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Wireless or Ethernet over power or....

David_W
Rising Star
Posts: 2,305
Thanks: 33
Registered: ‎19-07-2007

Wireless or Ethernet over power or....

Basically put, I've moved into a brand new house where the contractors (or BT) messed up.  They put a phone line box thing in every room and the hallway, but only bothered to connect the main box in the front room, meaning the one near my PC doesn't work at all.
Currently I'm using ethernet power line adapters which are... ok, sometimes the connection seems to just drop for no reason so I'm left with several options and am unsure of the best.
1) purchase a decent (Netgear?) wireless card for my PC, downside of that is my PC is on the floor so a USB one would be hidden, unless I get a long USB wire to stick it in the air
2) try to figure out whats up with the power over electricity thingies and stick with them
3) pay BT £140 (vampires I tell you!) and get them to finish the job, then stick my router into my room (don't know if it would make much difference to speed if its not connected to the main box)
4) get a really long ethernet cable (probably not a good idea, nor practical)
I use my connection for many things depending on my mood.  I can spend days downloading large files or torrents, then days doing nothing but playing online games, so I'm not sure of the best option.  Wireless would be sort of decent (has to go through 2 walls to get to the router) but I'm not sure how stable the connection would be.  The powerline adapters are sort of nice, but take up a plug in my room and a plug behind the TV to connect to the router.
So any suggestions on which would be the best route to go?
20 REPLIES 20
Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
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Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: Wireless or Ethernet over power or....

When you say that the phone line boxes aren't connected - are there any wires to them.
The point is that you can connect all the wires to the front faceplate of the master socket quite legally as the BT part stops at the test socket behind the removable lower part of the master socket
David_W
Rising Star
Posts: 2,305
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Registered: ‎19-07-2007

Re: Wireless or Ethernet over power or....

I ruined the lovely seal that was around the faceplate in my room and it is wired (6 wires, 3 either side, no idea if that means the other bedrooms phone socket is connected to mine, then mine connected to the passage box which is then not connected to the main box and I'd get murdered if I broke the sea justl to find out :D).  The main faceplate in the front room only has one wire in there with 3 wires plugged in, there is nothing behind the faceplate except the one wire.
Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
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Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: Wireless or Ethernet over power or....

Can you take a photo of the master socket and the removable faceplate to make it clear for us.
I am not sure from your reply whether the removable faceplate has wires attached to it or not.
Equally I am not sure that you have found the master socket - it may well be in the loft - can you try to trace the wires from where they enter the property
David_W
Rising Star
Posts: 2,305
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Registered: ‎19-07-2007

Re: Wireless or Ethernet over power or....

I live in an apartment now, so no loft Cheesy
The faceplate behind the TV looks like this one an NTE 5?  It has one big wire with 3 wires coming out that connect to the face plate, there is only the one wire behind the faceplate which is why (I think) the other phone sockets are not connected.
Oldjim
Resting Legend
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Re: Wireless or Ethernet over power or....

If you remove the bottom half of the faceplate do you have a test socket and if you plug a phone into it does it work
David_W
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Registered: ‎19-07-2007

Re: Wireless or Ethernet over power or....

Just had a look and the answer to both questions is yes, there is a test socket and the phone works when plugged in.  In the bit of that picture the guy is holding, that is where the 3 wires are plugged into.
Oldjim
Resting Legend
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Re: Wireless or Ethernet over power or....

Those three wires feed the rest of the sockets.You actually only need two wires - the ones on 2 and 5 but lets ignore that at the moment as with your current speeds (8128kbps) removing the ring wire won't make a blind bit of difference until you go to ADSL2+.
Can you check which coloured wires are connected to which point on the master removable faceplate and then check at the other sockets.
Just a check - are the wires connected to the faceplate screwed on or pushed into slots.
Basically all your sockets are daisy chained from the master.
David_W
Rising Star
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Registered: ‎19-07-2007

Re: Wireless or Ethernet over power or....

I can't check at the moment, all I know is its a new socket branded BT OpenWorld - its a new build house so I'd guess BT used the latest model?  The have kind of two strips together with the wire slotted into it.
So as its connected, does that mean the phone line in my room *should* work?
pierre_pierre
Grafter
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Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Wireless or Ethernet over power or....

dont just try and pull out the wire in 3, you might also dislodge the wires in 2 and 5, my preferred method is to cut the wire close to the terminal with side cutters, this leave a tag in the strip with the coloured wire to match up if by any chance you have to replace it..
Oldjim
Resting Legend
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Re: Wireless or Ethernet over power or....

Yes - it should work providing the connection has cut through the insulation.
As I said earlier don't fiddle with the ring wire until we find out why the phone isn't working.
My gut feeling is that either the cutting edges on the connector haven't gone through the insulation or the installer connected one of the wires to the wrong terminal
chillypenguin
Grafter
Posts: 4,729
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: Wireless or Ethernet over power or....

Can you not get the builders back in to fix it!
As it happen I had the same issue when I moved into a new house a few years back. Sorted (by myself) in about 10 minutes, by re punching all the connections. If I remember right some where not connected at all, just the cable coiled up inside the box!!!
MisterW
Superuser
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Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Wireless or Ethernet over power or....

Quote
My gut feeling is that either the cutting edges on the connector haven't gone through the insulation or the installer connected one of the wires to the wrong terminal

You'll probably find that someone tried inserting the wires with a screwdriver because they didn't have a proper IDC insertion tool.

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.

David_W
Rising Star
Posts: 2,305
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Registered: ‎19-07-2007

Re: Wireless or Ethernet over power or....

Interesting, I just thought that the sockets out here were just not connected, now that I know they are maybe I can raise a fault with BT? Cheesy
Oldjim
Resting Legend
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Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: Wireless or Ethernet over power or....

They will charge you unless BT did the installation - which is unlikely