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Old GPO wiring - no master socket/faceplate

Totalmus
Newbie
Posts: 2
Registered: ‎01-04-2014

Old GPO wiring - no master socket/faceplate

Help!
My house has internal phone cabling routing all over it, and I want to rip it all out as part of my renovations, and plug a router straight into the master, with no extensions.  
The problem is, there is no master socket to demark responsibility for the line between BT and me.  It all links through very historic GPO marked wiring/boxes.  Plus Net support say they can't do anything as BT will not attend as it is a working service.  Elsewhere, I have seen people state that BT will come and upgrade non compliant systems for free.
Has anyone got any experience of this, and how did they get BT to come out and install a master socket without paying £160!?
4 REPLIES 4
HPsauce
Aspiring Pro
Posts: 6,829
Thanks: 55
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎02-02-2008

Re: Old GPO wiring - no master socket/faceplate

Well if you took it back to a single socket no-one would be any the wiser and it would work fine.  Wink
Thetwohoughs
Grafter
Posts: 55
Registered: ‎05-12-2015

Re: Old GPO wiring - no master socket/faceplate

BT Would charge to do any work internally, according to this > http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/12439/c/
ejs
Aspiring Hero
Posts: 5,442
Thanks: 631
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎10-06-2010

Re: Old GPO wiring - no master socket/faceplate

BT might charge you £129.99 and not even bother to install a modern master socket, if you don't have one, but that's if you called them out to fix a fault. The £160 is the total cost of asking them to turn up for the specific purpose of installing or moving your master socket, because you want one (or want it moved).
I've also seen people say that if you use the right magic words, you can get it done for free, but I've never found anything official about that.
wisty
Pro
Posts: 591
Thanks: 112
Fixes: 8
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Old GPO wiring - no master socket/faceplate

DIY
Identify where the first BT junction box is - the one that the incoming line arrives at. There will only be two wires on the incoming side.
Decide where you want the master socket.
Buy a new Openreach master socket and Mk3 faceplate (plenty on E-bay) they come with instructions and a one time punch down tool.
Install the new master where you want it.
Run a length of Cat 5 (or BT twisted pair cable - e-bay) from the new master socket to the junction box.
Connect one twisted pair to the A & B connections on the new master.
Connect the other end of the same twisted pair to the junction box ( leave the old wiring as well for now).
Test the new master with a phone to make sure you get clean dial tone.
If yes remove the old wiring from the junction box and just leave the new cat5 twisted pair.
If no go back and check the connections and colour codes on the wires.
Connect Phone & Router to new master.
Job done.
Rip out old wiring
That is what I did before I went to Fibre
Installation engineers comments - easiest install this week!!