I have mentioned this problem before but things are now baffling me and driving me mad..
I have 6 telephone sockets in this new house,the main BT one behind the front door and 5 extension (slaves).
I have a corded phone which works from all 6 sockets and a digital non corded phone which works, but is a bit crackly at times.
My broadband connection (adsl modem) on my pc is on one of the slave sockets and some weeks ago I couldn't connect to the internet.
All I got was an error message telling me there was no dialling tone then suddenly the problem disappeared.....until 3 days ago.
Using an telephone extension lead I have found that all of the slaves and the main BTsocket give the same result.... no connection.
However, removing the face plate from the BT box behind the front door the and plugging the extension lead into the BT test socket allows connection:loopy::loopy::loopy:
Can anyone (from a BT engineer??) please explain what the problem is and how it can be fixed.
Why are the phones working but not my broad band?

If it works in the test socket then it sounds like an internal wiring problem rather than an internet connection problem. That would be the first thing to check, I don't know who would be able to do this apart from a BT engineer.

The only thing I can think of is that when I plug the face plate back in to the test plug there may be a fault in the wiring of the face plate itself.
I think that asking a BT engineer to call could cost a lot!!

If the problem lies inside the main box, then isn't that their (BT's) problem?

Don't they always say they work upto that point and not beyond?


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I may have overlooked it, but do you have filters on all 6 sockets?

I may have overlooked it, but do you have filters on all 6 sockets?
I only have filters on the sockets that I use.

Removing the faceplate disconnects the internal wiring from the circuit, so basically this is causing interference that is stopping your ADSL from working. This isn't an issue with the master socket, therefore if you report this to your ISP as a fault and BT come out to fix it you'll get charged for the visit (£144 + vat!)

Your best bet is to buy a filtered master socket faceplate and fit this either yourself (or get someone in to fit it - NOT BT as their engineers are not cheap). While this will mean you can only plug your ADSL equipment into the master socket (meaning you might need to buy an ADSL router instead of your existing modem), it will resolve the fault and may well increase the connection speed.

Filtered faceplates can be found:
http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/MFR/ShopDetail.asp?ProductID=3306

Maplin also sell them if you aren't too happy buying online, but it'll be more expensive.

Hope that helps,

Removing the faceplate disconnects the internal wiring from the circuit, so basically this is causing interference that is stopping your ADSL from working. This isn't an issue with the master socket, therefore if you report this to your ISP as a fault and BT come out to fix it you'll get charged for the visit (£144 + vat!)

Your best bet is to buy a filtered master socket faceplate and fit this either yourself (or get someone in to fit it - NOT BT as their engineers are not cheap). While this will mean you can only plug your ADSL equipment into the master socket (meaning you might need to buy an ADSL router instead of your existing modem), it will resolve the fault and may well increase the connection speed.

Filtered faceplates can be found:
http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/MFR/ShopDetail.asp?ProductID=3306

Maplin also sell them if you aren't too happy buying online, but it'll be more expensive.

Hope that helps,

Orbrey,
Can you tell me why the when I replace the face plate, which plugs into the test socket, the socket on the front of the face plate doesn't work with my internet connection.
Aren't the two directly connected?
Or does the wiring from the test socket to the socket on the face plate "go round the houses" literally and metaphorically!
The other q is "only the bottom front half of the main box comes off ,does the filtered face plate on the web site you give fit this half ?

Are you saying that you can only get a connection from your main socket?

That will more than likely be because a phone extension isn't designed to support DSL and you may, but unlikely to be able to carry a DSL connection through any extensions or slave lines...

Basically, when you start connecting slaves you start bridging the connections and therefore gradually lose strength...I think, from my brief research.

Have a look on here (http://www.telephonesuk.co.uk/network_codes.htm)

My guess is that you have a problem on the wiring to one of the slave sockets. If the modem works in the internal socket but not in the front socket when it's plugged in, it will more than likely be a short on one of the cables.

The only way to find out if this is the case, the wires that go from the front socket to the slaves will have to be disconnected, then the front plugged back in & tried again.

If there is still a problem, then it is the front that is at fault. These can go faulty, as a friend of mine had to have it replaced by BT. I don't beleve he was charged for it but I'm not sure. Ring them & ask.

When you say a new house, do you mean a brand new house? - It would be the builders job to replace it if it was.

6 sockets sounds a bit excessive. I remember the days of REN limits on your phone lines. Does that still apply?

My guess is that you have a problem on the wiring to one of the slave sockets. If the modem works in the internal socket but not in the front socket when it's plugged in, it will more than likely be a short on one of the cables.

The only way to find out if this is the case, the wires that go from the front socket to the slaves will have to be disconnected, then the front plugged back in & tried again.

If there is still a problem, then it is the front that is at fault. These can go faulty, as a friend of mine had to have it replaced by BT. I don't beleve he was charged for it but I'm not sure. Ring them & ask.

When you say a new house, do you mean a brand new house? - It would be the builders job to replace it if it was.

Yes this is a new build.
The main socket is in the hall behind the front door which makes the installation of router as suggested by orbrey ifficultdi.
There are phone sockets in 5 other rooms (the builder calls them slaves) and all the wiring is in the walls. I can plug a phone into each and make and receive calls.
When I take the front plate off the main socket there are a mass of wires only 4 of which connect to 4 terminals.
I have emailed BT and am awaiting a reply,I've also got the builder involved as the place is guaranteed for 2 years.
At the moment I have got telephone extension lead plugged into the test socket and have run it up the staircase to my spare room that houses my PC.
I have to take it down at night in case we trip over it!!!!!!!!
Why was I able to get an ADSL connection before using the "slave"in my spare room and why has it suddenly failed?

If there is a damaged wire it can work for a while, but then suddenly fail intermittently. If it was a mains cable it would blow a fuse, but a BT wire can be shorted out without causing any damage whatsoever.
When I moved into this house my router wouldn't work upstairs, but in my case whoever wired up the sockets only connected one of the wires instead of two, so there was no connection to the upstairs extension socket. Luckily I have the knowledge & tools to do it myself.

Can you tell me why the when I replace the face plate, which plugs into the test socket, the socket on the front of the face plate doesn't work with my internet connection.
Aren't the two directly connected?
Or does the wiring from the test socket to the socket on the face plate "go round the houses" literally and metaphorically!

Exactly that - the internal wiring from the house is connected to the pins on the back of that plate, and is connected when the plug on the back fits in to the test socket. The problem is caused by this wiring, that's why it doesn't work when you reconnect it.

As far as I know the filter faceplates are designed to fit on the master socket and as such wll be removable (the test socket is an essential test point, after all).

As a couple of other people have mentioned in this thread, the fault is on the internal wiring and fitting the faceplate will basically filter the ADSL signal from all other sockets thus removing the problem.

As BluePolo says: The only way to find out if this is the case, the wires that go from the front socket to the slaves will have to be disconnected, then the front plugged back in & tried again.

This is done when you remove the bottom of your existing faceplate anyway so you have proved the issue. The filtered faceplate will fix this.

Hope that helps,

6 sockets sounds a bit excessive. I remember the days of REN limits on your phone lines. Does that still apply?

I was wondering that too...


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I was wondering that too...


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I've not got a telephone on all of them:o
It's bad enough having a mobile and and an ordinary phone.

I have solved the problem of my lack of internet connection.

I had an ex BT engineer check all the sockets and renew the BT face plate on the main box but he could find nothing wrong with either the BT side or my wiring.
However, he could not explain why I could use the sockets for incoming and outgoing phone calls but not broadband.
I disconnected EVERY electrical item and phone in the house and found that I could connect to the internet using the front socket on the main BT box AND all the slave phone sockets throughout the house:huh:
The adsl light on the modem was stable.
I then plugged an electrical item into the mains , checked the adsl light was stable and turned it on and checked again.
I did this for EVERYTHING and found that the problem was my DVD PLAYER.
Turning it on at the wall socket was ok, adsl stable, BUT turning the player on and the adsl light flashed and all internet connection was lost and could only be recovered when the DVD player was switched off.
The DVD player is downstairs and connected to the TV by a scart cable,the pc upstairs.
Can anyone explain how a non telephony item can influence a broadband connection?
This has driven me almost to despair and I amknackered from running up and down stairs all morning:gag:

More useful information can be found on Kitz's site (http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/lowSNR.htm) scroll down to bottom of page. :)

EMC - Electromagnetic Compatibility.

I'm a radio amateur and we get all sorts of weird interference from modern electronic equipment - often the power supplies of cheap kit from the Far East, but not always.

All equipment produces lowlevels of radio noise when it runs - there are regulations that restrict the size of the interfering signals, but all equipment is supposed to be designed to withstand some degree of interference.

You probably have a relatively low level of broadband signal, such that even a relatively small interfering signal can cause the modem to lose synchronisation. If I put my hand held 2 metre amateur radio transceiver next to the router, and key the mike, I can occasionally force it to lose sync. and I like to think my house is pretty good from an EMC point of view.

What make of DVD player is it? If you can post the make and model number up I'll take a look online and see if there's anything known.

You might be intersted in this site:

http://www.rsgb.org/emc/emchelp.php

What you might try is wrapping the power cable for the DVD player around a ferrite rod, or getting a clip on ferrite filter. Is there a phone wire anywhere near the DVD player? I know that our DVD player is next to our Sky box, which has a phone connection. If there is, try putting an ADSL filter on the phone socket that the phone wire near the DVD player plugs in to.

2 weeks ago I e mailed BT with this problem.
I have just received a reply.

As you are able to use your line without any problem for normal telephony, you would incur a charge for an engineer to call-out to replace your main BT socket. Charges incurred would be as follows:-

One off call-out charge for the engineer - £116.33 including VAT

plus

Hourly rate for work carried out - £99.88 including VAT (minimum charged = 1 hour).

Gulp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!