I originally posted this as a response to questions in the forum, I thought as a lot of people are asking about this I would post it in a new thread to make it easy to find. Might be an idea to make it a sticky.
I-Plate
The BT I-Plate is aimed at people who are not willing or able to do any wiring. You simply unscrew the faceplate on your NTE5 master socket, plug the I-Plate in and then screw the original faceplate back on.
The I-Plate is not a replacement for ADSL filters or a filtered faceplate. You will still need to use filters when an I-Plate is installed. If you already have a filtered faceplate you should NOT install an I-Plate as the function of the I-Plate is already performed by the filtered faceplate.
What the I-Plate does is isolates one of the wires (the ring signal) on your extension wiring to prevent interference being picked up on this wire. The I-Plate will only therefore provide any improvement to people who have extension wiring that is picking up interference on the ring wire.
Filtered Faceplate
A filtered faceplate requires that you remove any wires from the existing plate and connect them to the new filtered faceplate. It is a very simple job, all you have to do is remove the wires and then the wires that were originally on terminals 2,3 & 5 need to be re-connected to the terminals marked 2,3 & 5 on the new faceplate.
A filtered faceplate is a replacement for ADSL microfilters. Once fitted you will no longer need to install microfilters on the extensions. However you will need to connect your modem/router to the master socket, unless you have wired a separate unfiltered extension. For best results it is always best to try and get your modem as close to the master socket as possible.
What a filtered faceplate does is filter out the ADSL signal from all of the extension wiring, not just the ring signal. As a result this gives you the best possible results as none of the wires in the extension wiring can interfere with the ADSL signal as it has been filtered at the master socket.
Determine if an I-Plate or Filtered Faceplate will help you
Before you rush out and buy either a filtered faceplate or I-Plate there is a simple check that you can do to determine if there is likely to be any improvement by installing one.
Locate your master, and first check that it is a proper NTE5 with a removable section on it like this ...
1. Unscrew the front and unplug the bottom section, this will reveal a test socket in the back.
2. Plug a microfilter into the test socket and connect your modem to it. Don't connect a phone at this point and test the connection.
Do you see an improvement ?
YES: Then a filtered faceplate or I-Plate will help.
NO: Then neither the I-Plate or filtered faceplate will help.
What Next ?
Assuming you found an improvement with the test above then your best option is to fit a filtered faceplate. If however you are scared of moving wires as many people will be then an I-Plate is the second best option.
Remember there is NO point in using both a filtered faceplate and I-Plate together.
Buyers Guide
Filtered faceplates can be purchased from the following on-line retailers.
ADSL Nation
Clarity
Run-IT-Direct
Solwise
The BT I-Plate can be purchased from.
BroadbandBuyer
Linear Mode
