as a cat 5 patch lead). Finally, run another permanent cable, terminated on the pins on the back of the socket. Then plug in your device into another identical socket at the far end. This keeps your broadband data well away from any interference from the phone wiring in the house. Also, you’ll find that your broadband speed may increase. Don’t move your master socket
Add Another Identical Socket To Run As A High-Quality Extension Socket
As I describe in another post, here’s an alternative. You can separate your broadband signal at the master socket and cable it to a broadband-only point elsewhere. This is similar to the solution proposed above. However,it takes the feed “at source” from the master socket. How?
Later-model master sockets (Mk3 and Mk4) have pins marked “A” and “B” (in addition to 2, 3, and 5). These are specifically designed to provide a “filtered” broadband signal. This is separate from any extension wiring (and interference). Therefore, run a cable from front-most A and B on the master, to a specially-installed data socket for your modem lead. An instant new broadband-friendly outlet!. No need to move your BT master socket.
And Talktalk have a a useful page here, too.
If All Else Fails, Help is Not Far Away!
If you are in The North East, and this all sounds far too difficult, don’t worry. I am a telephone engineer based in Stockton on Tees. My charges are lower than Openreach.
Sadly, I can’t always offer remote customer service free of charge, and answer questions in the comments area below. However, If I do, please return the favour. Click here and leave some Facebook or Google feedback.
I network with similar-minded independent experienced engineers across the UK. Many who are escapees from BT. I probably know someone somewhere that can help even if you are not local to me. Again, if you can help with some feedback, or a few words of thanks in a review on Google, that helps me to earn a living.
So, “Can I move my BT master socket?” Well, maybe… 😉
Hi,
I know this is quite an old post. But I have a question. My master socket has MK2 Iplate. It has an IDC connector which is suppose to be a data extension. Is it legal for me to do this my self without paying the hefty call out fee so that I can have a second socket which will be in my living room which I can connect the BT Hub 5?
Any help really appreciated,
Amila
Hello,
If I understand correctly, these are the IDC pins marked “A” and “B”.
Yes, you can add a pair to these pins, but bear in mind that they are unfiltered ADSL (data), so any analogue devices attached to them will require a filter.
Please take a look at my later blog…
https://telecomgreen.co.uk/engineering/move-bt-master-socket-without-actually-moving-advice-telephone-engineer/
…which should help.
Rob
Hello, recently brought a house that had been rented, consequently there are telephone lines all over the place, Sky have installed Internet box(there was a master socket already in the lounge) and TV in the lounge however we want to move the Internet box to the socket at the front door area (this seems to be a master box). The box at the front door doesn’t seem to work when I plug the Internet ( this is where the other telephone lines are run from to the a master box on the lounge).
Is there anyway if testing the master box at the front door too see if it actually is connected properly even though the other wires running from it are working?
You could take the cover off the master socket and see what is physically connected.
Ideally, you should engage an independent telephone engineer who will have the equipment to trace which cable goes where and give advice.
I do have some contacts across the UK. Let me have your postcode and I’ll see if there is one near.
Hello, just going to jump on the band wagon… I have a cable fitted by open reach that goes from the main mast to my house (fits onto the fascia board) and then down into-the house a few metres away… I need my facia board taking down for repairs on my roof, so will need to temporarily move that part of the line that fits to the facia.. I am not moving the master socket – only disconnecting the cable from the wall before it goes to the master socket? Can the roof guy move it? Or will it be the £150 charged by Openreach? Thank you : )
Hello,
Whenever roofers or builders move overhead and/or drop wires, it seldom ends well.
Strictly, this is an Openreach job, but you may just find an independent engineer who used to do this kind of work when employed by BT.
Drop me a mail via the contact page with your postcode, and I’ll see if I have any contacts in your area.
Rob
Hi have you a contact in the Wirral area please.
James in Southport, is a friendly chap and serves The Wirral. 07551 254836. If he can’t help, please come back to me via email.
Hi Rob
Our master socket is in our front room physically. Some years ago when we got broadband on our copper wire line the WiFi signal from the router went nowhere( 100 year old stone farmhouse walls) A BT engineer somehow rerouted the incoming line to our office upstairs where we could use extenders to relay the WiFi signal more easily. The new master socket has separate phone and dsl cable slots. Recently builders have been in the front room hacking off the internal render to revamp proof it. I found the drop wires hanging free except for blue and white/ which are in two small plastic pouches?? The other wires,green/whitegreen,brown/whitebrown are lying free. The phone-in and broadband are dead. My supplier says my problem is internal no surprise!!My dropwire is actually two white cables not sure what that means
Hello,
This sounds like a good “sorting out” needs to take place. Please let me have your postcode, and I’ll see if I have an engineer contact close to you.
Rob
Hello Rob, I’m at my wits end with our internet and you sound so helpful, I can’t bear another frustrating call with ISP customer services…
I thought my last option was moving the master socket which currently comes into house through a first floor bedroom. Our wi-fi signal around the house is shockingly slow – 2mbps last week in the living room – also where the sky box is. I’ve moved to various ISPs over the last 4 years and none of them can improve the wi-fi speed. One of them said it’s because the MS is so far away, I’ve tried a Belkin plug-in wi-fi extender but it’s not improved. I don’t want to run a secondary cable from the MS downstairs, it’s just too far and not practical. We have an extension socket downstairs hallway but the output speed is rubbish from it. What would you suggest?
Hello,
Thanks for your kind words.
I would suggest that an independent engineer pays you a visit and takes a look at your house cabling, distance to the exchange, etc,etc. Let me have your postcode via info@telecomgreen.co.uk and I’ll see who’s nearest. Rob
Hello Rob.
I was wondering if you my be able to help answer my question?
I have just moved into house where there is only one phone line which is the BT Master socket and where I have to plug my router. The trouble is that it’s in the kitchen by the door and the wire drags on the floor and the router sits on the kitchen counter top. I don’t have a landline phone. I only use my mobile, but obviously need the phone line for my internet. I would like to move the master socket or have another socket put in where I can plug in the router. Is that possible? I don’t mind paying for a professional to carry out the work. But having it in the kitchen is an odd and inconvenient place.
I can provide photos if it helps?
Kind Regards
Hello. I will reply via private email. Thanks. Rob
Hi Rob, I would like to have the BT Openreach master socket moved. You willingly offer so much advice on this forum I thought you may be able to put me in contact with someone in the Cardiff area who can help solve this problem. My late husband was a telephone engineer and I know he would have known what to do. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks for your kind words. I will pass your details on to an industry contact who has some contacts in the Cardiff area.
Rob, a quick question, if I may. I have a BT Openreach master socket attached to the skirting board in my front hallway. It is fed front a very old BT box. It’s on a wall which, when I have the front entrance is “remodelled”, will be removed. I will need to disconnect these boxes before the work starts and have them replaced when it’s all finished. My Internet and phone are provided by Sky. Who do I need to contact to move these boxes, please. ?
Hello,
You will need to contact your service provider (Sky) in the first instance, who will raise a ticket for Openreach to do the job.
The main challenge is getting the provider to understand what needs to be done – lots of customer service operatives only know the very basics of wiring infrastructure. Yoyu may experience a frustrating series of long calls to them.
Openreach will then price on a “time-related charges” basis, as they don’t know the likely time required for the job (having been passed very basic information from Sky), so the estimated cost may seem high.
An alternative solution is to use a local independent engineer to do the work. Strictly, the hardware is Openreach’s property, but I’ve yet to hear of anyone being penalised by them. It will be quicker, cheaper and less-stressful this way. If you need a recommendation, please forward your postcode.
I hope that this helps.
Rob.
LoL, I have often moved and re-wired master sockets and fascia connections. It’s not rocket science, but I suggest not doing it to anyone who is unwilling to do a bit of Googling for info, or finds wiring a plug or adding a light fitting a challenge. Personally I have built electronics as a hobby.
A master socket is nothing like equivalent to a gas or elecdricity meter. Cut in upsteam of those and you could get free gas or electricity (and blow yourself up); however your phone meter is back at the exchange.
There are many reasons for breaking in temporarily up to/including the master socket. I have taken my outside line down from the house facsia in order to trim back several trees it passes by; also once to replace the fascia itself (rotten wood). Within the house, the master socket might be where you want to put furniture against the wall, or you might be removing the wall itself as part of some re-building. I’d have paid a fortune in call-outs, and wasted days of no-shows by an engineer.
BT would do better to install the master socket in the attic and let the house owner then put extensions where they like in the house. In practice an Open Reach engineer is not going to worry about DiY if it is virtually undetectable anyway, I have even mentioned it to them in the past. When you see the state ot the wires on the poles around here (rural, a right rat’s nest tangled in trees), It’s the least of their worries.
Hi there,
Does anybody know what spec screws the front plate of an NTE5 socket has? I’ve managed to loose them.
Thanks,
They are a bit odd. Halfords sell an assorted tray of self-tapping screws (not expensive, and a useful thing to have in a workshop), and one of those fits, but I can’t recall seeing a size for it. They may sell them in individual packs.
Hi just Googling about moving a master BT socket from the front door area into out living room and came across this forum. Always thought the work had to be carried out by BT. Would you be able to provide a professional engineer to carry out such a job in my area? Postcode HA5 4NF. Thanks in advance.
(Passed to one of my contacts in the area)
Hi, How are you? Was thinking of moving a master BT socket from the front door area into the living room and came across this forum. Would you be able to provide a professional engineer to carry out such a job in my area? Postcode B13 8AW. Thank You
Hello,
I have passed your enquiry to one of my contacts who has his own contact in the Central Birmingham Area. You have sent me your email address, he has it, and will be in touch.
To clarify, these engineers are not our staff members, but independent telephone engineers who pass work between each other, based on geography. We derive no income from this. Rob.
Good evening Rob, I need exactly the same, master socket switching to the extension socket in the lounge. Do you have anyone in the Sheffield area who could help.
Regards
Tanny
Hello,
I spoke to an ex_BT chap called Mick recently, who is friendly, cooperative,and has good reviews on line. Details via the link below.
https://www.yell.com/biz/mick-s-telephone-engineer-services-ex-bt-sheffield-3277880/
Hi
I’m wanting to move my master socket 5c from the back bedroom ‘to downstairs living room would i be able to do it myself‘there’s only 2 wires or do I need a engineer to do it
It’s quite within the skillset of a competent DIY-er to carry out this work. There’s plenty in my blogs about cable, colour codes, and joints if you have a look. Rob.
You say dont move it, well my master socket comes in next to the front door over the second stair on my stairs upstairs. so at the bottom of my stairs is this unsightly socket I have to run cables from to other rooms in my house. terrible location! So actually I do have to move it if I want it to be in a normal place!
See my other blogs on this subject, including https://telecomgreen.co.uk/engineering/move-bt-master-socket-without-actually-moving-advice-telephone-engineer/
This link does not work
I would suggest to remove it as Google don’t like it.
Just friendly advise
Hello,
Thanks. Which link do you mean?
Rob
hey guys, i had a similar problem with my feed cable coming into my property, and the MS was in a dire location. i called talktalk, and requested that the socket be moved. They duly sent an openreach engineer who proceeded to start running a new cable to the desired location. At which point i was like, what part of move the MS did you not understand? if i wanted an extension, i can do that myself…
the engineer stated that they do not move MS boxes.
i told him to remove the extension and to also remove the whole kit right back to the pole (as i have an unlimited mobile data plan with unlimited tethering) and with immediate effect BT and TT could “take a hike”
i called TT the moment the engineer left (he removed everything he had installed that day, leaving gaping holes in walls and trim).
TT gave me a full refund of the money they had charged for the “moving” of the MS, stating that they had listened back to my original job booking and i had categorically stated i wanted it moving.
several phone conversations later, between BT and TT, they agreed to move my MS. (surprise, suprise) for 80 quid plus parts and labour.
they turned up, disconnected my MS and did something at the “green Box” and put a splice in my line to extend it, the 30 odd feet it needed to go.
my new Mk3 socket was fitted in minutes and connected to the newly spliced cable from the pole.
another visit to the “green box” and my “line” was reconnected. it took about 45 mins for my broadband to come online, and it was now 8mb faster than it was prior to the MS being moved (win win).
i now get 38mb down and 9mb up
total cost on the day, 137 quid, and a few tens of pennies.
satisfied customer…
Thanks for sharing this story – sadly, it’s not uncommon.
“… At which point i was like, what part of move the MS did you not understand? if i wanted an extension, i can do that myself…
the engineer stated that they do not move MS boxes.”
?!
Rob
Is there anything I can use to prevent small tiny hands grabbing at the wires plugged into the Master Socket, such as a perspex cover etc?
Kids…who’d have em lol
Sorry – I can’t think of anything “off the shelf” apart from the NTE5b, which is a NTE5 (master socket) without the front socket. Not much use if you need to plug into it, though. There are options for hard-wiring, but a bit difficult to describe without seeing the job. Putting some furniture in front of it might be easier! Rob.
Hi, my telephone socket is by my front door in the hall, with no plug sockets close by. So I have been running a plug in extension through to the living room, however I have been having problems with reduced internet speed & aparently this is due to running through an extension. What would be best to resolve my problem?
Hello. I’d recommend hard-wiring a socket from your master socket using good quality cable. The plug-in extension leads are acceptable for telephone use, but can slow down internet speed. I hope that this helps. Rob
Do you know anyone in the Stoke area who could advise me on this issue and come to my house?
I have contacts throughout the UK, so may be able to put you in touch with another independent engineer. I have emailed you. Thanks for your enquiry. Rob.
Hi Rob, do you have a contact in the Penrith Shap area to relocate or add an additional a socket for wifi?
Michael Strickland. Super chap.
http://www.be-clear.co.uk/telephone_systems_cumbria_contact.php
Hi Rob, do you have details of anyone in the Bury, Lancs area? Thanks
Hello,
I have a couple of contacts. Please advise your postcode.
Rob
Hi Rob do you have contacts in the shevington wn6 8he area of Wigan
I have a couple of contacts in Southport. I will reply by email. Rob.
Hi, can you recommend an engineer for Bridport, Dorset DT6 4JU, Thank you?
I can try… 🙂
We’ve just bought a house and got BT Unlimited Infinity 1. We didn’t get an engineer sent out, just the hub through the post. The problem is that by the looks of it, whoever installed the windows in the house was a bit of a cowboy. The master socket is in the upstairs bedroom, half on the wall where the plaster is loose and half on the UPVC frame. It also looks like it’s being held on to the window frame by the silicone rather than any screws. We want to fix the plaster and the seal around the window, but that’s going to require taking the master socket off to do. Ideally we’d want to move the master socket to the lounge, but I’d settle for just having it attached to the wall properly upstairs and running a network cable downstairs. Would it just be OK to take the master off the wall while we fix the wall and window do you think? Or should this be something we can get BT out to fix without them charging a fortune? I’m OK with DIY and electrics, and have run a fair bit of CAT 5 networking cable before, so I’m happy to have a go at taking the socket off and moving it.
Thanks for the comment. Strictly, you’re not meant to interfere with the master socket (of course not… 🙂 ), but if this were possible, we’d suggest the following.
– Buy an Openreach-spec 3M/Scotch external joint from Amazon/eBay.
– And some dropwire 10 or external grade cable. Can be brought by the length.
– Plus some jelly connectors
– Drill hole for new location.
– Cut cable to current master. Note colour code attached to pins “A” and “B”.
– Joint using jellies and weatherproof connector and re-route to new location.
– Reattach master using colours formerly attached to “A” and “B”. (probably solid orange and solid white)
And that’s it! I need to blog on this soon.
Rob
Thanks Rob!
Managed to get all the bits and do it at the weekend. Followed your instructions and even got a new master socket with the built in filter. Everything went smoothly – except maybe the bee that kept trying to go up my leg while I was up the ladder 🙂 The dropwire outer insulation was really tough to get through, but I guess that’s a good thing. It took a while, but I eventually managed to pull the steel wires through it to slice it open. It was a bit nerve wracking starting up the router again after doing it all, but it eventually came back up and all worked fine. We can now get to work fixing the plaster on the window where the socket used to be.
Cheers!
Thanks, Andrew! Dropwire 10 is hard to work with, but it’s what BT Openreach use, and is extremely resilient.
Gosh, we are so confused with the same thing here. Previous tenant cut all wires from old aerial to built into walls hidden wiring. We get talk talk contract they send out a router, say plug it in and off you pop to land of web. Erm no not happening,have no wires into back of test/master sockets,pins a/b no wires in. A box with black wire up from ground attatched outside living room external wall leading nowhere no socket attatched. Blackbwire feeding into master socket but not back pinned. Please help anyone.
Oh dear me! I suspect that the previous occupant has disconnected the cable. This is not uncommon if work has gone on, and the master has needed to be detatched from the wall for plastering, etc.
It should be possible to sever and joint the cable outside, and run a new cable to the master socket. This is fairly advanced cable-fiddlerey, and I’d recommend the services of an independent engineer. Please mail me via the “contact” page with your postcode and I’ll see if I can match one to your location.
Rob
Hi Rob, my master socket comes in under my bed (big heavy king size oak slay bed) which means my modem is just a few inches away from my pillow. I have heard that wifi is not good for you and so was thinking about moving my master socket.
Not only is it very inconvenient for any maintenance having it under the bed, but I am seriously worried about my health. What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks, Paula
Hello! I’ve not heard of modems affecting health. The amount of “radio stuff” they radiate is probably small in comparison to other sources such as mobile phone transmitters, and even mobiles themselves.
Of course, officially your master socket can’t be moved, but I’ve known of good independent engineers who do it. An alternative would be to cable another socket as a “slave” of the master one, hence your modem could then be anywhere in the house, and losses from the cable would be minimal, if decent cable is used.
I hope that this helps.
Rob
Hi,
Im in north London near Enfield Town/Oakwood and wondered if you knew anyone you could put me in touch with. Our master is upstairs in a bedroom where our hub is plugged into – we have poor connection a lot of the time due to the house having quite thick walls – would like the hub downstairs in our hall way/lounge – which ever is best but understand we cannot move the master. Thank you in advance
Kind Regards
Hello – I have forwarded your enquiry to one of my contacts who has his own contacts in North London.
Rob
Our master socket is in our downstairs lounge, but due to modern phones needing power, we cannot use our master socket. We have to run phones and router from upstairs which is slightly inefficient.
I’ve questioned why master sockets are not near plug sockets and this used to be a standard (I was informed by the engineer). Nowadays they are.
In our case, it means we lose some of our internet speed but it’s not a big loss.
Hi,
I live in a flat, and have had fibre problems for over 12 months with more than 10 visits from OR.
Nutshell being that OR insist that the drop-out issues I have on a regular basis is because my wiring is split between the DP and the master.
As I live in a block of flats OR insist they have no responsibility to fix the problem. Their liability is to the DP NOT the master.
I cannot for the life of me get my ISP to understand this problem. They insist on sending OR engineers out over and over and the problem never gets resolved.
I’m not convinced they split-wiring/split-pairing is the entire problem but obviously OR have pinned their fault on this and there’s nothing either party can do either way to prove or discount it.
Any suggestions?
I’m not against recabling a new line between the DP to the master myself if required (one OR engineer did suggest he could run a new cable on the outside of the building but my lease does not allow that – he then told me that OR would not touch the cabling internally as it’s not their responsibility).
So.. if OR won’t accept responsibility past the DP – technically am I within my rights to resolve the cabling issue between the DP and the master?
Thanks.
Jim
This is nonsense. Anything on the exchange side of the master socket is not your responsibility. It is up to your ISP to take this up with Openreach. If the problem persists, mention to your ISP that you are taking the issue up with OFTEL. You are paying for a service which is not being provided, and no-one is admitting liability for the shortcoming. Meanwhile, lodge a dispute with your ISP via OFTEL.
Hi,
We moved into a new house in october. When doing up the front room we needed to replaster the walls and whilst undertaking work we decided to move the master socket as it came in the side of the window and would have ended up behind the sofa with the need of an extension cable running to it. I moved it using the same process you stated above by getting the correct wire and junction box etc. on eBay/amazon and all was well. Now 7 months later the broadband signal has decided to start droping out everytime I use a machine connected to it, is this likely a fault with the wiring I have extended on to the original cabling? I’ve ring the provider ee and upon testing they have found no issues and so have passed it on to bt, which has got me worried they will find the extension and I’m not sure what the consequences of that will be?
Cheers Tom
Hello,
Has anything taken place that could have damaged the cable or connector? It’s worth checking.
If there was an issue with your cable work, then you would have had problems from the day you made the change.
Most providers’ line tests come up OK, even when there’s no dial tone to the house. I never trust them.
The average Openreach engineer will want to be in and out of your house as quickly as possible, so providing your work is reasonable professional, there should not be an issue.
I hope that this helps!
Rob
We just moved into a new build house a few months ago and the master socket is in the hallway near the front door. We’ve got our (Sky) router set up on some furniture there and wi-if is fine, but ideally I’d like a wired connection for my PC (directly upstairs) and my consoles/set-top box (in the room down the hall). What’s the best way to do this? How much speed would i lose if I moved the router to the living room extension socket?
Thanks for the visit!
If you use quality cable and components, and route the cable away from sources of interference, then I’d suspect that the loss would be negligible.
My favoured option is to use cat 5 or cat 6 cable from the ethernet ports on the hub to points in the house. The data travelling on this is less susceptible to interference than is the broadband signal. Interference with broadband is not common, but it’s always good to eliminate another variable. I use external grade data cable and route it discreetly on the outside of the house.
I would advise against using inherited cabling in a house, as you never know what someone has bodged onto the wiring in hidden places!
I hope that this helps!
Rob
Hi Rob,
Hope you can advise me of the correct corse of action to take. I live in a council house with the master being on the inside window sill on the landing. This window is very tall and narrow and has a small window sill for the master to just fit on it. When I first moved in I ran extension cables and microfilters upstairs and downstairs to were the main phone is and upstairs were the modem is. Now I have had the windows measured externally by a company that has been contracted by the council to come and fit new double glazed windows. They came to measure them without anyone home…. so unable to ask the person if it would be a problem that the master was where it is….. Here comes the problem as if the window fitters come and take that window and sill out will it damage/move the master? Should I try and move it myself? Or hope that they don’t do something to it…. Should I take photos of before and after in case I need to show the ISP or the window fitting company??
Hope you can advise
Kind Regards
Nina
Hello Nina,
> Should I take photos of before and after in case I need to show the ISP or the window fitting company??
Oh yes…! Window companies (and carpet and kitchen fitters) are notorious for chopping off someone’s service to the house, then claiming “we don’t do phones – you’ll need to get someone else. We won’t pay for them, though, as the thing was in the way anyway” (or similar).
I don’t really mind, as it generates work for me….
Often, they unclip and unscrew it in order to get their window in, then leave it flopping around unfastened.
I would either persist with the window company, or get an independent engineer in to either repair or resite the master according to what you want. He may even be able to improve broadband speed by optimising the cabling in your house. Drop me your postcode and I’ll see if I have any contacts nearby.
Rob
Hi! I know this is quite an old post, but I have a question.
I recently moved to a new flat, and I have a BT socket in the living room (where I actually need it) and another one in one of the bedrooms (where I don’t need it!). It happens when the engineer came to my place to activate the line, he said the master socket was the one in the bedroom and that there was no signal in the other one.
We really need the one in the living room to work, as we have a tv box that needs to be connected by cable, and having cables from one side to the other of the house is simply not an option, and we’re not talking about just a few inches.
We called Sky (our provider) to book an engineer visit to have this sorted, and they said the only option is to move the master socket. However, in my office for example, we have 6 sockets in a row and they all work. I mean, we can have more than one socket working in our flat, right? Who should we contact to have this work done?
Hello,
It’s possible to have other sockets running off the master, and they are designed to permit this.
If you drop me a line via the website contact page, mentioning your postcode, I may be able to find you an independent engineer local to you who might be able to help.
Just moved into a property and have massive broadband and phone issues, BT provided service on 11 September but it is dire. Finally found master socket located in the loft reachable by a ladder! Tried to test but when plugged phone in line is dead (?) not come across that before but there are various cables coming out from the master and presumably going to the downstairs of the cottage (one floor and loft) rendering the master socket miles from any equipment etc. I suspect the length of the cable and extensions used to be contributing to the problem, but should the master socket have been installed in the loft and is this still current practice or would it be better to bite the bullet and get it moved please?
I suspect that this master was moved to the loft, as they are rarely fitted there. Usually they are fitted close to the point of entry of the cable to the house, even if provided on a pole, as the cable is run down the side of the house.
If you can reinstall it close to the first point of entry, disconnect everything else, and test from there back to the Openreach network, then you can at least prove if the fault is their side or yours.
I have a feeling that the previous owner may have chopped into the overhead wire at the eaves, and relocated the master.
If you can supply your postcode, I can see if I cna find an engineer close to you who might be able to come and sort things out, or at least point the finger back at Openreach.
Some domestic cabling is an utter nightmare. Some engineers won’t touch domestic jobs due to the complexity of bodge-ness and the time taken to diagnose and repair!
Hello Rob,
Wow, what a blog and thank you for sharing your knowledge for what looks like nearly a decade!
I am having a Bt engineer come over tomorrow to move the master socket (I have convinced them to do so for free).
I would like to put the master socket in my basement (where the line comes in) and then connect the BT master socket through to a generic Telephone Socket Master I have got in my hallway (recently put in when my house was rewired but waiting for this day to be used).
I am hoping it is all straightforward but I anticipate I might need some swift help of the engineer refuses to make the onward connection to my hallway after moving the master box.
Do you have any thoughts on my plan above and if you think I need some help please could you point me in the direction of one of your contacts?
Many thanks
James
Thanks for your kind words.
Make sure that the Openreach engineer does all the necessary tests to enable your service to work- some just rush inand out, tick all the boxes, and speed off to the next job.
A key test is “pair quality”, which checks that there is no interference or other issues with the copper cable leaving your house.
Let me have your postcode, and I’ll see if I have any local contacts.
I make not a penny from these blogs, or passing on work to other engineers, so a short Google Review is always welcomed if the service has been helpful
Hi, I have an old, rambling house with many phone sockets but no obvious master socket. Is there definitely one there somewhere or can it operate ok without it?
Is there some way of tracing it?
I have slow broadband (router plugged into one of the extension sockets) and want to try to improve the service
Hello,
Some old properties may not have an “NTE5”-type master socket. Phones may run OK, but broadband may be slowed by interference where there are multiple “daisy-chained” sockets. I would use the services of an independent telephone engineer to fit a master socket at the most approriate point, and carry out some diagnostic work.
Hello
My BT drop wire comes through the window frame and goes into a junction box on the top of the windowsill.
From the junction box it is then wired into a master socket across the other side of my front room.
I am planning to have wooden shutters installed so need the junction box moved from the top of the windowsill to the underneath. Does a BT engineer need to do this please?
Thank you
This is within the capabilities of an independent engineer. They will be cheaper, and easier to contact than BT Openreach, based on our experience!
Hi
I have my master socket 30m away from my router as we live in extension flat and master socket is in main house. So I have 30m cat5 wire running from main socket to router. The internet is working fine but sometimes it gives the problem. Do i need to move the main socket or is it fine?
Hello,
The problem may be with the Openreach network. Have you tried using the master socket without the extension?
It’s hard to determine if the Cat 5 is routed away from sources of interference or degradation without seeing it.
I hope that this helps.
Rob, dont sduppose you know anyone in the swindon wiltshire area?? I need my master socket moved as i dont want a loss of speed due to excess internal wiring after the laster socket or the very ugly wire tacked allthe way from the lounge to the study.. im prepared to pay, just want it done asap.
Thanks for the enquiry. I have passed this to a contact in Bath, plus posted on an engineer’s forum. If this has been helpful, can I scrounge some social media feedback in exchange, please?
This helps me to continue giving free advice.
https://goo.gl/maps/p1n9wxi5T6p
http://www.facebook.com/telecomgreen
twitter.com/phone_engineers
Thanks!
Rob
Very helpful posts. I want to hard wire a new BT open reach socket but I have a mk1 open reach socket with no a/b sockets on the front after face plate removal so I assume I need a mark 2 or 3 faceplate? Then for my “extension” should a also get a 2 or 3 or an updated socket. Many thanks
Thanks for your kind words.
You could use either combination.
If you are using your extension just for broadband, you might consider an RJ45 or RJ11 socket. Connect the A-B pair to the “blue/white – white/blue” pins on the RJ11 or RJ45, and off you go. The A-B pair give a filtered ADSL output.
Rob
I’m not that tech savvy so this is my understanding.
I buy a new mk2 or mk3 face plate to replace my mk1. I then run an rj11 or rj45 to my new location and plug it into the BT home hub? RJ 11 is for phone however so how would that work? Is rj45 better? do I use a naked wires at one end with just the 2 wires you indicate connected to face plate and plug at other end connected to home hub? I need a long run as I want to take it up into loft, along and then back down, is there any degradation in performance with distance. Finally do I buy cable with plugs pre attached or can I attach plugs myself to cable without special tools? Sorry for so many questions but you seem to know an awful lot about this, I do appreciate you giving up your time.
Thanks for your kind words. If I can trade free advice for some social media feedback, that helps me to justify the time taken to reply. 🙂
I’m not that tech savvy so this is my understanding.
>We’re all still learning!
I buy a new mk2 or mk3 face plate to replace my mk1. I then run an rj11 or rj45 to my new location and plug it into the BT home hub?
>On the newer face-plates, there is a “A and B” pair of connections which give a filtered ADSL service to wherever you want to take it. Terminate the other end on an RJ11 socket in a faceplate and back-box, and job done! If you have trouble finding an RJ11 socket, an RJ11 male plug will also fit an RJ45 socket and still work!
RJ 11 is for phone however so how would that work? Is rj45 better?
>I’m not sure what you mean here. Sorry!
do I use a naked wires at one end with just the 2 wires you indicate connected to face plate and plug at other end connected to home hub?
>Yes, as per my comment above. Wires do not need stripping back if that’s what you mean by “naked”.
I need a long run as I want to take it up into loft, along and then back down, is there any degradation in performance with distance.
>Very little, if at all, if you use decent quality Cat5e/6 cable.
Finally do I buy cable with plugs pre attached or can I attach plugs myself to cable without special tools? Sorry for so many questions but you seem to know an awful lot about this, I do appreciate you giving up your time.
>The way I’ve described means you’ll be able to plug your existing Home Hub RJ11-RJ11 male-male lead straight into a socket. Use the “blue white/blue pins on the socket.
If you need to run a voice service to another point, use the connectors marked “2” and “5” on the faceplate.
All components available on Ebay.
I hope that this helps!
If this is helpful to you, would you be able to leave some feedback on the following social media pages, please?
This helps me to continue giving free advice.
https://goo.gl/maps/p1n9wxi5T6p
http://www.facebook.com/telecomgreen
twitter.com/phone_engineers
Thanks!
Rob
Re: “As I describe in another post, one alternative to this may be to buy another new master socket with both broadband and phone points on the front. Later models have pins marked “A” and “B”. These are specifically designed to connect your second socket but separate from any extension wiring (and interference). Cable from front-most A and B on the master, to the rear-most A and B on the second socket.. An instant new broadband-friendly outlet. No need to move your BT master socket.” Rob, I’d like to follow the preceding instruction, but my original master socket is of the vintage (circled T on the lower right front cover) with only the drop wires screwed down on the green back side to screws labelled A & B. Is there a work around to set up another master socket? Many thank for the great advice!
Rob, I’d like to follow the preceding instruction, but my original master socket is of the vintage (circled T on the lower right front cover) with only the drop wires screwed down on the green back side to screws labelled A & B.
>This is the exchange-side, of course.
Is there a work around to set up another master socket? Many thank for the great advice!
I would use the 2 and 5 on the detachable front of master socket, providing it’s got one. Also, providing you don’t have anything else attached to it.
Hi. We’ve moved into a new house where the master socket was installed by OpenReach in the loft. A local electrician has quoted £130 to move it to the room below for easier access. I understand booking the same job via BT with Openreach will cost £130 (not sure inc or exc VAT).
Even if we move it into the room below, we still need other wired points elsewhere in the house (which is a large family home), although I hope to do that with mains broadband extenders.
I’m in two minds about what to do, because I want the router to be more convenient, to be able to connect devices elsewhere in the house, and to not have the issue of losing signal; all at a reasonable price and without screwing up anything.
Any advice would be gratefully received.
Hello,
Some of my business revenue is generated through fixing poor work carried out by electricians and/or Openreach!
I’d recommend the use of a local independent telephone engineer. Send me your postcode and I’ll see if i have a contact who is close.
I have the same problem as someone above: master socket is in a spare bedroom, hub is in living room via an extension socket. Wi-fi keeps dropping out. Openreach engineer told me the master socket needs to be moved as I’m currently getting less than half the Wi-fi speed I should due to the hub not being plugged into the master. I can’t move the hub as some engineer connected the hub to the Tv by cable. Don’t want to rip out the cable or indeed have a long wire running through the apartment.
BT told me to find an independent electrician (their word) to move the master socket as it would be cheaper than Openreach. Is this correct and if so can you recommend someone in the ME4 area?
Many thanks
Hello,
Probably all “sortable”. I will see if I have any contacts close to ME4.
Rob
My master socket (with both internet and phone sockets) is in the living room. There’s another socket at the top of my stairs which only has a telephone socket in. It does have the “T” symbol though and 2 screws. If I plug my broadband router in there (through a filter) it doesn’t work but the phone does. The router just will not connect to the internet. Any ideas? Is it the wrong type of socket or something?
It should, in theory, be fine. Faulty micro filter, perhaps?
Alternatively, some issue with the extension wiring. Time to call in an independent engineer?
Hi, just a thought, but if your master has both telephone and internet sockets on the front then the filter is built in to the socket itself and your internet service is supplied only to this socket, any extensions connected from the master will be phone only.
Correct. However, there is an output on later sockets described in the blog below that will allow you to deliver the filtered supply elsewhere:-
https://telecomgreen.co.uk/engineering/move-bt-master-socket-without-actually-moving-advice-telephone-engineer/
Hi Rob,
Many thanks for all your helpful suggestions! However where you refer to “Add Another Identical Socket To Run As A High-Quality Extension Socket”, the link to “another post” no longer works. (I did see it a few months ago…)
My Openreach Master Socket (and hence my router) is at the other end of the house from the study where I use my desktop PC. I’ve found that Powerline (intermittent drop-outs) and WiFi (weak signal) are unsatisfactory, and would like to try the idea you outlined in that post. I think I can remember roughly what you said, but it’d be nice if you could put it up again, so that I can refresh my memory!
Best wishes, David
Hello David,
Thanks for your kind words. I took that link down as the information given was found to be inaccurate, and caused loss of service. I have yet to replace it.
However, here is a quick summary:-
– The customer-side “A and B” give a filtered ADSL service, not an “unfiltered” as we first thought.
– Therefore, run over an appropriate cable to a different location, it’s a quick way of “moving” what your Mk3 or Mkk4 master socket provides (a filtered point on the socket front to plug your modem cable into)
– The key issue is how to plug in “your modem at “the other end”. You can’t use a phone socket, as the modem cable (RJ11) won’t fit. You can’t use a micro filter to accept the RJ11, as the second filter will “kill” the ADSL signal.
– A solution would be to use an RJ45 (“ethernet”) socket. An RJ11 will actually fit an RJ45. One of my major clients, a large pub company, run their EPOS (tills,stock control, etc) on modems connected in a similar way, therefore it’s not a “bodge”!
– The question arises “which of the pins on the ethernet socket should be used?” It’s the blue/white and white-blue pair, which give their output to the middle pair of connectors on the socket, hence why the RJ11 will work.
There – I’ve almost rewritten my blog!
Please come back with any questions, and…
If this is helpful to you, would you be able to leave some feedback on the following social media pages, please?
This helps me to continue giving free advice.
https://goo.gl/maps/p1n9wxi5T6p
http://www.facebook.com/telecomgreen
twitter.com/phone_engineers
Thanks!
Rob
Hi Rob, many thanks for this! I have a follow-up question…
I currently have a CW1308 2-pair, 4-core cable running between my master socket ADSL faceplate and the phone in my study. I’d like to keep the phone there, if possible.
Could I therefore use one pair going from the master socket (A+B) to an RJ45 socket in the study, as you describe above, and the other pair from the master socket (2+5) to a separate phone socket in the study?
Yours, David
Dear Rob
We have recently moved house to where our OpenReach master socket is inside a defunct Comms Box in the cellar. I want to get rid of the Comms box as it’s in the way, but can’t without disconnecting the master socket and rewiring it. Presumably this needs an engineer to conform with regs? Or is there a way I could simply cut the cable and re-site the box in to the main house?
Thanks, Andy
Hello,
It’s difficult to assess the job without seeing it. Frequently, I re-route the original cable externally, jointing as necessary. This would probably be best left to an independent engineer. Let me have your postcode, and I’ll offer your work to my network of contacts.
Meanwhile,if internal rerouting is a possiblity, both physically, and based on your skill set, take a look at my blog on jointing cables.
https://telecomgreen.co.uk/engineering/phone-wiring-repair-and-connectors-seven-tips-from-a-telephone-engineer/
Rob
Hello Rob
Thanks very much; this is really helpful. I can re-route the cable internally and the joint can be concealed under the floor so I think this may be my best option. I have taken a look at the link you supplied so will order some jelly connectors as you suggest. Thanks again for your help – you’re providing a brilliant service.
Andy
Thanks for your generous comments. Meanwhile, if you can leave some social media feedback, this helps me to continue to provide free asvice and keep the number of adverts on the site low.
https://goo.gl/maps/p1n9wxi5T6p
http://www.facebook.com/telecomgreen
twitter.com/phone_engineers
Thanks!
Rob
Hello Rob
Would love to lavish praise on you via social media, but I’m afraid I’m not on Facebook and don’t use Twitter. You do have my thanks and very best wishes though.
All best
Andy
David,
You’re welcome!
Yes, I don’t see why not, providing it’s good-quality 1308, not nasty, braided, untwisted security alarm cable masquerading as CW1308. Your broadband service arrives at your premises via multi-core cable, where it will be running alongside other pairs.
However, my “belt and braces” solution would be to run separate Cat. 5 cable. However, sometimes space does not permit this!
Rob
Hi Rob – thanks again! I think my 1308 is quite good quality (certainly twisted-pair). However, I think I’d better bite the bullet and run a separate Cat 5e cable – there is space for it.
Best wishes,
David
Hi Rob, I was experiencing lower fibre broadband speeds than expected and my ISP (Vodafone) suggested I take the front faceplate off my master socket (NTE5) and plug straight into the main socket behind the faceplate. I have done this and it increased the sync speed by about 9Mbps. I noticed that when removing the 2 screws from the front faceplate that one of them was just spinning and not coming out. However the faceplate came off after removing the 2nd screw. I then have noticed that the reason that the screw was just spinning is that the plastic around the connection of the screw was cracked and broken on the master socket and thus the main test socket moves when putting in the telephone plug. I suspect this movement is the reason that I was losing some speed due to a less than secure connection from the faceplate. Is this something that BT Openreach would cover as I believe the master socket belongs to them or would they say it was up to me to get repaired? If it was up to me then I would get someone else to replace with a new master socket.
Many Thanks
David
Hello,
Your ISP won’t consider changing your master socket, even if it looks probable to you that it’s the cause of the problem. Generally, they won’t spend any more money on this kind of problem, unless they have to.
A local independent engineer would be able to help. Alternatively, master sockets can be bought on eBay/Amazon and are quite easy to fit.
If you need an engineer, please let me have your postcode.
Rob
Thanks for the speedy reply Rob.
I could probably replace the master socket myself but was just concerned at reading somewhere that you could be fined for tampering with it.
Anyone you could recommend in the Glenrothes, Fife area?
Many Thanks
David
I’ve not come across anyone fined as yet. I have blogged on this elsewhere. I seem to recall a chap in Fife. I’ll make some enquiries. Rob
Hi
Thanks for the excellent information found on here. I’d really like to move my master socket just 10 inches to behind the curtain, because Telecom installed in in an unsightly place on the windowsill and all the cables on the look a complete mess.
From what I’ve read I don’t think it’s going to solve my eyesore problem! 🙁
Plus I’m not confident about splicing wires and all that stuff.
Is there anyway to attach photos, so you can see my predicament?
Regards, Marian
Hello,
Thanks for your kind words – it sounds like you need the services of an independent telephone engineer. Let me have you postcode to info@telecomgreen.co.uk, and I’ll see if I can find one local to you.
If you can drop me some social media feedback on the usefulness of my site, that’s all that I expect in return.
Thanks
Rob
Hi rob,
Some nut job put a radiator in front of my master box and I can’t access it to change it and wonder if I can connect an extension box using an rj11 plug to move it about a meter and will my broadband work the same.. thanks for some good advice tips ????????
Hello,
Thanks for your comment. It’s hard to assess options without seeing the job. If you can’t access the master socket easily, proving line faults to your ISP by removing the front cover won’t be possible, so you may wish to consider moving it completely. If you need recommendations for a local independent engineer, please let me have your postcode.
Do you have any contacts in the South Wales area? Thanks
Hello,
Quite possibly. This depends on your postcode area and accessibility!
Let me know via the contact page on the website,and I’ll see what I can do. I might,however, ask you for some social media feedback in return! 🙂 Rob
Rob, I have external 4 pair cable coming into my house. Blue and Black wires are connected to A/B on 1996 NTE5 master socket. My broadband speedd is poor. My research leads me to believe that the wires connected are not a ‘pair’. Should I get Openreachin to check/correct this? I believe that Orange/White is the norm. Your assistance would be appreciated.
Hello,
If you have a dial tone, then you have a live circuit, regardless of colour of the pair! Choice of pair (org/wt or gn/bk) can be up to the specific engineer.
Broadband will run on a single wire, but at around 30% of the possible speed. If one of the pair is disconnected, then you will not get a dial tone, but you will get some broadband.
Do you know what speed you should be expecting? take a look at https://availability.samknows.com/broadband/broadband_checker
I hope you get to the bottom of it! Openreach will charge for the visit if there is “no fault found”. You may wish to take up the problem with your ISP first. A second opinion from an independent telephone engineer might help, too.
Rob
Rob, We moved into a new build Council flat in 2013. Everything was set up by contractor. Communal Sky dis & the Bt line was an Exchange only. Despit the fibre enable exchane being in the next street,we cannot get Fibre. ( Grey Cabinet is 20 yards away.. go figure?)
BB has bee a nightmare, We were with Sky, the Plusnet then BT.
The Master socket is in a back bedroom for some reason. We have to put the Router a Hub 5 – into a hall in middle of the house – outside the same cupboard that our electricity meter & TV booster unit is in. The BB drops off intemittently all day – but especially late at night when we tend to do our streaming etc. We’ve had engineers out every few months. One school of thought is too much ‘traffic’ coming down the line so something in exchange had to be adjusted… then some bugger undoes it weeks later lol. I think the initakll wiring job was cheap & nasty & positioned in wrong place but I cannot get anyone to agree to move or rewire it. ( We have had a lot of problems with shoddy workmanship as is!) Could the wiring be an issue do you think. Maybe interferance from satellite dish wiring being too close or whatever? Really driving us daft & our daughter is now at Uni & needs to submit work etc online..& not lose it on the way! Any advice would be much appreciated
Hello,
I would be surprised if internal interference was the cause. It is possible, but quite rare. This link and short video may help:-
https://support.zen.co.uk/kb/knowledgebase/broadband-understanding-rein-and-shine
I would recommend using an independent telephone engineer, who will have the tools (and, hopefully, time, patience, experience and skill!) to check basic line quality issues, spot any premises issues, check hardware, and even call your provider and argue with them on the basis of any findings. Let me have your postcode, and I’ll see who is close. I don’t earn any commission from referring engineers,but would appreciate any social media feedback, as it helps me ot justify providing free advice and keeping ads to a minimum. Thanks. Rob
Hi Rob,
I have my master socket in hallway and need it in main living room so i can connect hub and wired devices. Do you know any engineers in South East London area?
Quite possibly! Can you advise district or postcode, please, and I will pass it on to one of my contacts, who also has contacts. Use the contact page on the website if you have confidentiality concerns. Rob
Rob, finally going to get around to moving my BT home hub. I’m going to connect my cat5e cable to a+b terminals of my mk1 BT master socket and run it to a new location. I only need data at this point so should I install an rj11 socket, an rj45 socket or a new BT master socket even though I only want data or doesn’t it matter. I have a spare NTe5a box and socket but this faceplate has only a single socket for telephone on the front so I don’t suppose this would work for . Many thanks
If you are using an older-type master socket, with only one “A and B” on the incoming side, you shouldn’t use those, as this is not what they are intended for. Buy a NTE5C with a Mk4 filtered faceplate, and connect an RJ11 or RJ45 to the customer-side “A and B” filtered terminals. See my other blog on “How to Move Your Master Socket Without Actually Moving It”.
Rob, very informative site, thank you.
Do you know any indpependent telephone engineers based in Bristol?
Thanks
Thanks for the kind words. Can you advise your postcode to info@, please? Also, can I swap free advice for some social media feedback relating to the blog, please? 🙂
https://goo.gl/maps/p1n9wxi5T6p
http://www.facebook.com/telecomgreen
twitter.com/phone_engineers
Hi Rob,
Having recently moved into the house, whilst replacing the flooring I’ve discovered the master socket and the associated cable are looking very sorry for themselves, the individual coloured wires are exposed and the location in the hall is far from ideal as well.
Unfortunately Sky are unable/unwilling to contact Open Reach as there is no fault on the line (phone signal & broadband are really good).
Would you know of anyone in the Swansea (South Wales) area who could help us tidy this up please?
Many thanks
Hello,
Let me have your postcode, and I’ll see who’s closest. If the blog has been useful, can I scrounge some social media feedback in exchange, please, as I don’t gain any revenue from referrals of engineers. Please mail info@telecomgreen.co.uk. Thanks.
Social Media Links
This helps me to continue giving free advice.
https://goo.gl/maps/p1n9wxi5T6p
http://www.facebook.com/telecomgreen
twitter.com/phone_engineers
Thanks!
Rob
Rob, This is complicated (At least for me)
I bought a new house which has fibre to the box, copper to the house with a single socket master socket in the kitchen + various extension sockets throughout the house.
The router is in the lounge, & the you view tv box is plugged into the router.
I’ve had 3 internet service providers & have had speed / drop out issues with all 3. The latest Zen, who have been really good trying to get to the bottom of this, have said it would be better to plug the router directly into the master, & use power line adaptors to connect the you view box.
I’ve done this but when I plug the router into the socket in the kitchen, via an ADSL filter it doesn’t work at all, but the phone does work.
I seen to remember when BT installed my broadband, they altered the wiring inside the master socket, & installed an additional socket with 2 sockets in the lounge, right next to the existing socket. That ‘twin’ socket is connected to the existing lounge socket via a wire which passes through where you would normally plug the phone in i.e. so the wire is holding the spring loaded cover open if that makes sense.
Am I right in assuming they’ve separated the broadband & phone signal at the master in the kitchen, & sent the broadband signal from the master in the kitchen, via the existing wiring to the lounge socket. They’ve then connected the socket twin sockets to the existing socket, which has effectively by-passed the kitchen socket in terms of broadband.
If so I would like to reinstate the broadband to the master socket in the kitchen, to see if this improves the stability \ speed.
Thanks Dave
Hello,
If you plug your router into the test socket on your master (therefore isolated from premises wiring), do you still have broadband drop-offs?
If so, then the issue is possibly on the Openreach network side. You need to report this to your ISP, and get them to send Openreach to diagnose the circuit from your house to the exchange. Don’t let the customer services person run a test,tell you there is no problem, and threaten you with charges. 95% of their tests come up OK, even when there is a fault. I have sat in a customer’s house with no dial tone, and had Felicity or Gerald from Bangalore tell me very politely that there is no problem. 🙂
If your broadband runs OK for a while plugged straight onto the line, it’s time to get an independent engineer in to take a look at your premises wiring.
Drop me your postcode via the contact page, and I’ll see who’s nearest and available.
I make nothing from these referrals, have minimum advertising revenue coming in from the site, so if you can leave some social media feedback, this helps me to justify the time in giving replies. Thanks for your understanding!
I live in a shared house, and one of my house mates ‘tripped’ in the hallway and yanked my cabled out of the junction box, this is before my master socket, as a temp measure I was able to twist the cables to get me back online, but have noticed a 20mbps drop in speed on the router page , would it be worth buying some jelly connectors and doing it that way or contacting bt with the assumption of a charge due to damage
It’s up to you! Your ISP will pass on the charge of £130-ish from Openreach. If you have had a dramatic drop, you may find that only one of the wires is actually connected (yes, ADSL will run on one wire only!!). A sure sign of this is no dial tone on your circuit. There are enough components easily available for you o do the work. Alternatively, seek out an independent telephone engineer. Let me have you postcode and I’ll see if I know of any. They will be £60-£90 – ish for call out and first hour. Rob.
Hey any chance you could help a fellow Teessider out I have just moved to Southampton and only have 1 phone point which is in the kitchen. Do you know anyone in the area that would move or install a new socket in the living room?
I’m not a Native Smoggie (born in Nottingham), but I can still try and help! Please let me have your postcode.
Forgive me if this has already been answered. I have a new NTE5c master socket in the hall. However my router is in the living room so would it be possibleto fit another NTE5C in the living room and connect to the “user” A/B terminals on the master socket and connect to the secondary NTE5c in the living room for broadband usage only. If so, which A/B terminals would I connect to on the secondary socket? I thank you in advance for your amazing advice.
Hello,
Thanks for kind words.
“A and B” on the customer side of the socket are a filtered output. If you then filter that, the signal appears to stop, so that’s not a good idea… 🙂
The best course of action would be to run some Cat 5e/Cat 6 cable from this “A and B” to a socket that you can plug your router straight into. An ethernet (RJ45) socket can accept the smaller RJ11 plug. Use the “blue” pair on the Cat 5, and terminate it on the centre two ( 4 and 5) pins on the RJ45. Job done!
More here:-
https://telecomgreen.co.uk/engineering/move-bt-master-socket-without-actually-moving-advice-telephone-engineer/
If the blog has been helpful, could I scrounge a Facebook or Google Review, please?
Links below. It helps me to justify continuing to provide free advice.
https://goo.gl/maps/p1n9wxi5T6p
http://www.facebook.com/telecomgreen
twitter.com/phone_engineers
Thanks!
Rob
Really hoping that you can advise us with regards to our smart TV which is almost unwatchable as it constantly buffers. We have be told that the router, which is in another room, is probably too far away and we need it to be next to the TV, the problem is there isn’t a telephone socket in the living room so would need to get one installed/extended but we have no idea who to contact to do this work. We would be very grateful for any help you could give.
Many thanks
Hard-wiring an ethernet cable from your router to the telly would be the ideal solution. You might also be able to use “Powerline” adapters, routing data via your mains sockets. These are not guaranteed stable but often give good results. Drop me a line via my contact page with your postcode, and I’ll see if there is an independent engineer nearby. Actually seeing the job would certainly help.
Hi there, do you provide a service to relocate the phone and broadband sockets to a different room in the house? I’m
Based in Hartlepool. If you don’t offer this service maybe you can recommend someone ? Thanks Alison
Hello,
Sincere apologies for the delay in my reply via this page. This was due to a Google security issue. I will reply via email to speed matters up.
Hi Rob.
I have a 65mm x 65mm master socket that has the drop wire going directly into it using positions 2 and 5. The two wires are pretty chunky (more like electrical than telephone thickness) and look as though they will not fit into the connectors on my new NTE5c box. I was hoping you could assure me that these will fit before I remove them from the old box as I do not have a krone tool to reconnect these if all else fails !!! Do I need to strip these so they will fit ??
I live in Nottingham so if I need to invest in an ex bt engineer, do you know of one you can recommend.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Peter
Sincere apologies for the delay in my reply via this page. This was due to a Google security issue.
(I have replied by email).
Rob
Hi Rob. I have a similar problem see below, and would like to move MS for infinity connection do you know of anyone near swindon
LisaM on 10th January 2019 at 2:39 pm
Hello Rob, I’m at my wits end with our internet and you sound so helpful, I can’t bear another frustrating call with ISP customer services…
I thought my last option was moving the master socket which currently comes into house through a first floor bedroom. Our wi-fi signal around the house is shockingly slow – 2mbps last week in the living room – also where the sky box is. I’ve moved to various ISPs over the last 4 years and none of them can improve the wi-fi speed. One of them said it’s because the MS is so far away, I’ve tried a Belkin plug-in wi-fi extender but it’s not improved. I don’t want to run a secondary cable from the MS downstairs, it’s just too far and not practical. We have an extension socket downstairs hallway but the output speed is rubbish from it. What would you suggest?
Hello,
I’d recommend engaging an independent telephone engineer to take a look and see if improvements canbe made, or the socket easily reloacted. Let me have you postcode,and I’l see if anyone is near.
I don’t charge referral fees to fellow engineers,so I make nothing out of passing on leads. However,if you can leave some Google or Facebook feedback, that would be super.
Thanks.
Rob
Hi Rob,
Scrolling through the comments has been very helpful thank you – and I believe my issue may be sorted with an independent engineer. In short though, I have moved into a house with cat6 throughout. The patch panel is in a kitchen cupboard but the master socket is in the lounge where my BT router is plugged.
Wondering if I need to move router/master socket to be next to patch panel or if there’s another way. I think I need a switch as well perhaps?
Any guidance is greatly appreciated.
Hello,
Glad to know that the content has been helpful. This cheers me up!
It’s down to you as to where your router and “line in” is located. You won’t lose much signal if the incoming cable is jointed and the socket moved. A switch is only needed if the four ethernet outlets from your router are not enough.
Rob
Hello,
I moved into this bungalow nearly two years ago and I run an online typing service so Broadband is essential. The property is in the shape of a U and attached to that U is a large double garage. BT Openreach moved the master socket from the hallway to one of the bedrooms that I use as an office. The line enters the property at one side of the base of the U.
I am having an office built inside the double garage. Will I lose Broadband speed if I don’t have the master socket moved to the garage?
It was a nightmare when Openreach put the master socket in the bedroom – for the last two years the faceplate has been off and it is used with an ADSL filter in the test socket without a problem (although intermittent drop-outs always at night).
The builders said they will run a connection from the master socket to the garage but that’s from one side of the U to the other. They start work 30/09/19.
What would you suggest – I am in North East Lincolnshire. Would really appreciate your advice as I’m starting to panic that I’m going to be without Infinity or have slow speeds.
Annabel
Hello,
It’s hard to assess your situation in any depth without seeing the potential work.
If the builders run the cable, it needs to be of the correct type (BT-specification CW1308 – I have blogged elsewhere about cable) and run clear of any sources of interference such as parallel to mains cable for long lengths and close to strip lights, central heating pumps, etc.
My recommendation is that you ask an independent telephone engineer to assess the best solution. My usual solution is to re-route the incoming cable via
the outside of the property, have it enter the wall where you need your broadband hub (and master socket), fit a latest-specification filtered faceplate, then run any other extensions “downstream” of there. This way, you intercept a “clean” signal at it’s first point of entry.
If your business, (and hence your income), depends on a stable broadband connection, then it’s worth the spend on an engineer. Let me have your postcode via email and I’ll see if I have any contacts close-ish. Rob
Thank you Rob for your very quick response. I have sent an email with my postcode.
I also feel the same about your recommendation and yes, my business is my income so I would rather an engineer than a builder!
Thank you again and I’ll wait to hear from you.
(Replied via email) 🙂
Thanks for the great and informative posts!
I am hoping you can help confirm my understanding.
I have recently moved house and have a new BB line installed. The master socket is the 5C and the faceplate is the OpenReach Mk4 with the BB socket on the left and phone on right.
This is in the corner of a smallish bedroom and don’t want all the stuff sitting there and wish to move hub and phone to the loft.
I have two Cat 6 RJ45 sockets right beside the OpenReach master socket and wish to use these to move the virtual master socket to the loft where all my network and phone cables are routed to from all over the house.
So to the BB first.
The RJ11 cable connecting my master socket (left / ADSL) to my home hub 6 seems to only have two conductor wires – the centre two from six – pins 3 and 4 I believe. Am I right in saying these connect to the raw unfiltered A and B terminals in the master socket? And it is these I need to extend to where I want the hub to be located (loft)?
Assuming this is correct, my master socket (ADSL side) will actually take an RJ45 plug as well as the RJ11. If I plug a standard RJ45 LAN cable into this, the two conductors will connect to the centre two pins on the RJ45 – pins 4 and 5 – blue & blue/white. If I plug the other end into one of my RJ45 sockets it will carry these two conductors on the blue & blue/white pair into my loft. If I wire this termination into an RJ45 patch panel, then connect the RJ11 cable into this and then into the home hub – will this work? The RJ11 plug seems to fit into the centre of an RJ45 socket (or I guess I could buy and RJ45 to RJ11 cable).
Could I ask you to check that I have I got this correct?
For the phone side, I have a phone plug to RJ45 cable. This seems to have two conductors connected – pins 2 and 5 on the phone plug to pins 4 and 5 on the RJ45. If I plug this between the master socket phone socket and my RJ45 socket, I think this will carry the phone service up the centre two pins on my installed CAT 6 cable into my loft. Does the phone only need 2 wires rather than 3?
Can I simply join these two wires to two wires in each cable going to each of the phone sockets in my house – will this work?
Would I be better putting a new additional Master Socket (I have one) in the loft and terminate the two CAT6 cables into these rather than into a patch panel – and connecting the home hub and splitter/phone sockets to this as I would at the real master socket?
Thanks for reading and checking my understanding.
Thanks for the kind words. You raise a lot of points here. I will reply in due course. One key point to note is that the “A” and “B” on the customer-side of the master socket is a filtered output, so should not have a filter on it, as it is already filtered.
Hi Rob,
Thanks for pointing out the first glaring mistake. So the ADSL presentation on the faceplate is filtered. hence I would need to take outputs form both BB and phone sockets through the two CAT6 cables to the loft (as I have tried to walk through above).
So I am assuming the A & B connections in being the faceplate somewhere are the raw unfiltered incoming OpenReach signals? If so, how can I access these? If I could connect directly to these – I could use one of my Cat6 cables to carry this to the loft, install a second master socket and have the BB and Phone split there and the filtered BB connected to my hub at that point. If this can be done, I need to check what faceplate I have (single or double socket).
Hi Rob,
Thanks for pointing out the first glaring mistake. So the ADSL presentation on the faceplate is filtered. hence I would need to take outputs form both BB and phone sockets through the two CAT6 cables to the loft (as I have tried to walk through above).
>Yes. Use the “A” and “B” for your filtered a broadband (connect the blue pair in the Cat 6 for the sake of good order). Use “2 and 5” onto another blue pair for your voice circuit. You only need the single pair in each case.
So I am assuming the A & B connections in being the faceplate somewhere are the raw unfiltered incoming OpenReach signals? If so, how can I access these?
>There are an “A and B” on the back side of the socket, but you can’t/shouldn’t do anything with these as they are the supply from the exchange, and on the “phone network side” of your supply.
If I could connect directly to these – I could use one of my Cat6 cables to carry this to the loft, install a second master socket and have the BB and Phone split there and the filtered BB connected to my hub at that point. If this can be done, I need to check what faceplate I have (single or double socket).
>You could use the “2 and 5” of you voice socket and filter those in the new location, either with a plug-in dangling filter or a filtered faceplate (latest NTE5C with Mk4 filter- widely available). However, you have now lost the benefit of a separate voice and data service, filtered at the first point of entry.
To me, this all seems a little too complicated. An independent engineer could (in theory..!) move the master socket to the new location by recabling and jointing
Thanks Rob,
So what I have done today – and seems to have worked.
BB – Connected my DSL socket of my master to a RJ45 socket using an RJ45 patch cable. All my Cat 6 installed cables are terminated in an RJ45 patch panel in the loft. I have connected the appropriate RJ45 in the patch panel to my Home Hub with an RJ11 cable. Fired it up and Hub seemed to connect OK. All seems to work.
Phone – Connected the faceplate socket to a second installed RJ45 using a phone plug to RJ45 cable. This terminates in the loft where I connected to another old master socket front (2, 3 & 5). I didn’t seem to have room to punch all my possible extension cables so just punched in one cable and joined all the other extension cables to this using a connector (3 conductors). All phone extensions now also work. I guess I could have just joined all the extension cables to the cable coming from the master socket, but I wanted a phone socket in the loft.
So everything now seems to work fine. I haven’t compared the BB speed between what I have now and what I had when the Hub was plugged directly into the master socket.
Thanks Rob,
So what I have done today – and seems to have worked.
BB – Connected my DSL socket of my master to a RJ45 socket using an RJ45 patch cable. All my Cat 6 installed cables are terminated in an RJ45 patch panel in the loft. I have connected the appropriate RJ45 in the patch panel to my Home Hub with an RJ11 cable. Fired it up and Hub seemed to connect OK. All seems to work.
>This is a typical configuration in some of the business sites I work on, so should be fine.
Phone – Connected the faceplate socket to a second installed RJ45 using a phone plug to RJ45 cable. This terminates in the loft where I connected to another old master socket front (2, 3 & 5). I didn’t seem to have room to punch all my possible extension cables so just punched in one cable and joined all the other extension cables to this using a connector (3 conductors).
>It’s also possible to use 3-way jelly crimps in a situation like this so that you are only punching down one cable.
All phone extensions now also work. I guess I could have just joined all the extension cables to the cable coming from the master socket, but I wanted a phone socket in the loft.
So everything now seems to work fine. I haven’t compared the BB speed between what I have now and what I had when the Hub was plugged directly into the master socket.
>Loss should be minimal. Mysteriously, it may even improve!
If the site and this information has been useful, can I scrounge a Google and/or Facebook review, please?
Thanks in anticipation.
Rob
Hi Rob, I have a grey BT/Openreach box outside ( about 4 inches square) below the lentil of my front door. There is a cable going into under the lentil into my house for my broadband and telephone service which is contracted with EE. There is another cable running along from the from the grey box along the wall across from my boundary and then into my neighbour’s house. I have now got planning permission to build a porch and the floor will need to be where the grey box is and a wall will need to constructed where the cable runs across to my neighbour’s wall. The cabling to the grey box is running under my garden about 12 inches deep right up to my wall and then runs about another 2 feet to the grey box. Openreach are quoting me a silly amount to do a survey and then quote me for re – siting the box. Am I within my rights to build a small manhole/access point on my new floor within my new porch if I am not prepared to pay silly amounts to provide a service to my neighbour who is a BT customer!? I would welcome any other options that I could deploy to overcome this hurdle would be appreciated.
Possibly a time to call in an independent telephone engineer to advise, and possibly do the work. Let me have your postcode, and I’ll check if I have any contacts near you.
Thanks Rob, my post code is TA1 4JD.
Mark Hawkes is on the case.. 🙂
Rob, you sound helpful, so hope I can ask a little question; I’ve bought a new master socket (fancy brass to match the house) (Contactum brand) and now realise it should have been an ext socket. Can I convert it to an ext by simply cutting out the C1 capacitor?
Thanks for your kind words. Try it with the capacitor still in. It should not make a difference.
Hi, seems some engineer in his wisdom has put the master socket behind the front door and I have 2 bricks stopping the door hitting the socket! I am wondering if I replaced said socket with a BT78a and ran a 2` BT cable along the skirting board to relocate said socket?
I am guessing here but suspect the line coming into the house at said point behind the door was originally into a master connector for direct phone connection.
That sounds absolutely fine. Not that we would ever advocate moving a master socket officially, of course… 🙂
Hello
Wonder if you can give me some advice. I’ve just bought a house. There is a bt phone line going in from the outside of the house but when I follow the line entering into the building it disappears and there is no sign of a master socket How can I sort this out?
Hello,
If you are taking up a service with a new provider, Openreach (acting on their behalf) may install one free of charge, but this will be where they decide to put it,not necessarily where it is most convenient.
Alternatively, a local independent engineer could install one ahead of your service being commenced and site this where you want it.
I’m in Chester. Do you have any knowledge of any independent engineer in this area
Thanks
Thank you for your help
You’re welcome.
I make not a penny out of referrals, so if you can leave a short review somewhere via the links below, this helps me to continue to give free help.
https://goo.gl/maps/p1n9wxi5T6p
http://www.facebook.com/telecomgreen
twitter.com/phone_engineers
Thanks!
Rob
Hi Rob My BT box is next to my front door and the cable to the Master point runs via a drilled hole through one side of a raised step then out the other, across the front of the house on top of the rendering round the corner and into the house. All the cable lips have a rust mark..it looks ridiculous. What would be involved in disconnecting the Master point pulling the cable out and feeding it into the hall and re installing the Master point there? I’m a bit anxious about rewiring it. Incidentally I have never seen such a helpful, friendly and log running advice page. Well done…you deserve a shiny!
Thanks for your kind words. Time to consider calling in a local independent telephone engineer, I’d suggest. Let me have your postcode and I’ll see who is closest and available. Rob
Thanks for your attention I live In Southport PR8 3LH
Rob
You seem to be a busy and helpful young man!
The telephone cable to my 2 storey house connects to the north/east fascia of my house; tucks under the soffit and then disappears into my loft space under loads of roof insulation and piles of ‘things’ my wife and I have been putting in the loft for ‘short term storage’ over nearly forty years! The cable emerges from the roof soffit on the west elevation circa 4 metres from the north/west corner of the house and then drops down and enters my lounge at ground floor level adjacent to a patio door where it connects to the master socket. All works well – phone and broadband.
My problem is my wife and I want to install a conservatory on the west wall which will ‘cut across’ the route of the cable. The construction will include a cavity tray and flashing to the conservatory roof. The cable is unlikely to be long enough to move it to avoid the clash which means the master socket will almost certainly have to move – a total pain!
From what you are advising, I will most likely need to ‘get a man in’ to reposition the master socket. I’m quite confident I could do this myself but it would seem that might cause me some grief with BT etc. Am I correct in my assumption and if so, do know any good (and economic) telephone engineers in the Winchester area who could advise on this and do the job?
Thanks for your kind and generous words!
You are unlikely to get into any trouble with “The Authorities”, the work is quite straightforward to carry out, and required components (identical to those used by Openreach) ready available on eBay/Amazon.
However, I will check with my man in the south if he knows of anyone close to Winchester. There is a chap up the M3 in Basingstoke.
Rob
Do you have any contacts based in the S80 area (Worksop) for moving a socket?
I will ask some of my contacts…
Having just moved into a new apartment, we want to position a Sky router into a telephone point behind the TV. But although the wifi light comes on the internet light doesn’t.
There is a Openreach socket by the door in the bedroom, where the router works fine. But there is no where to sit the router other than on the floor.
Is there anyway we can get the living room socket to work with the broadband or do we need an engineer to move the Openreach box?
Thanks
move the master box from a small bedroom to the living room where is a telephone point behind the TV
Do you know of any engineers
Hello. This sounds like a job for an independent engineer. Let me have your postcode and I’ll see if I have a contact.
My wire coming from the BT junction box between me and my neighbour is old and has a cracked sheath in many places which is letting in water when it rains . I’ve used pvc tape to patch the cracks up and prevent water ingress. Would this be open reach or BT’s issue as it’s the main wire to my master socket.
The connection works ok, but I fear that more water will enter my socket
Hello,
It will be difficult to get Openreach to fix it (via your provider) if there is no fault. It is,indeed, ultimately their problem, rather than yours. However, it might be easier to get an independent engineer to fix it. I may have a nearby contact.
Hi! I would love yr advice! I want to move my socket because it’s in my bedroom next to my head and I’m a sensitive being and I want it out the room! Atm I have extensions and tonnes of wires draped across my bedroom floor and out the door to the internet thing (🙈) so the door also doesn’t shut properly, but it’s the best solution so that it doesn’t affect me but also so the rest of my flat can get internet (my room is far end of flat with thick walls and even with current positioning the WiFi isn’t great across the flat). So!! Ideally I want a longer wire leading to the socket and drilled through the wall to the hallway at the end (as well as a power socket put there) so it can all be in the hall and wires and waves are away from me while relaxing in my bedroom! I live in North East London – Hackney. Can you advise or know anyone near me who can?! Happy to leave review if you help! Thanks so much 🙂
Thanks for the contact. I will pass to my chap in the south, who has contacts in your area. Feedback always welcome.
Hi Rob, thanks for all the advice you’ve shared over the years on this post, I’m hoping you can share some more…I live in an old (1910) house and the two overhead phone cables come through the trees, right up to the front of my house then a single black cable travels 37m round the outside walls, up to the roof and back down again a couple of times on their way to the back of the house to come through the outside wall into the master socket at what was the study. I only get 35000mbps fibre broadband download at the router and I’m thinking if that black cable was cut to 2m and came through the front of the house and the master socket connected there I might get closer to the 59Mb broadband I’m paying for. Do you think that sort of improvement is likely and is that something you or one of your contacts could do?
Thanks for your kind words.
It’s difficult to diagnose something without seeing it. Let me have your postcode via email, and I’ll see if I have a contact local to you. Rob.
Hi. I would like to get the telephone line that comes from a pole 100M from the front of my house to a pole that is at the back of my house. This should double my download speeds as the distance to the openreach cabinet would be reduced by half. I have asked openreach about this a couple of years ago and they were not very helpful. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Poles are usually the domain of Openreach, even among the most maverick and intrepid independent engineers. They won’t climb them. Way too much can go wrong, both with physical aspects and network wiring.
Routing to the other pole may involve “jumpering/cabling” at other cabinets.
I could put you in touch with a local independent engineer if you needed help advice. Please let me have your postcode if you do want to explore this.
Hi Rob
Can you email me direct for contact in my area please.
Thanks
Done!
Hi Rob, do you have a contact in Falkirk? My wiring comes through a hole in a window frame that is about to be replaced.
Regards
Ed
Hello,
Not me, but my contact Geoff Grove might- Google “Geoff Grove ex-BT” and that should bring up his site. I am on the move this morning and wifi islimoited.
Hi Rob. I’ve just noticed this comment area, but have already attempted to contact you via Facebook. Hopefully you will be able to help me find a local ex-BT engineer in my area? Thanks in advance. Jack.
Hello,
Nothing sen via Facebook. Sorry. You are welcome to mail me on rob.govier@telecomgreen.co.uk
Hi Rob,
Our house is supplied externally from a BT cover on the river severn towpath outside the front door. Hence the internal socket is fed ‘low level’. It sits just above the skirting board. But last year the house flooded above the socket height. Can a replacement supply be made that feeds to a ceiling height, from the same external source.
I can’t answer anything more than “possibly”. Let me have your postcode, and I’ll see if one of my contacts is close.
Great thanks. It’s SY1 1XQ Marine Terrace Shrewsbury
I have replied via email. There is an engineer in Oswestry, I think.
Hi Please can you let me know if you have a number for a technician in the Northallerton/Teesside region (DL6 2JL) I am hoping to move my laster socket..
Thanks Simon
Normally, I could help, but I’m booked for the next ten days.
Try Nick at North Yorkshire Telecoms 07718 520866
HI rob
Bought our son a new storage heater – unfortunately it’s slightly bigger than the old one and a master socket is in the way.
Our fault!
Do you have a contact in our area please? BT will charge £150 to move it 2/3 inches!
In hope.
Helps if I tell you where I live!
Poulton le Fylde
Near Blackpool
Hello,
James in Southport is a fine fellow. http://telephoneengineersouthport.co.uk/
Sadly, there’s no ferry across the Ribble. He does travel, however.
Rob.
Hi Rob,
I have a question regarding the configuration of the master socket. At the moment my master socket is located at the front door which means the router is often knocked over and can be in the way due to the size of the hallway).
I’m wondering whether or not I can ‘splice’ the cable on the junction box before it enters the house trace the cable on the outside of the house to a location that is more suitable. Therefore I would have a working (albeit unused) master socket at the front door and then another socket installed in another room which I would operate as my master.
I’m an Electrical Engineer by trade, although I shy away from the communications side of things and tend to stay within the realms of power/machine drives.
I’m just not sure if doing this would create some other kinds of issues. I’m not too bothered about the implications of openreach as the likely hood of needing them out again is slim, even if they did come out I could always rectify/ remove the cable before they turn up…
Thanks
Hello,
Simply move the existing socket by severing and jointing the cable externally, then use external cable run to the new location. No need to leave the master in the original position. This will simply alert Openreach to the fact that you’ve moved it. You still need to have a demarcation point for testing to Openreach’s line. Genuine Openreach joints are available on-line, as is the black-sheathed cable. More in my blog (somewhere!). Rob.
Hi, Hope you are well. I was thinking of moving a master BT socket from the front door area into the living room. The current master socket does not have a filtered socket so would need an upgrade to the master socket (when moving, I am thinking!) Would you be able to provide a professional engineer to carry out such a job in my area? Postcode BD7 2DG. Thank You
I have replied by email.If the website has been helpful, would you be able to provide a Google Review, please?
Hi there, I’m just wondering what you think about moving a master socket if all you’re doing is shifting it a few inches down in the same place?
In my case, the master socket is attached to the wall just a bit too high up to accommodate some furniture we want to put there. The furniture has legs and if the socket was a bit lower it would fit.
When I take the front face plate off, it looks like there are just a couple of screws holding it on the wall and we could easily move it a few inches, but not knowing anything about master sockets I’m not sure if it is as simple as meets the eye.
Grateful for any advice!
Hello,
If there are no wires serving extension sockets around the premises (which would be attached to the detachable front section),then moving a few inches would be straightforward. The incoming line enters at the back of the socket. There are two wires, which are attached to two mounting points marked “A” and “B”. That’s all.
If movement creates an excess length of spare cable, simply put this in a loop if not obtrusive. If you are feeling confident,you could trim itback and re-terminate onto the socket.
I hope that this helps
Rob.
Some of this information seems incorrect. My master socket is hanging off the wall due to poor installation. So I contacted my internet provider (TalkTalk) and they’ve said they can come and fix it and move it to a new location (as long as it’s under 3m away from it’s current location. It’s very inconveniently placed so they’ve offered to move it, no questions asked, free of charge. I’ve never heard of them not being able to be moved. As soon as I spoke to TalkTalk they were more than happy to relocate my master socket.
Most unusual of TalkTalk to do this. I have never heard of this before. I would double-check that this information is correct, as engineers are not cheap, and have to be paid for somehow. You might be surprised by a bill, then spend much time trying to get a refund. TalkTalk are not my favourite provider, based on my experience of customer’s problems.
Hi Rob, what a useful blog you have. The BT cable enters our house through a wooden window frame and we’d like to have it come through the wall further down instead. Problem is, we left BT a few weeks ago and moved to Community Fibre, who have drilled their own hole and fitted their own master socket on the other side of the room. Do you know who might be able to help us with this?
Hi l was wondering if you could help. Our phone no longer has a dial tone and we can’t make or receive calls but our internet is working. We thought it was the phone so we bought a new one but we still don’t have a dial tone and can’t make or receive calls. Do you have any ideas what might be wrong?
Hello,
Apologies for the delayed reply.
This blog should help:-
https://telecomgreen.co.uk/uncategorised/phone-dead-internet-working-whats-going-on/
I want to move my master wall socket from my hallway, to inside my front room. At present, the wall socket is on the old external wall. I want to knock down the old external wall to widen access to the hallway from the front porch and add a wider door. When my mother was alive, I could not get her wheelchair past the old front door because this large pillar was in the way.
But Vodafone does not know how to help me. I have just upgraded to their digital phone service. The Internet and digital phone service works fine, but I just want to move the master wall socket, before I arrange for the pillar to be knocked down. I keep getting ‘bounced’ between different Vodafone tech teams, when I contact them. I need someone who knows what to do and can help me. I live in the South. If I Vodafone will not help, I will have do it myself.
This is quite common among service providers. It isn’t on their script, so they struggle to address the need.
I’d recommend engaging an independent telephone engineer to do the work. Many are ex-BT. If you need a recommendation, please mail me your postcode via the contact page on the website.
There’s also enough information in my blogs to enable a competent D.I.Y.-er to find the right components and do the work.
Hi Rob,
I too had been promised an engineer by TalkTalk to help move a non-NTE (yes, its that old!) Master Socket to the TV room from hallway under stairs. Surprise, surprise we haven’t received that call from the engineer so clearly was never booked in the first place! Would you happen to recommend independent telephone engineers in the North London region to firstly replace the old Master Socket and secondly move it to out living room (the distance is greater than 3 meters apart)?
Sadly, this story is all-too-common.
Also, I’ll add that some of the more competitively-priced ISPs are absolutely fine until you need something which is not on the call centre’s script. I’m mentioning no names here.
However, help is at hand via the independent telecoms engineers informal network.
I will mail you directly with contact details for someone who may be able to help.
Rob
Hi,
We’ve moving into our new flat in a few weeks. We had not paid attention to this but it appears the phone socket is at the entrance of the flat not fixed to the wall but rather at the end of a long cable that is currently hanging off the wall. I m guessing it was moved during previous works and left like this to allow to be fixed where one would want. We want to shorten this cable to a minimum and have the socket fixed to the wall. Do I need someone from open reach or any telecom engineer could do (seems simple enough I m tempted to do it myself). We also want to update our intercom system so maybe an engineer could do both in 1 short visit? Thanks for the help!
Hello,
This kind of problem is common in shared properties. I would recommend that you engage an independent engineer. If you choose to pursue this via your provider (who would mobilise Openreach), you would need to get them to understand the issue. This is often difficult! Furthermore, they would probably come back to you with a scary price for the work.
Drop me a line with your postcode and I’ll see if I have any contacts. Rob.