Try your master socket for better results

[akita]

On behalf of all those poor souls who, like me, have an 'old' socket - any ideas as to how we may persuade BT to change it for a new one? I did try some time ago - my main socket was loose & giving it a little poke had it hanging off the wall; I phoned BT about it, explained that I thought my SNR should be higher & I thought the socket might be to blame - they just asked if it was working ... and when I said yes (pretty obvious as I was phoning them using it ..!), they thought that was good enough ...

[NewsreadeR]

I thought they would replace it foc - I may be wrong though

/awaits confirmation from someone who knows

[akita]

^^ I'm sure I've read that they charge about £70 .... that is, if they consider it's not the cause of whatever you've reported ...

[jaydee]

Hi all. Just sharing my experiences after fitting the ADSL Nation XTE2005 faceplate today.

Noise margin figures up to around 15db from 6db or less at peak times. For the first time since the service began (18/9) my router has stayed connected all evening without needing a power off reset.

I found that the ringing wire on pin 3 (orange/white) has to be connected at both the faceplate and in the extension sockets to make the phones ring.

The ADSL pair on the faceplate is connected via standard BT cable to an extension near my PC with no noticeable difference in noise margin compared to direct connection on the faceplate's ADSL socket. I have two phone extensions on the ground floor and the ADSL pair goes upstairs.

Looks like they got it right with this one.

John

[Saturday]

Originally Posted by akita

any ideas as to how we may persuade BT to change it for a new one?

BT will replace it for free if it is faulty and is impacting your voice calls. They have no interest if it is affecting your ADSL.

I'd be really surprised if you aren't getting intermittent noise problems (hissing/clicks/crackles) on your voice calls if your socket isn't properly fixed. Intermittent problems are hard to detect and of course may not be evident when an engineer is at your premises.

It is unlikely that an engineer would leave without fitting a new socket unless he/she is having a bad day! When the engineer replaces your old socket with a new NTE5 he/she may well fit a filtered (ADSL adaptor) faceplate for you if you ask nicely. Otherwise order one and fit it yourself to the new BT socket.

If you call out an engineer to replace a non faulty socket the charge is £65 (+VAT?) I believe.

[ianb11]

For all those poor souls )like me) that aren't that technically minded can someone clarify if I this faceplate will be any good for me?

I have 2 BT sockets, 1 used for the phone & 1 used solely for broadband. Is it worth me replacing the front plate for this one? Is it really that easy to put in? Lastly, are BT bothered that you are messing around with their stuff?

Thanks!

[Saturday]

Can't say from the info you've given.

If you have one line and two sockets then one is the master and the other an extension off it. You must connect a filtered faceplate to the master not the extension.

You need to post your stats then probably try a connection to your test socket.

As long as you have a modern NTE5 master socket then fitting a new faceplate is pretty easy.

[NewsreadeR]

Ian

The only true way to find out, is to locate the master socket, unscrew the 2 small screws and the faceplate should just come off.

Plug you router into the BT socket on the right hand side (behind where the faceplate you just removed was) and record your stats.

If the stats are higher ie they go from say 3mb to 7mb then it is definitely worth while.

As long as you dont take the whole box off the wall, BT should not be bothered.

[ianb11]

I do indeed have 1 line & 2 sockets but from where they are situated I would guess I currently connect the router to the extension. It would near enough impossible for me to connect it to the master as it's through 3 rooms.

Is there any benefit fitting a faceplate to the extension?

[youravinalarrrf]

Only one way to tell.

Log into your router whist plugged into the extension (current location) and get your stats then move router and PC to master socket plug in there (NB you might need to borrow a lead from a phone to connect your router) and get your stats then remove bottom half of master socket and plug into the test socket behind it and again get your stats.

Post all 3 sets of stats here and we can advise you.

I had a similar situation to you (quite a distance between master socket and location of PC) and after doing the tests simply bought a ADSLNation XTE-2005 filtered faceplate and put one of these into my PC. Router now plugged into filtered faceplate and I connect wirelessly to it.

In my particular situation the speed almost doubled!!!