I’ve been having issues with my BT Infinity 2 broadband. In the process of eliminating possible causes I decided to secure the master socket which had come loose from the wall. I noticed one of the wires inside was not connected (see image). Should it be?

Both telephone and broadband are working.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/DJWTS5]BT Openreach wiring[/url] by stilltortoise, on Flickr

No I’m pretty sure only 5 & 2 need to be connected

if that’s the bell wire it’s ok to disconnect

How would I know if it’s the bell wire?

Telephone Wiring Colour Code

I think from memory the bell wire is no.3, which is usually the orange wire

I’ve just checked and 2 = blue, 3 = orange, 5 = white

White/orange is normally left disconnected. Blue/white and white/blue need to be in 2 and 5 does not matter which way around. Orange/white is the bell ringing best left off for adsl/vdsl if phones are modern with capacitor inside.check phones still ring if not add a adsl filter if using a nte5 front plate.

thanks all. Phone rings OK so will leave it all as is. I’m hoping that – whilst it feels unlikely – the unstable internet is a result of a loose master socket. Fingers crossed

That’s the bell or ringer wire. It’s not needed in modern systems and can have an adverse affect on DSL (because it acts like a dirty great big aerial for interference). Leave it disconnected.

check phones still ring if not add a adsl filter

It’s very unlikely to affect ringing unless you’ve still got an old rotary phone. You need a microfilter irrespective of any bell wires.

Does your DSL speed change if you plug directly into the test socket (the hidden socket on the right hand side of your photo)?

Can you post a photo of the entire box please?

You need a microfilter

I’ve not needed one – or so I was advised when it was installed – since moving to BT Infinity 2.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/EwqFp1]BT Openreach master socket[/url] by stilltortoise, on Flickr

Does your DSL speed change if you plug directly into the test socket

Just had a new HomeHub 5 so assume I should let that “settle down” for a few days before trying stuff like that.

The speed isn’t the main issue. The main issue has been recurrent drop outs leaving me with no internet. It usually comes back on a minute later, but it can be hugely disruptive when working from home.

Thanks

As Cougar says you need to plug your router direct into that socket on the right of your photo. If it’s OK in there then you know it’s an internal wiring issue. If it’s the same in there then it’s back to BT.

Internal wiring issues are commonly resolved by re-punching the wires into those connectors. You can get s punch down tool for under £10, I think even b&q sell them. You’d reattach both ends, so that socket and the other end of your extension.

And yes leave that other word off – in fact just snip it off to avoid confusion when you look again a few years and wonder why it’s hanging there.

Was messing about with my Infinity this morning and my Openreach splitter is connected into the top socket of the two available in your last picture with an RJ 11 cable (think that is the type anyway. Then a Lan cable from Openreach splitter to Homehub! Maybe worth trying this to see if it improves things. Go to page 42 in this link for a pictorial description http://bt.custhelp.com/ci/fattach/get/1561860/1263906618/redirect/1/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xNDU2ODM2MTkxL3NpZC9pclJvZm5LbQ==/filename/BT%20Infinity%20user%20guide.pdf

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. A few things for me to try.

Finding a “cure” to this isn’t that easy because the symptoms don’t manifest themselves with any pattern. For instance since 19th February I’ve had several occasions where the internet connection has been lost for a few minutes then come back – on most occasions – with no intervention from me. It’s been random as far as I can see though. Prior to that I’d not noticed any drop pages since October. I could, for example, plug the HomeHub into the master socket and find it is OK for a few days, but it wouldn’t be conclusive. Granted if I plug it into the master socket and it IS still flaky I suppose that eliminates internal wiring and is at that point worth an engineer.

It’s a big pain to be frank 🙁

WiFi dropouts or actual connection loss?

Connection loss.

I have had occasional wi-fi dropouts but it’s rare, whereas the connection loss has been regular. Even BT support admitted I was having unacceptable stability, but their solution was to send me a new HomeHub. I’ve had that new hub since the weekend and have still had connection loss. I’m hopeful that maybe it is related to a wiring issue (loose Master Socket) and now I’ve sorted that the problems will go away. I’m not optimistic 😀

[EDIT] – and as a secondary issue the speed has dropped to as low as 1.41Mbps download when I should be getting 65 or so, but I was told that speed may take a few days to establish consistency. Today it’s been floating around the teens.

I’ve not needed one – or so I was advised when it was installed – since moving to BT Infinity 2.

That’s why I wanted to see the rest of the box. That’s a proper BT VDSL faceplate so yes, you shouldn’t need a separate filter as it’s integrated into the faceplate (there will be another test socket behind that one…!)

If you plug your phone (not DSL) into that test socket and leave the extensions disconnected does it improve? It shouldn’t because it should be isolated, but it’s worth testing. (Who has wired extensions these days anyway?)

Reckon I’d be kicking this back to BT TBH.

Thanks Cougar.

does it improve?

As I said above, it’s not binary (pun intended) so trying something to see if it improves or not doesn’t really yield instant results. This morning, for example, I did a BT Wholesale speed test on an ethernet connection direct to the HomeHub. First result was 97Mbps(!) then when I tried straight after it had dropped to 1.5Mbps. I assume the line is still trying to stabilise following the installation of the new hub.

Reckon I’d be kicking this back to BT

I agree. Maybe things will settle down over the next few days but if not I will be back onto BT. It’s not the first or even second time I’ve had periods of instability and poor performance.

I can’t remember offhand exactly how it works, but VDSL trains differently from ADSL IIRC. Either way, an uppy-downy line won’t help.

I’ll ask one of the WAN engineers about it next time they’re in, I could do to know myself.

The important test is to see if the line is solid and fast when the modem is plugged into the hidden test socket in the master socket box. If it’s still not working there then BT have to come and have a look. It’s wise to be sure as BT’s callout charge for “it’s not our problem but we fixed it anyway” is something like £186+VAT these days.

Shouldn’t make a difference with that VDSL faceplate; it’s basically a posh microfilter plugged into the test socket. The important thing to do is isolate the home wiring, that’s what the OP’s done by removing the bottom panel in the top photo.

Oh joy. Just had my first disconnection since refixing the master socket. I didn’t really have high hopes that screwing it back securely to the wall would magically fix it to be honest.

FWIW BT have tested the line recently and there are no faults. It looks like I do need to eliminate internal wiring as the issue, but with 3 young kids in the house I’m not happy about plugging the HomeHub into the master socket by the front door. Not sure I have a choice 😕

That’s not the master socket? WTF is behind that VDSL plate then?

Oh, wait, hang on – that is the master socket and you’re running the hub off an extension socket, is that what you mean? And what, that socket is wired to the bottom faceplate punchdown?

So…. you’re running VDSL from a voice-only socket which has already had the DSL signal filtered out of the connection and wondering why it’s a bit flaky?

The images above are the master socket i.e. where the phone line comes into the house, but this is not where the HomeHub is plugged in. BT – when they installed Infinity 2 – fitted an extension off this master socket into which the HomeHub is plugged. This is the extension socket:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/DKdUDy]BT fitted extension[/url] by stilltortoise, on Flickr

bottom faceplate punchdown

a what now??

…you’re running VDSL from a voice-only socket which has already had the DSL signal filtered out of the connection and wondering why it’s a bit flaky?

This means nothing to me. All I know is that I have had BT Infinity 2 for 18 months or possibly more and – every few months – I go through a torrid time of flaky performance. I’ve not installed these sockets or modified the faceplates; BT did.

Sorry if I sound dumb. I’ve not been tinkering. I just want the reliable and fast Infinity 2 broadband I’ve had many times before.

So you have the phone plugged into the master socket?
It looks like Openreach have installed the extension from the top part of the master socket, where is your Openreach white splitter box plugged in about?
Is it possible to move Homehub and splitter to the Master socket temporarily?

So you have the phone plugged into the master socket?

Yes. That’s the black cable in the second image I posted.

where is your Openreach white splitter box plugged in about?

What’s that? If you mean the extension, it’s in the next room approx 4 or 5m of cabling away. If you mean the Openreach modem, I don’t have one since moving to a HomeHub 5. Or do you mean something else?

Is it possible to move Homehub and splitter to the Master socket temporarily?

Once I know what a splitter is I will tell you 🙂

You really need to put the modem in the master socket for a while to see what happens. Use a shortish extension lead and hide it in a cardboard box?

You don’t have a white box approx 6 inches by 3 inches mounted on the wall with openreach printed on the front? Mine has an RJ11 cable running to it from the master socket then a Ethernet cable from it to my Homehub. Is your set up like this
http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/47746/~/installing-bt-infinity-yourself—a-health-check

No Openreach modem. I had one of those when I had a HomeHub 3 but they’re not needed with the newer HomeHubs like the 5 I have.

My setup is sort of like the link, but I have an additional extension – installed by BT – from the master socket to the next room. The HomeHub is plugged into that socket via an RJ11 cable.

On to BT now. My case is being escalated to the “Fault Specialist Team”. I feel honoured.

Hm. If it’s installed by Openreach it should be correct.

Once I know what a splitter is I will tell you

When you find out, can you explain it to me as well?

I had an engineer out several months back when I had stability issues. They couldn’t find anything wrong, swapped the hub out and things settled down again. There’s something fishy going on somewhere but between BT, me and STW we’ve not found out where yet 🙂

Being escalated means they’ll send an engineer who can drink a cup of tea without stabbing himself in the eye.

Funny story: three weeks ago my ISP did some technical fiddling which meant an engineer had to go to the exchange and move some wires from A to B for my line. ISP said to expect a few minutes of downtime. An hour later, the ADSL came back on but we had lost dial tone and the ability to make or receive phone calls. Contacted BT and another engineer came out a few days later who gave us voice calls again but broke ADSL. Contacted my ISP and a few days later a third engineer came out, after going to the exchange (and admitting that he didn’t read the extensive case notes that I added to the fault) almost three hours later our ADSL came back.

Good luck.

Hm. If it’s installed by Openreach it should be correct.

Quite possibly the funniest thing I’ve read all day!

Plug your hub into the master socket see how you go, take the extension wiring out of the equation.

Any bad wiring, pinched cable, slight crackle, or dodgy connection of any sort in the extension wiring will cause havoc with your connection stability and speed.

Tune a MW radio to 600khz and see if get a loud buzzing/crackling or clicking noise. It may be that Electromagnetic Interference is causing your problem.

We had this exact problem at the previous house, then post move, a lot more pronounced. The Openreach engineer came out a few days back and removed all the extension sockets that were connected into the master.

Problem solved.

Apparently fibre does not play nicely with additional wiring and sockets. Since we use digital phones we don’t need the plethora of phone sockets in the house anyway! The old place had extensions too, although not to the same extent, so I think he may have hit the nail on the head!

HomeHub now direct into master socket. Let’s see how it goes and how it survives shoes being flung at it as kids come home from school (it’s in the porch on the floor!).

Thanks for all the help. I’ll keep you posted.

Engineer been on site. The extension was “dodgy”. Hopefully all now sorted. Fingers crossed (again).