As a telephone engineer, I’ve met a few customers that have ended up with a big bill all because of their master socket, and the use of it. (No, it won’t automatically dial the speaking clock in Singapore and listen to it all night. It’s a bit less sinister than that.)
There’s no great mystery about that box on the wall where your phone line comes in to your property. However, you master socket is the specific “boundary point” in your home where your telephone line provider’s responsibility ends, and yours begins.
So, the bit that’s fixed to the wall of your master socket goes to the outside world, and to the national phone network. Any faults with that are the responsibility of Openreach (the former BT engineering division who will come to your house on behalf of your provider). In the front of this socket is a faceplate that plugs into the wall-mounted bit and is secured with two screws.This brings your various extensions from around the house to one point and connects them onto the line.
Now, if you have a dead line, or some kind of noise, interference, or any other kind of problem, you need to determine if this is your fault (your wiring), or theirs. It really is simple. Take off the faceplate, and plug in a known working telephone straight into the socket that is behind it. Your wiring is then disconnected from the network, and can cause no mischief.
If the problem goes away, then the fault lies with your wiring or devices.
If it does not, then the problem lies outside your house and is not your responsibility. You need to report it to your provider, who will arrange for their designated engineer (usually working for Openreach) to call if necessary. Your provider (Talk Talk, Orange, Plusnet, etc, etc) may ask you to repeat the test, that is plug the phone into the wall-mounted socket again. One of the advatages of this is, should there be line noise, the customer service person at the other end will here it, too, and might actually believe that the “crackle” is not just in your head!
But here comes the (potentially) costly bit; if an engineer from Openreach is sent to your premises, and a fault is discovered on your extension cabling, not theirs, they have to charge for their time and resources. This can be from £132.00 upwards. Ouch.
So… you need to be absolutely sure, by use of your master socket, that the problem is not with your wiring, sockets, and devices before getting them to come to you..
Has this been helpful? We are more than happy to come and do this bit for you, and charge less than your provider or Openreach.
If we can help, then let us know via our contact page, 01642 205077, or even by leaving a comment below. We’d be pleased to help, and hate people getting nasty bill surprises.
Can you use your master socket for your phone line if there is not another socket to plug your phone into?
Yes indeed!
Really, really clear and helpful. I feel a warm gratitude towards you right now! 🙂
Many thanks!
Can you please advise what kind of socket is shown above? I bought a new NTE5 to replace my box (which is the same as above) like for like – but is only has 3 wire terminals, instead of 6. I’m only DIY capable of changing as like for like. Can the boxes shown above still be bought (with the 1-6 numbered terminals)? Thanks.
Hello,
Well spotted! This is a very old NTE5 (BT term for master socket). I’ve no idea why they had pins 1 to 6 – the only ones in common use are 2 and 5 (for the telephone circuit) and 3 (used as an additional feed for bell current, and largely superfluous these days). Pin 3 should not be connected when 2 and 5 are being used for phone and broadband as it can attract interference and slow broadband down.
I’ve no idea why the person who wired the socket in the photo terminated cables on all the pins- this is often the mark of an enthusiastic and misinformed amateur, working on the principle of “the more wires attached the better”. Quite the opposite is the case!
Polarity for 2 and 5 is not important in the majority of cases.
NTE5s with pins 2, 3 and 4 on the detachable front cover are freely available on eBay.
I hope that this helps!
Rob
hi there i have fibre broadband with supposed speeds of up to 17 -20 mbps i am about half a mile from cabinet but i get at the moment 6mbps frustrating im curious to know but should i have a (joint) like box on side of my house coming of pole then it comes down through door frame to what looks like another small white bt box then going to master socket would this be causing my speed to slow down surely it should be one continous cable ?could i ask my provider to have open reach come to my property and put up one continous line so that there are no breaks in the line i dont see anyone else in my street with same set up would it come at a cost? regards adam
Hello,
This arrangement of joints is quite common, and, if healthy, should not cause your broadband to slow down.
It may be hard to prove a fault with your provider. Do you know what speed you should be getting? It might be useful to ask them. Also, you may not be served by the nearest cabinet, and could be served from further away.
A diagnostic visit from a local independent telephone engineer might be helpful. He could check for any obvious physical issues. Alternatively, if you arrange the same through your provider, then they will threaten you with a £130.00 charge if the Openreach engineer thinks that there is no fault found. A line check from the customer service desk of your provider is often misleading – they will claim that all is well.
If you need an engineer, please let me have your postcode.
I hope that this helps.
I had an interesting fault today I had noise on the phones and the router kept tripping out. I took off the front cover on the master socket, it was the same as your photo the 2 screw model. I plugged the phone in to the test socket and no noise. I assumed it was my wiring and checked all wiring by disconnecting all three wired extensions in the box. Refitted the front panel and plugged my phone into the front phone socket on the master box ( not the test socket) and the noise was still there! No wires connected no other phones connected. It took a while but I checked out the removable part of the master box and clipped out the little plug board with copper track linking the test box to the internal wiring and it had a corroded copper track that was only just connecting. I bought a new master box from Amazon it was quicker than calling out Open Reach via my provider. I’m mentioning this because the line test showed a clear supply line and I knew this as I heard it myself but if I wasn’t aware of the problem I found and couldn’t fix the master box I wouldn’t have queried a call out fee to fix their box if they spent time and money looking at my wiring..I’m sure that would never happen but I’ve been wrong before.
Thanks for sharing this. Those front-plates do indeed develop faults from time to time.
Hi, my elderly in-laws have moved into a bungalow and there is a master Open Reach socket in the dining room which the telephone is currently connected to and works. However there is also a socket in the hall (doesn’t say open reach on it), but when phone is plugged into this there is nothing. Can this be made ‘live’ at all as it is is a much more central place for them.
Hello,
You asked:- “Can this be made ‘live’ at all as it is is a much more central place for them.”
Quite possibly! It depends on the wiring connections between the two and/or where the cable from outside enters the building.. It might just be a case of making some connections, or running some cable.
An independent local telephone engineer would be able to take a look and advise. Let me have your postcode,and I’ll see if I have any contacts who are local to you.
I recently upgraded to fibre although speed only jumped from 12Mb to 17Mb. ISP told me to test by removing the BT mastersocket (NTE5) front plate and connecting directly to the back plate socket. On doing so it jumped up to 21Mb so an issue with the internal wiring. To cut a long story short the internal wiring all seemed fine but I noticed that any unconnected additional extension point (e.g. no phone connected) caused the speed to drop (especially uplink 3.1Mb to 1.3Mb). Connecting directly at the master socket (front plate) socket was slow but if I connected the router to the extension off the master socket the speed was back up. So definitely an issue with my broadband when I have a floating unconnected extension connected. Have you seen/heard anything like this before?
To recap, adding the extension slows things down? This is quite common. Ideally, broadband should run with the least possible connected to it, and one of the latest face-plate filters at the first point of entry (NTE5). Seemingly sound-looking extensions can cause problems – wiring runs may have been compromised somewhere unseen, and/or the run may be picking up interference. If you need a phone, I would recommend getting something like a Panasonic cordless twin or triple DECT set, and plugging straight onto the filtered face plate.
Considering what highly-sensitive broadband has to cope with in most houses, I’m surprised that it works at all!
——
If this is helpful to you, would you be able to leave some feedback, ideally a short “review” on the following social media pages, please?
This helps me to continue giving free advice.
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Thanks!
Rob
Hi,
My router has recently started to randomly stop working.
I’ve just opened the master socket, plugged in the filter with the router and phone line and both are now working (for the time being!)
Would it be ok for me at least for a while keep it there?
Absolutely! This may point to a problem with the wiring in your house. It’s perhaps time to consult an independent telephone engineer.
Hi Rob,
My master socket is as illustrated with the separate ADSL and phone sockets. I want to site my router in a central room in the house which has a telephone ext socket, but no ADSL. I don’t need the telephone extension, is there a way I can make this an ADSL extension and run the router from it?
Thanks
Dave
Hello,
Remove the current master socket and joint the cable (where the master socket was, using a BT78A connector box (available on-line). Reinstall the master socket where the current extension socket is.
Rob
I am yet again in dispute with TalkTalk. My download speed has dropped from 50 to 23, with no change indoors. TalkTalk are adamant that the fault must be in the property. Is it possible to get a local engineer to check my master socket? The last time this happened TalkTalk gave in and sent an engineer, he found a fault in the cabinet and restored speeds straight away. He also found no fault indoors.
I am yet again in dispute with TalkTalk.
>This is quite common.
My download speed has dropped from 50 to 23, with no change indoors. TalkTalk are adamant that the fault must be in the property.
>A common response.
Is it possible to get a local engineer to check my master socket?
>Please advise your postcode.
The last time this happened TalkTalk gave in and sent an engineer, he found a fault in the cabinet and restored speeds straight away. He also found no fault indoors.
>Yes, this is common,too.
TalkTalk are competitively priced. There is a reason for this.
Hi Rob,
My elderly neighbour has lost internet and phone capability. He’s been doing DIY in his kitchen and seems to have disturbed the phone socket in there. On inspection the socket looks like an old Master with a test socket similar to the one above (two screw terminals labelled A&B) then the standard 6 terminals with 2,3,5 being used then what looks like extensions going off around the house. He isn’t sure if he has disturbed and mixed up the wires going to these terminals and it isn’t clear if this is actually the main line coming into the house as there is another master socket in the lounge too. I’ve tried a phone in both test sockets but have no dial tone in either. I can’t establish clearly a main line as all I’m seeing in every socket is the slim white wires with the numerous 6ish coloured wires all of the time. They’ve been onto their internet provider but worried they’re going to get stung by hefty call out charges etc…Any help greatly appreciated.
Lee
Hello,
It might be worth tracing the cable from outside. One entering the exterior wall from a pole or hole will probably terminate in a socket on the other side of the wall. All you need is the pair of wires coming in from this cable attached to terminals A and B. This should give a dial tone. Make sure everything else is disconnected from the customer side of the socket, then progressively re-connect it, checking for dial tone at each stage.
Alternatively,let me have the postcode of the property, and I’ll see if I have a fellow independent engineer local to it. They will be cheaper than Openreach (who will be sent by the provider).
I hope that this helps.
Rob
Hi Rob,
I’m not sure if I should call someone out or if this is an easy “DIY” fix. I have 2 sockets as in your pic above. One in the kitchen low on the wall behind the fridge which works fine and our router is connected to it. Not ideal as it is low to the ground and basically on top of the fridge. The other socket is in the lounge close to the TV. When I connect the router to this one, it does not connect at all. I opened the front plate and the only difference between that and your pic, is the wires are not connected to the plate itself (not sure if that makes any difference as they are connected inside the box itself). Please excuse my ignorance as I am no expert at these type of things. Is it that only the one socket would work for broadband or should both be able to do the same thing? I would prefer to move the router into the lounge.
Thanks for your time.
Hello,
It’s usually “one router per exchange line”. However, it is possible to use you router’s supply to other data sockets in the house, though. I have blogged about this elsewhere on this site.
If you need to find a local independent engineer to help, please let me know.
Rob
Hi, I’ve had awful broadband for the past 6 weeks, constantly dropping and slow. I switched providers and still dropping and reaching 1/6 of speed I paid for. I removed the faceplate and plugged it into the test socket, and lo and behold, perfect stable internet at the speed I paid for! There are no visible wires in the master socket (we don’t have any phones, just 1 router), so I can only assume the faceplate must have been old and faulty. I’ve lived here 4 years and it was here before I moved in, as I used the existing line. Is it OK to leave the router plugged into the test socket, or do I have to get an engineer round to put on a new faceplate? Is it something I can buy and do myself? I’m scared to put another faceplate on in case we get same issue. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing this interesting experience – indeed, faceplates do develop faults, and I have experienced several which gave no visual clues to failure.
Leaving the router plugged into the test socket is absolutely fine. My recommendation would be to fit a latest-type NTE5C with a built-in Mk 4 broadband filter, which may improve your service further. They are less than £10.00 now on eBay/Amazon, and quite easy to fit, not even requiring tools.
Hi Rob. My parents live in a 45 year old property with copper telephone line and NTE5a socket in the hallway. I’ve signed them up to Sky fibre (FTTC) and guaranteed speeds are 26mb down and 4.5mb up. Down speeds have been in that range but up speed has been very poor, only breaking 2mb threshold an odd time. Now they’ve recently had a complete service outage (no dial tone) and Sky sent Openreach out to fix it. It was an external fault which was put down to ‘corrosion’ somewhere on the line. Now service is back on but speeds are less than half of what we had before and not improving. On contacting Sky they suggested splitting the router bands, which I’ve done, but to no avail. There are no internal issues with extensions etc. The line was always notoriously noisy when raining heavily and I can only surmise that it’s submerged somewhere between the cabinet and the property and has water ingress and possibly other joint issues at a cabinet connection. Question is, would Openreach/Sky ever install a new line cable from the cabinet (1/4 mile away through a housing estate) to the property or am I stuck with this?
Short and to the point:- you are paying for a service that is not being delivered. You will need to persist until this is resolved. This sounds like a cabling infrastructure problem, and it will probably be affecting/will affect other users. Openreach have the gadgetry to detect where the fault is, and of what type (earth fault, high resistance, etc). The rain-related noise gives a good clue. The rectification work might just involve making good damage or a compromised joint, rather than replacing a whole run. It needs to be referred back via Sky to Openreach to sort, despite any cost to them. Full stop. I hope that this helps.
Thanks for the swift reply! Sky are adamant that the engineer has rectified the problem as per Openreach report though obviously the ‘fix’ is not adequate. I shall pursue them on this further although the only thing concerning me is, if it’s not resolved and I up and change to another provider, the same line problem will be there regardless. I’ll get on to them now!
You’re welcome – (Google Reviews always appreciated! 🙂 )
Yes, you are dependent on the same copper pair for service from any other wired supplier apart from Virgin Media. Somewhere in your T and Cs from Sky will be some kind of speed guarantee promise. It’s perhaps time to quote from that. Beyond that. OFCOM. Providers consistently over-promise and under-deliver, and sadly, customers just learn to live with it. Rob
Hi Rob, As a recently retired computer network manager and network design engineer I agree with you regarding slow broad band speeds being affected by such things as extension cables, dodgy filters, connection boxes etc. What is generally not mentioned is the copper cable that connects a house to cabinet, these being of a 2 wire installation, designed for telephone use and of an un-shielded and untwisted manufacture and passing through a number of connection boxes, cabinets. I redesigned a number of sites for computer use to 4 wire connections so they could install faster switches up-rating the connection speed to 100 m/c up and down stream, 2 wire being too slow for these newer switches. What do you think then of broadband providers advertising broadband service at speeds they will never achieve through these outdated cables and equipment?
Fair comments, although most voice cable is twisted due to the need to reduce “cross talk”.
I am constantly amazed that xDSL on copper pairs ever works at all! I am in awe of seeing speed test results showing 73Mb down on scabby and degraded cable.
I can’t believe that I am about to defend ISPs, but… Most estimates are based on attenuation/predicted noise over distance, so do have some basis in theory and potential reality. However, these predictions don’t take into account “unknown-unknowns”, some of which are never resolved. In fairness, ISPs are running 21st century signalling over what is basically 19th century line plant. Thanks for commenting.
Hi there – very informative, thanks. Jan 2021. Had been using my phone on the extension (Tribune) all morning for calls, and went to use it again – absolutely dead. My broadband / bt hub unaffected and works as normal. Checked everything as per BT and indeed your instructions. disconnected erxtension from my NTE5 as you show and tried 2 different (BT) working phones in the socket that is revealed. No tone or noise of any description. The orange and white wires are connected as you’d expect. BT insist line not at ault. I mean what can go wrong with two wires (the others are not use – Black / Green) At a complete impass. Can the NTE5 as a unit become fault. If the BT number is rung from elsewhwere the caller hears the ringing tone as normal (I can do that with my mobile) but no ringing on either BT phone cowhen connected to that hidden behind the facia socket – Help please.
A BT Tribune! One of my favourite phones. I admire your taste!
Somewhere on this site I have blogged on “Phone dead, internet working” or similar. This situation happens when one of the pair of wires feeding your property becomes disconnected. The broadband staggers on at 30% of normal speed, the phone is dead.
If the line is dead from the test socket on your NTE5 to the Openreach network, you need to persist with your provider to send out Openreach. They will threaten you with charges, of course, and try and put the blame on something on your side of the cabling. This is futile,as you disconnect this when removing the front of the NTE5 to reach the test socket.
The BT line test is notoriously unreliable – it comes up as “no fault” 90% of the time, even when there is no dial tone. I met an Openreach/BT veteran of 43 years service this week who said exactly the same. It’s unreliable, but the best a customer service agent can do. They read from scripts, bless ’em…
No dial tone from the test socket is QED – time to get Openreach to come to site.
I hope that this helps. Google reviews in exchange for free advice always welcomed! 🙂
Rob
Many thanks for that – my BT feed cable goes from the master socket just inside the back door, outside, does a loop, up the wall to the fixing on the Guttering soffit and straight out to the BT pole in the road – no breaks or boxes but I suppose technically it crosses into ‘My Property’ when it raches the bracket on the soffit, but, as I said, it’s acontunuous wire to the Master Socket.
How do I do a Google Review ??
You’re welcome! Anything from the master socket test point onward to the exchange is Openreach’s hardware. It’s up to them to sort any faults out.
Regarding reviews, simply Google “Telecom Green TS16 0DL” and this should bring up a panel on the top right-hand side of the screen. Look for the “Reviews” section further down the panel. There should be a link to “Write a Review”.
95% of the answers I give out in response to blog questions do not generate business, I refuse to flood the site with adverts, so I need to get some form of benefit, in this case enhanced search visibility that comes with favourable reviews. Thanks for your understanding.
I have interference so I’m checking your post. I’ve followed the steps but find that only blue and white are connected in the back of the plug. The drop down bit that comes off has no wires connected to any of the eight points.
There’s a bundle behind (non of them are connected) of four white, a green, an orange, a brown and a grey.
Should they be connected and which numbers should they be connected too.
Many thanks
If you’ve taken the detachable front half-panel off the master socket, and you have “interference” (intermittent crackling, or a hum”?), and you’ve not touched anything behind the socket, then it’s time to contact your service provider who will investigate and possibly send an engineer. Have you tried another phone in the test socket, by the way?
Thank you for your reply.
I’ve connected my phone to the “master BT socket” and it seems better.
I guess that means the problem is my side of the connection.
I was confused in case all or any of those wires needed to be connected to the front panel.
It’s more that the sound “fades” as well as the interference.
Where do I leave a review?
Many thanks
Hello,
If you phone is plugged into the test port of the master socket (as per the photo above), then any other issues need to be thrown back to your provider. Don’t put up with anything less than a clear line and somewhere near their promised speeds – this is what you are paying for.
Regarding connecting the previously-attached wires, decide what is essential, find out which wire corresponds to this (often difficult without specialised tools), and add the services back via the front plate terminals until you hit a problem. However, the process may not quite be as easy as this, so you may wish to consult an independent engineer.
Google reviews are very important to me, as they improve search engine visibility, hence attracting traffic which pays the bills and helps me justify giving free advice.
Simply Google “Telecom Green TS16”, and a panel should pop up on the right of the results. Down the panel, near some stars, is a link saying “Write A Review”. Simply click on that.
Many thanks.
Rob
thanks for this post! helped me fix my terrible connection issue 🙂
You’re welcome! If you feel inclined, please leave a short Google Review. This helps other folks struggling with issues to find help. I keep the site fairly light on adverts, so reviews help me to justify continuing to give free advice via often lengthy replies and exchanges!
Meanwhile, thanks for popping by to say thank-you. A quick Google of “Telecom Green” should take you to a page which has an area with five stars up on the right hand side. “Write a review” issomewhere there. Rob.
Hi Rob,
We are currently having our house re-wired by a qualified electrcian. They are also sorting out the internal phone cables, etc.
Anyhow, they have reported that the main incoming wiring to the master-socket keeps falling out, so we should get in touch with our comms provider. My concern is that they will blame the electrcian, any tips on how to get this resolved without large bills?
Thanks
I would heartily recommend engaging the services of an independent telephone engineer to not only sort out the socket issue,but also scrutinise what the electrician has done. They may be highly-skilled in their field, but most don’t fare well when faced with data and telecomms cabling. It is not simply a matter of connecting cables together.
Let me have a postcode via email and I’ll see if I have any contacts nearby.
Rob
Good morning Rob,
My parents have just moved into an older property and have one of the master sockets shown in your picture. I plugged the telephone into this but when I plugged their broadband router into it the telephone stopped working.
I don’t want them to face another bill so is there something I can do to try to sort this out?
Hello,
Are you connecting via the test socket on the master (with everything else in the house disconnected)? Have you tried using another phone, or proven the one you are using to be working? Likewise, the microfilter, and the modem cable? Much of this work is dull and systematic proving and substitution of cords, hardware, etc. Add (or subtract) items until the fault appears (or goes away) Apologies for not offering a “silver bullet” solution.
A local independent engineer might be able to help. Let me have your postcode via email and I’ll see if I’m in contact with anyone close to you.
We moved into a new build in 2008. Some years later when Infinity on BT was launched we got the 78mbps package, and the line sync on the router was a static 78mbps (we were probably one of the 1st adoptors on the estate for Infinity). After some years the line went dead, phones lines off, internet down.
We were without service for a number of days. Eventually openreach got out to us and told us we may charge if the fault is in your house. The engineer was a new engineer with little experience. I cant remember what the actual issue was but in the end he couldnt get the line working so as it was a new build he said all houses have two lines to the house. He swapped the lines over and it started to work. Since that day, the sync speeds of the router are at 68mbps and have never returned to the 78mbps we had previously. Could this be due to the quality of the second line to the house or due to the effect of having a whole housing estate now using the FTTC whereas before we was one of very few?
It’s difficult to tell what might have caused the change, but I share the following observations:-
1/ At 60/70-ish Mbps, a copper pair is running at quite close to it’s limits of performance. The slightest issue could affect it’s speed. When customers approach me wanting to change hardware.cabling, etc, to gain higher speeds, I advise “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Restoring that final 10Mbps may be difficult, and dependent on a thorough analysis of the physical routing and termination of the cable.
2/ We all forget that xDSL is a “contended” service, rather like hot water in a cheap hotel;- more users equals less speed. There is only so much “flow” possible down the pipe. Notable is the “schoolkids get home”-drop in mid-afternoon.
I hope that this helps.
Rob
Good afternoon, we have an but nte5 master socket similar to the one you show ( but with 4 terminals ) in our hall, just inside our front door. Our main house phone is plugged into this.
In our lounge we have a telephone socket, which we assume must be an extension from the master socket. Plugged into this socket is an extension lead that runs to our broadband router to allow for hard wiring to our smart TVs boxes ( now tv and Bt tv)
In our bedroom is another telephone socket which we assume is also an extension from the master socket.
These sockets were all installed when the house was built new about 20 years ago.
The phone socket in the hall has now gone dead, the phone is dead with no dialling tone at all. When we removed the front faceplate and plug the telephone into the test socket behind, the phone works fine.
The strange thing is that the socket in the lounge, with the broadband router is working fine.
The other strange thing is that the socket in the bedroom is dead too!
Would replacing the faceplate with a new nte5 solve the problem or are we looking at a bigger problem?
Cheers
Hello,
It’s hard to diagnose this issue without working out the sequence of connection of the extensions – are they “daisy-chained” (technical term “bus wired”) or radiating from a single point on the NTE5 (“star wired”). This may require the services of an engineer with a tracing tool to work out how these are connected. There is a possibility that, if star-wired, then something has disturbed their connection with the NTE5. If bus-wired, then maybe the connection between two of the sockets has gone down. Alternatively, of the socket on the front of the NTE5 has no dial tone, the front faceplate may have ceased to work. NTEs are so cheap now that it may just be worth trying a replacement.
It’s hard to work all this out without taking a look!
I hope that this helps.
Rob.
Let me have your postcode if you need the services of an independent engineer.
Hi Rob, thanks for reply and advice.
We bought a replacement nte5 faceplate to try,
We plugged in the new faceplate, without any extension wired to it, and plugged in the telephone. We had a dialling tone, brilliant (we thought!!).
We then connected the extension wires, plugged the faceplate in, waited for the router to settle in to life, all good. Brilliant (we thought!!) when we plugged in the phone we had no dialling tone!!
We removed the faceplate, disconnected the extension wires, refitted the faceplate and we had a dialling tone!! (But obviously no internet as the extension was disconnected.)
We removed the faceplate again, reconnected the extension wires, refitted the faceplate and had no dialling tone!! ( but the internet was working on the extension)
With the extension wires, we have tried connecting just the blue/white & white/blue wires to no 2 & 5. We have also tried it with the orange connected to no 3 as well. All with the same result.
Any ideas suggestions would be gratefully received
Thank you
Simon
Hello,
Please note that broadband will work over a single wire – it does not need a pair. It will work at around 30% of its potential speed, but it will still work. In situations like this, there will be no dial tone. The fact that you have no dial tone on the extension points to some continuity issue on the cable to the extension.
If you have a basic multimeter, use this to test continuity on the cable. This is not as daunting as it sounds. Screwfix supply basic meters for around £10.00.
Set the meter to a resistance setting (in the ohms range), touch the probes together. You should get a figure near zero. Then do the same for the cables to the extension, having twisted the appropriate cables together at the far end. A “good” pair should give somewhere near zero, too.
If you have a bad pair on, for example, the blue/blue-white, then use the orange/orange white. There might even be a fault on the extension socket itself. I hope that this helps.
Hi Rob,
I recently moved to a flat and noticed that I don’t have a Openreach master socket. Phone cables from outside connect to a BT85B Connection Box inside the flat next to the entrance door (it has a BT logo). A cable comes out from it to a socket in the bedroom (no openreach or anything on the socket). The only connection point is the socket in the wall, and I have no tone. What would be the “boundary point” in this case? Is this a normal setup? It is an old maisonette flat.
Thank you
Hello,
The cabling in the building may have been installed by the previous or current owners. The BT/Openreach master socket may be somewhere in a basement/plant room/ landlord’s site office, etc. Alternatively, the Openreach cables may terminate on one of their network termination and test points in those areas. Whatever the situation, a new provider should request that Openreach provide the service to your dwelling. They may quibble that they are only obliged to provide it to the site as a whole. If this is the case, then I would suggest that your landlord is responsible for delivering the service to your flat. Sometimes Openreach are content to use the existing cabling in a building installed by others, sometimes not.
I hope that this helps. It’s about as helpful as I can be, as each situation may be different. It might be worth finding out what arrangement other tenants have.
Hi Rob, thanks again for your assistance. We tested all the wires for continuity, with a multimeter, as you suggested. After extensive testing we couldn’t find any faults with the wiring. After now eliminating any broken wires we scratched our heads for the problem. By chance we had a new / unused DSL filter . We replaced the old one at the end of the extension, by the router. We replugged everything back in , the router started up and the phone had a dialling tone. Yes!!!
It would appear that the problem was the DSL filter.
Thank you again, very much for your assistance along the way, your advice helped us to eliminate any possible problems.
Simon
Thanks for the update. Microfilters like the one you describe do occasionally cause problems, as do their cables. Meanwhile, would you be able to supply a short “Google Review”, please? Simply Google “Telecom Green Ltd”, look for the five stars on the top right of the results, and the link “write a review”. Thanks. Rob.
We live in a remote French hamlet with an Orange telephone connection, 2 mbs nominally the speed. Frequently the speed falls to around 0.40 mbs download, 0.0 upload or virtually nil. But every time we phone Orange to complain, this is somehow miraculously ‘fixed’ to around 1 Mbs upload and 0.4 upload. Is the company simply swapping our bandwidth around with other customers in this small hamlet, distant from main connections. Is our ‘better service’ at their expense and when THEY complain, do they then take some of our bandwidth away in turn? Seems like the case but the satisfactory speeds NEVER last. I have checked the test DTI and know the problem is outside the house and nothing to do with our own connections.
I am on the limit of my knowledge here, as my key experience is with customer’s premises, equipment and functionality. However, I am aware that your provider can adjust things at their end if the line conditions are problematic. It would be worth Googling “signal to noise ratio” (“SNR”) which may be one of the key parameters in your case. Put simply, this optimises the broadband to cope with any line quality issues (so I understand!). Furthermore, there are other settings that a skilled helpdesk operative could adjust. I have often been on the phone to some of the better providers in the UK, and they have carried out this work. Think of it as two musicians trying to tune their instruments to each other over the noise of a party, and that is more or less what is happening.
Hence, your provider may be resetting something which works for a while, then subsequently degrades.
Meanwhile, I am more than welcome to be corrected on this subject!
Hi Rob, Happy New Year! We’ve been having am internet/wifi problem with a variable signal. I’ve just plugged the router into the NE5 test socket and all seems to be working okay from there. However when I took the face plate off the master socket to get to the test socket, I notice that there us a wire lose at the back of the front socket (not to the test socket). This must have been lose and possibly the route of the original problem. I’m not sure which of the connectors the wire should go and am reluctant to try by elimination in case I cause some shorting, (is this possible?). So if my provider has to call out an engineer, will I be charged? The problem being the master socket which was installed by BT…… Thanks for your advice.
Happy New Year,
Anything on the removable faceplate is the customer’s responsibility.
I’ve blogged on the issue of wiring a master socket here:-
https://telecomgreen.co.uk/home-phone-repair/how-to-wire-a-master-socket/
Hopefully, the paragraph headed “what goes on the front?” should help. There’s also informationon what to use to push the wire into place.
I hope that this helps.
Rob.
Hi Rob
I am renovating a much neglected listed flat. The old telephone cable is drilled through the front door frame to a tiny junction box on the inside of the frame. This all looks horrid and out of date so I want to arrange for a new incoming cable route and new location for master socket.
Can the master socket be further into the flat?
Ideally 2metres in so that the master socket is concealed in a cupboard.
What are the rules?
Hello,
I would recommend getting an independent engineer to sever the cable externally, then joint and run a new length of cable via a created hole to where you need it to be.
“The rules” don’t really exist, although (as I recall this blog stating), if you cause a fault (loss of service through broken wires, short circuit, etc) Openreach will charge you for the repair. This rarely happens, however.
If you are seeking an engineer, let my have your postcode via email and I’ll see if I have any informal contacts nearby.
Rob.
Hello,
Can someone please try to explain to me, where these wire go in my BT Openreach socket please.
I have an A, B connection inside the socket, then a 2,3,5 connection on the faceplate.
Any help would be gratefully appreciated
Hello,
I have blogged on colour codes quite a few times. Here is our “Index” blog (listing the others). Take a look under “wiring”.
https://telecomgreen.co.uk/home-phone-repair/an-index-of-telecomms-help-moving-a-master-socket-and-other-stuff/
Meanwhile, A and B on the rear of the socket are usually your incoming line. 2 and 5 need to be connected to extensions. 3 does not get used much, and just aids ringing voltage on a small number of devices.. I hope that this helps.
Hi Rob,
We have crackling on our phone line when using the front plate plug in, but we don’t when plugging into the socket behind it, however we do not have any other telephone extensions or wiring to the front plate that can be causing any interference. Are we responsible for the front plate plug in, and can we simply change the front plate with a new one?
Many thanks
Hello,
These faceplates occasionally develop faults like the one you describe. I would recommend replacing it with the latest NTE 5C, many of which are available on eBay/Amazon, and appear to be genuine articles that have “leaked” from Openreach stores/vans.
Rob.
Hu Rob
I have a standard BT NTEs entry box, main phone and router plus 2 extension phones. All the phones stopped working though the router remained active. The main line is OK . I purchased a new lower faceplate and connected the extension cables with the prescribed tool, checked that the ASDL filters were OK and everything worked…momentarily, then went dud again. If the problem is in the extension cabling somewhere is it OK to discard the blue/white + white/blue wires and substitute with some of the remaining 4 wires rather than run new cables to the extension. At present I have the main phone and the broadband operating, the extensions were merely an added convenience
Hello,
Yes, I’ve done the same myself when re-cabling wasn’t an option. However, if your cable has been damaged significantly, you may find that the other pairs are poor, too.
Try to be kind to anyone who may have to deal with the cabling in future by observing the correct pairing (“e.g. orange-white/white-orange”) so that some form of standard protocol is followed. However, if you do have to break the rules, leave a small note inside the socket! This can save an engineer much toil and puzzlement!
Hello
I have taken the clip off plate of off my NTE5c MK2 socket and I am plugging my phone and internet cables directly into the test socket. This has massively improved the performance of my internet (it was really patchy before). Is it safe for me to leave it like this? Or does it really need the clip off plate on?
If I bought a replacement NTE5c MK2 could I just use the new clip off plate with the old socket?
Thanks, Matt
You could do either! However, the filtered faceplate has a better record than the dangly microfilters, so a new faceplate would be my preference. I think that you can get them on eBay. Rob.
Thanks very much.