House wiring...

[bmrpl]

Hi there,
It looks like my broadband stopped working. Contacted helpline and they told me to test my telephone line via the test socket. Easy said, as I'm not too sure which one is the master socket and none of these has a test socket... Found 3 telephone sockets in the house and none of these fit any standard master socket description. Without testing the line, if bt open reach engineer comes to test it the may charge me for nothing if the fault is within my property...
The first socket is in living room on the front wall has satellite cables inside as well as a single telephone cable connected to it (pic 1-2)
Second in the hallway - there's lots of cables but the socket isn't even live as everything is bypassed... (Pic 3-4)
Third, double one upstairs (pic5)
None of the sockets does look like a master to me...
One more thing - we don't use landline so no handset to check if line is live however when ringing myself from mobile there's a ringing signal so I guess the line is OK...

Thank you for your help!!

[seawright]

As you say none of the sockets look like a master socket. Do you know where the telephone line enters your property and is the cable underground or overhead?
If underground, is there an external NTE similar to the one shown in this diagram?

Was any work either professional or DiY being carried out in the property around the time that your broadband stopped working?

[bmrpl]

Hi seawright,

Thanks for your response. The cable comes from underground and there's nothing overhead. The box outside front door looks very similar to the one on your pic but didn't open it as this is bt's property I guess?

There was nothing done in the property recently at all, I was in a process of switching between normal and fiber broadband and that's when it stopped working. Sky says they identified and rectified problem, yet I still don't have Internet. They ask me to check the test socket before asking engineer to come again as this could result in me being charged if the fault is within the property...

Thanks again!

[seawright]

Here's another picture, this time with the lid shut.

They have been known to cause problems with fibre broadband. Open the lid and visually inspect inside. If the line terminating module has been bypassed then the problem will be elsewhere. If not then you should contact Sky and explain that your broadband hasn't worked since changing to fibre and that you have an external NTE. Ask for an engineer's visit to fit a master socket at the property. As you don't use a telephone the engineer can leave all your internal extension wiring disconnected.

[bmrpl]

I've managed to open the box and that's what's inside:


Not sure where the line terminating module is to be honest.

Would the bt / sky charge me for installing a master socket inside the property? From what I could see I could do it myself but not sure which point to choose....

[seawright]

As things stand, all the telephone wiring within your property is your responsibility. Yes, you could fit a master socket yourself but the LTM within the external NTE would need to be bypassed which officially you are not allowed to do. It would be far better to let an Openreach engineer install the master socket for you. You shouldn't be charged for this work (but check with Sky by explaining the situation as outlined in my previous post). The provision of a test socket would make any future fault finding easier and would also mean that the cabling between the external NTE and your master socket would be adopted by BTO. They may also fit a VDSL faceplate for you free of charge.

[bmrpl]

Thank you so much seawright!

As per your advice, I spoke to customer service again and told them about the master socket issue. The engineer is on his way and should install one on Wednesday. They are not charging me for that so happy days!!

You saved the day, I really appreciate it!!