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DSL sync problems on a house without a standard BT master socket

gyre
Grafter
Posts: 271
Registered: ‎19-11-2007

DSL sync problems on a house without a standard BT master socket

Hi folks.
My mum decided she was going to have the Internet.  So, being a dutiful son, I immediately signed her up to plusnet, since it has worked so well for me over the last year.
Activation day arrived, and so did the free plusnet-flashed speedtouch 585v7 wireless router.
I connected everything up and noticed the router won't ever sync.  The 'broadband' light just flashes.  Never goes stable, and therefore of course the 'internet' light is never on.
Odd, I thought.  I have a 585v6 at home, and it was really good for staying connected.  So I checked out Mum's wiring...
The house is around 25 years old.  It doesn't have a BT standard master socket.  It has one wire entering the premises by the front door, and then some kind of plastic cover on the inside of the house from which 2 phone wires emerge.  One goes to a phone socket upstairs.  One downstairs.
Both sets of wires were fitted by BT, and are quite long runs of cable.
I've tried the router connected to both internal sockets, with nothing connected but microfilters.  I just cannot get it to sync.
Another fly in the ointment is that there are 2 large radio transmitter masts in the field behind the house.  You could get a radio reception on your teeth if you licked your finger and touched a radiator Smiley
It is my *guess* that the best way to resolve this would be for BT to come out and fit a standard master socket right next to the front door, where currently they have this odd cover.  I could then put an ADSL filterered faceplate on that and park the router right next to the socket reducing the effect of the interference.
So, a week and 1/2 ago I raised a fault with plusnet, offered my uninformed opinon and asked them to help me fix it.
I see from the trail of ticket (id: 28953878) replies is the problem being moved around between various internal groups, put on hold, removed from hold etc.  I think at one point BT was contacted to do something their end... but it's not clear from the ticket trail exactly what.  Only by ringing up did I find out that I was supposed to have told plusnet whether the problem was now fixed or not.
I'm not trying to complain.  I'm just not sure where I should go from here.  I'm getting grief from my Mum about no Internet access on a daily basis Smiley Smiley
Should I be contacting BT myself and asking them to fit a socket, or should I hope that at some point plusnet will call out a BT engineer to look at the BT-fitted wiring of the house and see why I'm not getting a sync?  Or perhaps there is a better approach to solving the problem entirely.
The estimate for what speed my Mum should be getting is around 5mbit/s.  The exchange is pretty local.  The fact I can't get a connection at all has to be due to wiring and/or local interference or something similar.
Any help or opinions gratefully received.
-- gyre --
9 REPLIES 9
James
Grafter
Posts: 21,036
Thanks: 5
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: DSL sync problems on a house without a standard BT master socket

Hi Gyre,
Thanks for the little story Smiley
The problem might be related to the telephone socket, but it shouldn't be.  I'd be inclined to point initially at the hardware, line or exchange rather than the socket itself.
Have you tried using different filters or trying a different router?  Have you tried syncing the router with all other telephone devices detached?  If you can't get hold of another router to try, then I should be able to sort something out for you Smiley
gyre
Grafter
Posts: 271
Registered: ‎19-11-2007

Re: DSL sync problems on a house without a standard BT master socket

Hi Jamesh.  Thanks for coming to my rescue.  Smiley
I'm going down to see Mum in a couple of hours.  I'll take down my old 510v4 router just to see if I can get a sync with it.  I know this one does at least work, as I used it to diagnose a fault on my own line a week or so ago.
I'll also try a different set of filters while I'm there too.
Yup, I've tried both with and without the telephone devices attached.
On the shorter of the two lines, the 'broadband' light flashes continually (but never syncs).  On the longer of the two lines, the 'broadband' light flashes intermittantly.  That's what made me think that interference due to the length of the internal line might be an issue.
In a case like this, I'd normally go down to the master socket and remove wire 3, the bell wire and just leave wires 2 and 5 connected.  But as there isn't a socket, it's not clear to me where BT's boundary is... and I don't wish to tamper with stuff I shouldn't be touching.
Thanks.
-- gyre --
James
Grafter
Posts: 21,036
Thanks: 5
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: DSL sync problems on a house without a standard BT master socket

Cheers - Let me know how you get on with the router and I'll get something raised with BT if it's still not working.
gyre
Grafter
Posts: 271
Registered: ‎19-11-2007

Re: DSL sync problems on a house without a standard BT master socket

Thanks, will do.
-- gyre --
itsme
Grafter
Posts: 5,924
Thanks: 3
Registered: ‎07-04-2007

Re: DSL sync problems on a house without a standard BT master socket

Take the faceplates of both of the sockets and remove the wires going to terminals 3 and 4.
One of the sockets will be a master, probably the one downstairs, you can determine which one as the master will have components fitted.. How BT has wired them up would be 2 wires coming into the house terminated in the connecting block, the blue/white pair from each cable connected to these and the orange/white pair connected to another two terminals in the connection block going to terminals 3 and 4 in the two sockets.
To upgrade to a NTE master will require another cable to be run in. There are a couple of options how to do this but the 'proper way will to remove the cable from the connecting block to the extension and replace this with a new cable going from the master.
gyre
Grafter
Posts: 271
Registered: ‎19-11-2007

Re: DSL sync problems on a house without a standard BT master socket

Thanks itsme.  A very informative answer.  I'll check next time I'm down there (probably Sat.) to see what's what in the two sockets.
Jamesh... I plugged in my 510v4 and it too is unable to sync, although it did try hard.  Lots of groups of flashing, but no actual sync.
Thanks.
-- gyre --
James
Grafter
Posts: 21,036
Thanks: 5
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: DSL sync problems on a house without a standard BT master socket

Cheers, PM me the username if you wouldn't mind?
gyre
Grafter
Posts: 271
Registered: ‎19-11-2007

Re: DSL sync problems on a house without a standard BT master socket

You have a pm Smiley
-- gyre --
gyre
Grafter
Posts: 271
Registered: ‎19-11-2007

Re: DSL sync problems on a house without a standard BT master socket

The issue was resolved nicely by a BT OpenReach guy who noticed there was a RF filter on the line.
He removed the old socket, put in a new BT master socket.
We then measured the sync rate at both extension sockets and the test socket.  2mbit/s at extensions and 5mbit or more at test socket, so fitted a filtering faceplate on the master socket and re-located the router there.
Happy happy.
Big thanks to Jameseh for sorting me out.
-- gyre --