do I need to rewire the house? (significant speed drops vs Test socket)

[#1]

Hi,

After upgrading to Unlimited Fibre Extra & having not seeing any great speed increase, I ran through a lot of troubleshooting & I think I've tracked my problem to being the internal wiring in our (2016) new-build house.  Be interested to hear if anyone can think of anything else I can try before I consider getting someone in to look at our wiring?

Setup for my tests:

Unlimited Fibre Extra, using Plusnet hub one.  Wifi turned off.  Laptop connected directly to router.

All my tests run from the master socket.  No other telephony devices connected in the house.

I've also replaced my microfilter, and I've also replaced the master socket faceplate

Test socket = 55Mbs d/l (top end of my target range, so the service is getting to the house fine)

.. this is where it gets strange - Master socket = 35Mbs

.. so I then disconnected the 3 in-house spurs from the back of the master - Master socket = 55mbs

.. tried re-connecting one spur - Master socket = 36/37Mbs

.. disconnecting the in-room socket of that one spur - Master socket = 36/37Mbs

.. re-connecting the socket of that one spur - Master socket = 36/37Mbs

.. back to test socket only = 55Mbs .. which is where I'm running the broadband from currently.

In summary, with *any* of the internal phone cables connected to the master (without anything plugged into them, or even with the in-room socket disconnected), the d/l speeds, and my IP profile drop significantly.

I think it might be time to call someone in to take a look at the wiring itself, but can anyone think of anything else that might be worth trying?

[#2]

You just need a filtered master socket - Openreach will install one if you report a speed issue, assuming you are below your minimum speeds. 

Have a look at My Mate Vince videos for a better understanding, and how to do it. That said, just be aware that it should be OR who replaces the Master Socket.

[#3]

@Matt_S3f  Welcome to the forum.

You are aware that you must use a filter in every extension that is used?

You do not need to rewire your house, you need to sort out your Master socket. I assume that your hub is always connected to the Master socket? I can only assume that the master socket has a non filtered faceplate? If so all that you need to do is fit a filtered type and fit this in place of your existing one. This is allowed under the regulations. Filtered faceplates are available from the likes of Amazon. If your current one is clipped on all that you need to do is fit the new one in it's place, remove all your dangly filters and you the sockets as labelled. If the faceplate is held on with two screws you will have to connect the extension wires to the faceplate as per the instructions. Note that the faceplates are NOT interchangeable, you must buy the one that matches the back box, that is, either clipped or screwed. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Openreach-Telephone-Master-Socket-Faceplate/dp/B07NX2KC8Y/ref=sr_1_1?dchild... or https://www.amazon.co.uk/NTE5C-OpenReach-Telephone-Master-Socket/dp/B07LFMPVX4/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&k...

You will not be able to use your hub in any of the extensions. I have done this for a friend and his synch speed went from about 3 to 13Mbps.

[#4]

@Mustrum 

My understanding is that the OR interface is the Test Socket, in other words the back box, and there is no restriction to rewire or change anything on the home side of this. If not it would be illegal to even fit an extension.

[#5]

thanks for the reply!  I'm only plugged into the master (non-filtered faceplate) as I was trying to isolate where my problem was (previously the router was microfiltered in the lounge & only achieving 35Mbs, with a microfiltered phone plugged in on a different extension).

For my testing I had no other devices plugged in in the house, & was using a dongle-type microfilter on the router.  i was getting the speed drop purely from the wires of the spurs being connected to the master (ie lounge wires connected = 35mbs at the master, lounge wire disconnected = 55mbs at the master).  Would a filtered faceplate give me a different result than the microfilter? (I'm seeing the drop before even thinking about putting a telephone into the mix) 

[#6 · Accepted solution]

@Matt_S3f 

Yes. At the moment the incoming cable is starred out to your extensions. Think of this as effectively forming aerials inviting rubbish onto your broadband signal. With a filtered faceplate all these extensions first go through the filter and are therefore isolated at the new faceplate from the broadband data.

[#7]

Ah, got it - thanks! I’ll get a filtered faceplate ordered 🙂