ADSL master socket..

Do you have DSL filters in the master and all extension sockets in use?

Any sockets in use (including the master) need a microfilter connected.
 
Do you have DSL filters in the master and all extension sockets in use?

Any sockets in use (including the master) need a microfilter connected.


Filter on the master with the router for sure and Im 99% sure there is one on the phone too in the living room.
 
I used a cheap ribbon cable extension lead and tacked it out the window outside the house and in another window upstairs.

I lost no speed using my sky fibre 40 meg internet and had no problems with it at all.

As long as the main socket only has wires 2 and 5 connected and no orange ringwire you should get full speed at that socket, If it's like my daughters house then you may have 2 sets of wires 2 and 5 on the master socket and it could be that extra extension cable causing the problem.

Try to just have 1 wire with the wires 2 and 5 on the master socket and test, Have no phone connected to test it, with just the router plugged in as some problems can arise when you use cordless phones.
 
Thanks guys, Im gonna have to get these uni exams out the way with then spend a day/couple of days tackling it.

As the router cut out tonight and completely kicked me off the wifi (as if the router is losing power) I have to reconnect to the network each time and this was whilst plugged into the kitchen extension.

Think I'll have all extensions removed and then complete new one put in. Master > living room > bedroom.

Oh and I checked, living room phone DOES have a microfilter on.
 
Ok so little update, tonight I tried the router in the living room socket which is on the same wall as the master, just on the other side of it. I think somewhere this is the probably cause for fault on the lines.

Running a speediest the results were all over the place, one minute it could barely reach 2.0Mbps and the next it was sitting steady at 6.0Mbps (still slow for the 11 I should be getting). Ping was also very erratic, one minute it was 19ms, then 100+.

I don't think Im gonna be able to tackle this problem alone though as this is the state of the inside of the master socket







I think Im just going to get all extensions in the house removed/killed off. And have one new one put in again in the living room with some decent cabling next to the old one and have the router there for now. All devices will just have to go wireless.

Presume that shouldn't be too much of a problem for online gaming and such? nothing competitive, just don't want to introduce lots of latency.
 
All of those wires you're showing should be for the internal extensions. The Telco's side of the wiring will be inside the master socket. From the look of it you have three extensions?

Test your speed by plugging into the test port you've exposed by removing the front plate.

You should be able to pull all of the wires without hurting anything except for the extensions.

If you're careful you should be able to disconnect all of the extensions except for the one you want to use. Once you're down to a single extension just leave the blue pair connected.
 
From the looks of things you also may have the ring wire connected? It's worth removing that as that can cause interference and cause a drop in speed.
 
Oh right ok, so the telco side of the wiring is from behind the faceplate where it says "kingston communications" ???


Yeah 3 extensions, don't want to use any of them to be honest as they all seem to cause the internet to frequently disconnect (never used to, just started recently) ...or ridiculously slow speeds.

I have tested my speed in there and left the router in it for a couple of days with absolutely zero problems. Speeds in the test port have a 50% increase over the internal extensions.

Can a new faceplate be fitted with a socket in the front for use on the master? Rather than the test socket which stops all the internet extensions from working whilst its in use or "unplugged" like in the pictures above.
 
From the looks of things you also may have the ring wire connected? It's worth removing that as that can cause interference and cause a drop in speed.

Ok thanks, excuse my ignorance which one is the ring wire?


It is worth pulling all of the wires except for the blue pairs. That would leave all of the extensions live but with the least chance of interference.


Thanks man, another stupid question here - I presume "blue pairs" includes the white wires with small blue tags and not just the solid blue wires?
 
The extensions only need the blue pair to work; blue/white + white/blue (2 & 5). All of the other wiring can only do harm.

In the past a third wire (the ring wire) was required. It is no longer required and can pickup interference.
 
I'll just take a pair of snippers to all the other numbers then.

See how that goes I guess. Doubt it will give me my 4-5Mbps back that Im currently 'down' in the extension sockets?


EDIT: so all the other wires are just ring wires?
 
Shall do, tomorrow... Then I'll report back, see if its helped.

If I fit a new box, literally on the other side of the wall, Im pretty sure I could do it myself now I know what all the wires are for. Doesn't seem so daunting.
 
Thanks, we have several extensions. one in the living room, one in the kitchen and one in the bedroom.

The kitchen one we do not use.

However tonight I got a phone call on my mobile saying why aren't I answering my house phone. Apparently its just ringing and ringing, but its not at my end and there is no dialling tone when I pick it up, it is plugged into the living room extension.

This has all occurred since plugging the router into the master socket last night as the phones were working fine during the day, is this normal for this to happen?

Not been able to unplug the router and check to see if the phones start working again, although I presume they will as I have an uninterruptible download going on currently.


So I will have to daisy chain the living room and bedroom extensions, unless I can just run them separately? or is daisy chaining the best?

I presume it will lower my speeds even further though by having more than 1 extension daisy chained?

STOP EVERYTHING YOU ARE DOING WITH THE EXTENSION WIRING

If the phone your end is not ringing the first steps you should take is ensure it is not the extensions causing the issue first.

1. Plug a landline phone one known to work (or if possible have two to make sure) into the MASTER TEST socket. This is the phone socket behind the faceplate as shown in your pictures.
2. Ring the person on your mobile and ask them to recall your home number to see if it now rings.
3. If it does then the extension wiring is likely at fault THEN you can start ripping that to bits. If it still does not ring then it is either
A) Dodgy Master faceplate (normally the ring capcitor in the faceplate)
B) Faulty or loose wiring from from drop wire outside to master socket (IE the incoming line to the socket is loose or has a fault, these wires are behind the socket, you will likely have to remove it FULLY from the wall to check the incoming A&B wires are connected)
C) Actual fault on the line (as suggested by misschief)
D) Faulty telephone (thats why i said try with one known to work or 2 different if you have 2 phones available)

Everything except C (and possibly a bit of B depending on how far you want to dig) above you should and can check first, if its B or C then ripping out the extensions will not help. a single bit.

If possible also connect modem/router to MASTER TEST socket with a known working xDSL line filter and check speeds, if it is then consistent that will point to internal wiring, if it is not consistent then again its line fault or incoming pair badly connected.


Regardless although your extensions look old the philosiphy of rip them all out before you have tested and tested some more is 110% wrong.

The advice about what pairs to leave i also suggest you double check. The connectors for all those extension wires should be numbered on the faceplate (normally molded in the plastic). You need wires to be in pins 2 and 5. Normally it is the blue and blue/white wires as another poster said BUT DOUBLE CHECK those are actually in pins 2 and 5 first, DO NOT just assume the colour coding has been followed correctly.

As to what the other pins do.......
Pin 1 is Not used unless you have some alarm or a PBX or in rare case second incoming line (IE you have 2 phone numbers or more, pay line rental for more than one line etc)
Pin 2 is B wire from the incoming drop wire and is one that is used by phones and modems
Pin 3 is the ring/bell wire, normally orange or orange and white in colour, not often needed with modern phones as they often have their own ring circuit built into the phone. Line filters likewise also have a ring capacitor so anything connected to a line filter does not need this wire....... Old phones and PULSE dial rather than TONE dial phones will STILL need it to ring.
Pin 4 is used for Earth in PABX systems not needed for most home phones but often used by old school engineers for neatness, it will not normally affect speed at all unlike the bell/ring wire.
Pin 5 is A wire from the incoming drop wire. IE The brother to Pin 2.
Pin 6 is cousin to Pin 1 and is used or not used in most case for the reasons described for pin 1 above.

Basically pins 1&6 would work together where/when required. Pin 2&5 work together for all home installs, Pin 3 is ringer and 4 is earth. (if you leave pin 3 connected leave pin 4 it wont hurt further and in anything is good for surge to the ring capacitor).

More infor for replacing internal extensions with CAT5/e/6 cable can be found here...
http://www.rob-r.co.uk/other/UKphonecatwiring.htm
Use that as your bible for phone wiring.

PS if you are going to get serious with wiring extensions or even wire network your house BUY THE RIGHT TOOLS FIRST a flat head screwdriver is fine for the odd extension but it will often need wires to be pushed down more than once.
 
Last edited:
Sorry should have mentioned more clearly, the phone was NOT ringing when plugged into the living room extension WHEN the router was being used in the master socket.

At the time I did not realise that using the test socket basically disconnects all the extensions whilst in use. A phone in the test socket or when the router is removed from the test socket does work.



Anyways little update, friend of the family (well its my mothers cousin) is a (just) retired telephone engineer. He's coming round tomorrow to take a look and do any work I want. Probably just going to get the 3 extensions removed for now and one new one put in, or rewire the living room one and disconnect the others as that is the closest one to make it simple.

I will provide my own materials, so now I need some good cabling about a 6-7ft length to be on the safe side. I presume he has all the tools he needs still, I just need to provide materials and the job is free essentially.



So can anyone tell me what cable I need and where I can buy it from to ensure best quality, I just want the best end product to maintain the high speeds of the master and be future proof/long lasting ???

Also do I/should I fit some new faceplates at the same time?




Thanks in advance.
 
Last edited:
UPDATE:

I am officially at my wits end with this internet!!!


Got the living room extension rewired today using cat5e.

Speeds have improved from the 3.8 I did get in this room to 5.5!!

Still no where near the 11Mbps second I am getting 5 foot away at the master socket. What on earth is going on? :(
 
Sorry should have mentioned more clearly, the phone was NOT ringing when plugged into the living room extension WHEN the router was being used in the master socket.

At the time I did not realise that using the test socket basically disconnects all the extensions whilst in use. A phone in the test socket or when the router is removed from the test socket does work.

First sorry for a bit of a late reply.........

If everything works as it should when connected to the TEST socket (IE socket behind the master faceplate) phone rings etc etc then that is/was an extension wiring issue.

I will provide my own materials, so now I need some good cabling about a 6-7ft length to be on the safe side. I presume he has all the tools he needs still, I just need to provide materials and the job is free essentially.

So can anyone tell me what cable I need and where I can buy it from to ensure best quality, I just want the best end product to maintain the high speeds of the master and be future proof/long lasting ???

Look around on fleabay etc and buy some SOLID CORE CAT5E/CAT6 cable do NOT use stranded cable for extension sockets. Normally id suggest buying a 50,100 or 300+M reel but you need so little fleabay will probably be the best bet for 5-10(ish) Metre lengths. AVOID anything named CCA you want 100% copper solid cable.

Also do I/should I fit some new faceplates at the same time?

If it were me id replace the extension sockets as it could be one of them or the extension wiring. Leave the master alone if phones etc work in that.

UPDATE:

I am officially at my wits end with this internet!!!


Got the living room extension rewired today using cat5e.

Speeds have improved from the 3.8 I did get in this room to 5.5!!

Still no where near the 11Mbps second I am getting 5 foot away at the master socket. What on earth is going on? :(

Give it a week or two, where you had an issue DLM (digital line management) takes a bit of time to realise the problem has been fixed. IF after 2 weeks it has not improved further then contact the ISP.
 
Back
Top Bottom