VDSL Help Please

bluestu69

bluestu69

bluestu69

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Joined
15 Mar 2019
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5
Hello - I would be very grateful if anyone is able to offer me some help - I should start with the fact I am not particularly technical.

I have been having intermittent dropouts with my VDSL connection and my ISP sent me list of things I should do before they would raise a ticket with BT (the line check showed no faults - just lots of drop outs).

One of these things to try was to replace the filter being used. I don't have a plug in filter as it's built into the faceplate, so I purchased a new faceplate. I was under the impression it would simply being a case of taking the old and replacing with the new one, but when I removed the current faceplate I noticed 2 things:-

1) The orientation of the block where the wires go in was horizontal in the existing faceplate and horizontal on the new one (I guess this probably doesn't make much difference).
2) There were no wires going into the faceplate on the existing plate - they instead go into the back part of the box.

For now I've returned everything back as it was as I wanted to get a view on whether this was a normal setup.

I've attached a couple of pictures.

1. Is the back part of the old faceplate where the wires go in https://flic.kr/p/24A1gyB
2. Is the reverse of the old faceplate https://flic.kr/p/Rrb4PP
3. Is the front of the old faceplate https://flic.kr/p/2dNEyta
4. Is the front of the new faceplate https://flic.kr/p/2dNEyta
5. Is the reverse of the new faceplate https://flic.kr/p/2dNEyCt
 
Do you have other phone extensions at your house? If that is your actual master socket it looks to me like it’s not been wired correctly. You should only have a pair of wires connected on the back of the master socket, I believe they might be your red and black wires. These come from your street cabinet to your house to provide your phone and ADSL/VDSL ‘fibre’ broadband. Is phone line served via overhead drop wire or via underground duct?

From your pictures it looks to me like someone has connected another socket/extension to the back part of the master socket - I think these are the blue and white/blue wires. Any extensions should be connected to the faceplate filter so they can be isolated when you use the test socket.

That wiring set up could well be causing you to loose sync speed and drop-outs.
 
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Hello - thanks for the relply.

The line comes from an underground duct.

There is an extension but its not used so i could remove the wires you reference.

The bit that surprised me was that there was no wires in the front part of the old faceplate but from your reply it doesn’t sound like there needs to be?
 
Yes, I would definitely disconnect the extension wires connected to the back box. If you need the extension in future the wires need to be connected via the faceplate, not the back box. I would also ensure the wires providing your connection are twisted right up to where the secure to the back box, this prevents interference. I would also tape up the wires going to the extension to isolate them completely.

The only connection between the back box and the faceplate filter is the single BS6312 plug as seen on the back of the new faceplate.

I would be tempted to purchase a NTE5C MK2 master socket + filtered faceplate:
51okm0.jpg
.

What VDSL modem/router do you use? I’d be tempted to check the sync speed before and after. I suspect you’ll see an increase in sync speed as well as reduced drop-outs after you remove the extension :)

You should also be aware that any wiring behind your master socket is property of Openreach and they can charge if they come out and suspect you’ve been tampering with it!
 
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Normally the pair used is blue and blue/white. If you have a multimeter, measure across the two wires and you should have 48V DC. Also test the other pair connected. These should have no voltage if it is the extension.
Connect the ones that have voltage to the back of the master and try again.
 
Well I removed the 2 wires (blue with white bands and white with blue bands), leaving the black and red wires in place. No phone signal.
So I reconnected as it was at the start, but this time with the new vdsl faceplate and everything works as before.
Sorry i dont gave a multi meter so can’t check the voltage but i guess the above indicates there is something going on with those 2 wires.
 
Good going!! Now just sit back and wait to see if stability improves. If not and as Meatball states, I've seen a proper BT faceplate recommended over third party ones. Unsure why, Possibly due to internal filtering.
Can you get any stats from the modem?
 
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