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Potential Fibre Installation Problem?

MisterW
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 14,581
Thanks: 5,413
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Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Potential Fibre Installation Problem?

Thanks. That looks ok, the ringwire isn't connected. That looks like a third party master socket which TBH I wouldn't have expected, but it shouldn't cause any problems.

The ring wire does need removing at the master socket though, even though it's not connected in the lounge socket, the length of wire between the master and the lounge will be acting like a big aerial and picking up any interference.  As I said in my earlier post, if possible, drop the DSL connection from the router GUI first. Then remove the faceplate from the master, remove the ring wire, and then replace the faceplate and reconnect from the router GUI. If you can't disconnect via the GUI , then allow about 1/2 hour before reconnecting the faceplate, that way the exchange shouldn't see it as being unstable.

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Wammer
Dabbler
Posts: 13
Registered: ‎30-04-2016

Re: Potential Fibre Installation Problem?

Many thanks, MisterW.  I really appreciate all the help and support I've had from you and the other contributors to this thread @adamwalker and @etdsaunders.

 

With regard to the ring wire, do I just tuck it up out of the way after removing it?

MisterW
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 14,581
Thanks: 5,413
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Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Potential Fibre Installation Problem?

No problem, happy to help.

Yes, just tuck it out of the way.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

Wammer
Dabbler
Posts: 13
Registered: ‎30-04-2016

Re: Potential Fibre Installation Problem?

I'll post back once the Fibre installation is complete and let you know how the service is performing.
MisterW
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 14,581
Thanks: 5,413
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Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Potential Fibre Installation Problem?

That would be great, I'd be interested to hear how it goes.

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

Wammer
Dabbler
Posts: 13
Registered: ‎30-04-2016

Re: Potential Fibre Installation Problem?

Well, here's the story so far....

My fibre was installed a week ago and the download speed has never exceeded c.6.5 mbps (8.8 mbps from the test socket)  compared to the estimate of 15-21 mbps, so PlusNet asked me to log a line fault and arranged for an OpenReach engineer to call.

 

The engineer called this morning and acknowledged that there is a line fault on their side, but was getting no fault codes to pinpoint the cause.  He spent a couple of hours away from the property replacing various components in an attempt to rectify the problem, and returned saying that he believed he had solved the problem and was getting a line speed of 18 mbps when he tested it away from the house (which squares with the quoted estimate).  However on returning to the property he discovered that the line speed was still only 6.5 mbps, which he confirmed with a further test.

He has asked me to monitor the speed for a couple of days to see if it comes up substantially as the line settles down, but he was not hopeful (after several hours it is still c.6.5 mbps) so if it does not he wants PlusNet to arrange another visit for him to investigate the problem further.

 

On the plus side, he has replaced the master socket with a new box.  The front plate started to come apart the last time I checked the test socket and the speed came down to c.5 mbps after that, so now he has replaced it at least I am back up to the 6.5mbps I started with!  I suspect it had been failing for a while, as there was never any noticeable difference between the speed at the extension socket and that at the test socket with my Sky ADSL service.

Watch this space!

ejs
Aspiring Hero
Posts: 5,442
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Registered: ‎10-06-2010

Re: Potential Fibre Installation Problem?

There's various things which have been missed or wrongly advised in this thread.

The fact that the wiring was OK for ADSL doesn't indicate it's going to be OK for FTTC (VDSL2).

The filter being integrated into the socket doesn't really make it any better than a plug-in filter. It's the arrangement of the filters that's important. Usually, with a filtered faceplate, it would be a single filtered faceplate on the master socket. This filters off all the extension wiring at one point, so the extension wiring then shouldn't cause any issues with the DSL. But having a filtered faceplate on each socket is no better than plugging in a filter at each socket.

The typical lengths of in home extension wiring are often too short to have a significant affect on ADSL, but VDSL2 uses much higher frequencies, so the impact from extension wiring can be more substantial.

If you want to use an extension socket for the DSL, it might be OK if you can arrange things so that the DSL signal only goes as far as that extension socket, and no further, not to any other extensions. Looking at the back of your filtered extension socket, you might be able to achieve that by disconnecting the wires going out of that socket from the LINE 2 and 5 terminals, and connecting them to the EXT 2 and 5 terminals, assuming EXT 2 and 5 are filtered, and then subsequent sockets would be telephone only.

Not that any of that should matter as the engineer would have been testing everything from the test socket anyway.

Wammer
Dabbler
Posts: 13
Registered: ‎30-04-2016

Re: Potential Fibre Installation Problem?


@ejs wrote:

There's various things which have been missed or wrongly advised in this thread.

The fact that the wiring was OK for ADSL doesn't indicate it's going to be OK for FTTC (VDSL2).

The typical lengths of in home extension wiring are often too short to have a significant affect on ADSL, but VDSL2 uses much higher frequencies, so the impact from extension wiring can be more substantial.


Not my experience since the engineer replaced the master socket. Readings taken afterwards from the extension, master, and test sockets were the same, which suggests that the old box (which had started to fall apart) was the reason for the earlier discrepancy between performance at extension and master sockets.   It will be interesting to see if that is still the case when BT fix the line and speeds should hopefully be up around 18 Mbps.