router & phone problem

[Tugmistress]

sorry, just caught up on this.
the line comes into the house and at that first box there is an extension hardwired in which then goes into the living room. at the end of that is a small 'mobile' box (about 2" by 1" by .5") into which is plugged the filter into which is plugged the phone and the router cable.
have tried a different filter ... same result
what do i try?
idiot proof instructions please

[Bobinovich]

Hi Tuggs

It sounds like you've got everything set up correctly. Do you have any other phones or extensions plugged in? If so do these also have filters on?

[blueivy]

it's not the router that's the problem as i got given a brand new one from someone that went wireless and tried that and it's the same,so now bt is comeing out tomorrow to test from my end, hopefully know more then, they were more interested in telling me it would cost £64 plus vat if the problem was in the house but hopefully the problem is with the line

Glad BT are coming out to have a look. You've definitely got everything setup correctly. If you're sockets are all hard wired then you need a microfilter on each one as you have. It's pretty straightforward.

With regards to BT. I had a similar problem with them coming out but they wanted £105 + VAT if it was my fault. They now think they can bill me for this when the problem was at the master socket. Make sure when they come in that you get some sort of receipt as to what they've actually done. It may save you £64 + VAT.

[blueivy]

sorry, just caught up on this.
the line comes into the house and at that first box there is an extension hardwired in which then goes into the living room. at the end of that is a small 'mobile' box (about 2" by 1" by .5") into which is plugged the filter into which is plugged the phone and the router cable.
have tried a different filter ... same result
what do i try?
idiot proof instructions please

As Bobinovich said, if you have a phone in the first box as it comes into the hosue then you'll need a microfilter on there too.

As I said to Mr & Mrs Billy Boy if you have hard wired extensions then you need a microfilter at every box you have something plugged into.

[Tugmistress]

nope there is no phone in at the main entry box, just the hard wired extension ( i think lol) i will go and check it though

[blueivy]

nope there is no phone in at the main entry box, just the hard wired extension ( i think lol) i will go and check it though

If there is nothing in the first box then only the 'mobile box' should have a microfilter with the router plugged into the ADSL socket and phone plugged into the phone socket.

If that's the way it's setup then I'd do what I suggested to Mr & Mrs Billy Boy - try swapping the microfilter (which I think you said you'd done); try plugging everything into the master socket (if possible) to see if it cures the problem as it could be faulty wiring in the extension. If all of that fails I'd try BT and see if they can do a line test as it may simply be faulty wiring at BT's end.

[Tugmistress]

ok, thanks to bobinovich our problem is solved
it was the face plate of the main box!

[blueivy]

ok, thanks to bobinovich our problem is solved
it was the face plate of the main box!

Glad you got it sorted!

However BT don't like you messing with the master socket as it's 'theirs'.

[Tugmistress]

BT can go take a running jump lol
they are not going to charge me for changing that! and in anycase it was *their* suggestion we take it off!

[blueivy]

BT can go take a running jump lol
they are not going to charge me for changing that! and in anycase it was *their* suggestion we take it off!

BT wouldn't charge you for changing that if it's faulty. As I said everything up to the master socket (and including the master socket) is theirs. I believe it's an offence (although I think that goes back to the good ole days when they were a state owned service). Somebody will hopefully correct me.

If BT told you to change it however then you'e got the golden nod! Hopefully Mr & Mrs Billy Boy will have the same end result.

[Bobinovich]

BlueIvy - while you are right that BT wouldn't charge you if that was the problem, the point of the exercise was to confirm where the problem lay. Now that we have narrowed it down to the faceplate then the onus is back on BT to replace it.

Had BT been called out and the problem did turn out to be the router then Tuggs would almost certainly have incurred their usual charge.

With regard to taking the faceplate off, you are right again. BT do not want you doing this, but it was a BT engineer who passed on the necessary information. Since then I've had to do it loads of times in order to hardwire extension cables - much neater than plugging in at the front all the time. However, as you correctly state this time was under the instruction of the BT representative.

Anyway, all's well that ends well.

[blueivy]

BlueIvy - while you are right that BT wouldn't charge you if that was the problem, the point of the exercise was to confirm where the problem lay. Now that we have narrowed it down to the faceplate then the onus is back on BT to replace it.

Had BT been called out and the problem did turn out to be the router then Tuggs would almost certainly have incurred their usual charge.

With regard to taking the faceplate off, you are right again. BT do not want you doing this, but it was a BT engineer who passed on the necessary information. Since then I've had to do it loads of times in order to hardwire extension cables - much neater than plugging in at the front all the time. However, as you correctly state this time was under the instruction of the BT representative.

Anyway, all's well that ends well.

Bobinovich - please don't feel I was getting at you. I wasn't.

What I was trying to put across is that nobody is allowed to work on their master sockets. If somebody takes the faceplate off and breaks something, then they are liable for the damage and BT will charge them to fix it. If a BT Engineer tells you to take it off that's an entirely different matter (although if something did go wrong we all know BT would deny all knowledge and bill you anyway!).

I'd have tested the router elsewhere to make sure it wasn't that which was at fault, but then it could also be the hard wired extension etc. Working at the master socket and then working back is the best way of doing it under normal circumstances (BT's rules aside).

I've opened the master socket dozens of time and wired extensions, moved them, trimmed them down, fitted new boxes etc. etc. but only on my own and my family's. I know how to do it but that doesn't mean I am allowed to! I'd never do this at a customers property as if something went wrong, you're liable for it! I leave working with the master socket to BT, that way they stay responsible! Just my way of working.

As you said, all's well that ends well. As long as Tugmistress has the problem sorted that's all that really matters at the end of the day.

What exactly did Tugmistress see when taking the faceplate off that pointed to the problem?

[Bobinovich]

I actually paid Tugmistress a visit and heard the awful crackle on the line. I asked to see the master socket to check if there was anything obvious there.

When Tuggs said that BT had recommended taking off the faceplate and plugging the phone directly into the internal test socket I figured that was as good a way to start as any.

We tried it and listened to the phone line - it was not perfect but was many times better than before. Plugging the faceplate back in and inserting the phone reduced the line quality back to it's original state. Hence we deduced that the faceplate was probably the main culprit.

Once a new faceplate has been attached they will not only get better phone line quality, they may very well have an improved internet connection too, due to the cleaner signal.

[Billy Boy]

Glad BT are coming out to have a look. You've definitely got everything setup correctly. If you're sockets are all hard wired then you need a microfilter on each one as you have. It's pretty straightforward.

With regards to BT. I had a similar problem with them coming out but they wanted £105 + VAT if it was my fault. They now think they can bill me for this when the problem was at the master socket. Make sure when they come in that you get some sort of receipt as to what they've actually done. It may save you £64 + VAT.

just thought i would let you know that bt found the fault to be a loose wire in junction box at the end of my garden,

[blueivy]

just thought i would let you know that bt found the fault to be a loose wire in junction box at the end of my garden,

Excellent! Problem solved.

Now all you have to worry about is whether they bill you now - the problem was at their end, but that doesn't seem to worry them (I'm a little bias I'm afraid!).

[Kirdon]

Anyone with what bt class as an NTE5 socket (that is one with the split front and test socket inside) can open the faceplate and make use of the test socket thus disconnecting any "hardwired extns" and testing direct on bt's line. Asking bt to increase the gain on a broadband line is a waste of time as the gain only affects the speech and not the digital ADSL.

[Bobinovich]

Thanks for that Kirdon - it's useful to know for sure.