Replacement faceplate on Openreach master socket

Our broadband started playing up this morning. After a phone call to Shell broadband and an extensive wait… they got me to remove the faceplate and plug directly into the socket on the inside.

Bingo, seems to work fine, it’s been stable ever since. So, clearly, the faceplate is borked.

So, couple of questions:

– how does a faceplate stop working properly? There’s not really anything to it is there?

– can I just buy one of these to replace it?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222066266474?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=J12KaxoVRwO&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=9HAwTYh9QqK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

The connection terminals corrode ime, usually due to dampness in the wall. You can replace it yourself, but technically it’s still the properly of BT, so you’re not allowed to. Or that’s how I understand it.

Give it a couple of days, to make sure you have a good stable connection.Have a look on the connections strips on the removed face plate for grot.Also check the splitter if its a damp issue could be gunked up on copper strips.

If you spot an O/R engineer locally ask him for the new 5c nte, with built in splitter, much improved and neater( or if your local to Leeds I have plenty)👍🏼

Depends which faceplate you have.

The older phone socket ones just connected directly to the copper wires behind it, the newer ones have the broadband filter built in. So yes, the filter can stop working.

IIRC they stopped supplying the filtered sockets after a while and went back to the little inline splitters for this reason. If the inline filter dies it’s a 99p part from ebay, or a rummage in the old box of electrical bits for the one that came with an old modem/router for most people. Or if not they can send you a new one to fit yourself. Whereas the socket needs an engineer to come out and fit a new one.

We had a bit of tooing and froing with them as we moved house, I had a pied-a-terre away for work, and had just let out our old flat whilst we sold it. And seemed to get a different solution each time we phoned openreach.

Cheers all.

Just to be clear, at the moment, we have the master socket with a single socket, then the splitter plugged into that, then the router plugged into the splitter.

I’ve taken the lower part of the faceplate off, as instructed by the broadband people, and plugged the splitter into the socket on the inside. We now have working broadband, so it’s definitely the lower bit of the faceplate that’s dodgy.

Whereas the socket needs an engineer to come out and fit a new one.

I fitted a new master socket at my sons, just 2 wires to connect its hardly difficult.

Master socket and a single socket which is an extension socket ? If so the extn wiring/socket is the issue, by removing the lower face plate this disconects the extn from the line

I fitted a new master socket at my sons, just 2 wires to connect its hardly difficult.

Well, indeed, I’m pretty sure I can handle screwing on a faceplate.

Do you have any extensions that are wired to the face plate? I think that is the point of being able to remove it, takes any other dodgy wiring out of the equation. You can get a faceplate with built in splitter.

I fitted a new master socket at my sons, just 2 wires to connect its hardly difficult.

Yes, but have you considered the lowest common demoninator?

“Hi, let me walk you through that:
Follow the cable back to the wall, unplut it, remove the faceplate and take the two wires”

“OK, got them, brown and blue rig…… BOOMMMM ZAPPPPP SIZZLE”

Just to be clear, at the moment, we have the master socket with a single socket, then the splitter plugged into that, then the router plugged into the splitter.

It’ll work with two filters, it’s just then ‘filtering’ out something that no longer exists.

Master socket and a single socket which is an extension socket ? If so the extn wiring/socket is the issue, by removing the lower face plate this disconects the extn from the line

Sorry, I’m probably not being clear. The master socket is the type with a single socket, into which the splitter is plugged.

There are other extension sockets around the house, how/where they’re wired in and the dodginess of that wiring I couldn’t comment on. We don’t use them.

FWIW, the contacts on the faceplate I’ve removed all look pretty clean.

The faceplate connects the master socket to the rest of the house. It is quite possible (likely) that it’s not the faceplate itself that is borked – but when it’s in place, something else in your house is interfering with the broadband. When you remove the faceplate and plug directly into the socket behind you’re really removing everything within the house from the equation.

This could be a phone somewhere that’s not got a filter installed, a load of extension cables etc. plugged in or some other source of interference.

They have you connected to the ‘test’ socket, it doesn’t mean the faceplate is borked, but it does tend to mean there is an issue with the line using that socket…it could be the socket itself, or more likely the wiring to that socket.

Ah, now I see, thank you.

So, with the faceplate removed I’m now plugged straight into ‘the line’, to the explosion of anything else on the house, I get it.

As I say, there are extension sockets, but they’re not used. To be honest, it wouldn’t surprise me if moisture/damp is getting in to one of the them (I have a particular one in mind), which I guess could be the cause of the problem?

If one of the other sockets is creating resistance between the two wires, as opposed to a full short circuit then that might be the problem. Do you have another master socket for example (albeit old style one so harder to tell).

disconnecting the face plate disconnects all this other wiring and sockets and so isolates the problem to the incoming wiring, not the wiring in your house.

Do you have another master socket for example (albeit old style one so harder to tell).

Er, pass. How might I tell?

Is the Nte you removed the faceplate from is the only socket you use?, are there any wires connected that have been exposed by removing the faceplate?,if it is the only socket you use,and there are no wires uncovered by the faceplate, carefully unscrew the main socket, somtimes the extn wiring is connected at the rear, but still isolated by taking front plate off.A pic would help👍🏼

So, with the faceplate removed I’m now plugged straight into ‘the line’, to the explosion of anything else on the house, I get it.

As I say, there are extension sockets, but they’re not used.

Disconnect the extension sockets’ wiring from the back of the faceplate. Replace the faceplate.

I don’t think the extension sockets are wired in at the back of the master socket. There is definitely only one cable going into the back of it.

That cable goes straight through the wall to the outside, where it routes around to a box mounted up high on the wall, out of which sprout the extension cables.

That cable goes straight through the wall to the outside, where it routes around to a box mounted up high on the wall, out of which sprout the extension cables.

in that case, treat yourself to a new Nte, get a ladder go in the box on the outside wall, and cut all that pesky starwired extn nastiness out, you will gain a few mB’s for very little effort, just follow the cable from the pole and cable feeding your nte, and get rid of the rest

in that case, treat yourself to a new Nte, get a ladder go in the box on the outside wall, and cut all that pesky starwired extn nastiness out, you will gain a few mB’s for very little effort, just follow the cable from the pole and cable feeding your nte, and get rid of the rest

I’d always thought about doing that, especially as we could do with all the mB’s we can get being out in the sticks as we are.

By NTE, do you mean the faceplate bit, not the whole box?

Might as well upgrade to a nte 5c if you can, very easy to fit, push fit for the feed cable no need for any special tool

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373556038363?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=0dv_dpnfszc&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

It’s worth fitting the new faceplate and back box anyway. Doesn’t need any tools beyond a screwdriver and lets you direct the DSL connection to a socket of your choice in the house (if you have 2 or more pairs in your internal wiring).

Treat the external wiring a spruce up too, just connect pole wires to nte wiring using these, cut the rest out

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I don’t think the extension sockets are wired in at the back of the master socket. There is definitely only one cable going into the back of it.

That cable goes straight through the wall to the outside, where it routes around to a box mounted up high on the wall, out of which sprout the extension cables.

Then you have something non-standard. Post photos, otherwise we’re operating on well-meaning guesswork.

Then you have something non-standard

Quelle surprise, everything in this place is.

TBH, everything that sparkyrhino says makes sense and fits with what I can see, but I’ll stick some pics up tomorrow. Assuming I can work out how to stick pics up here…

Cheers all though, interesting and useful stuff.

Its just old school starwiring,at the d/w fix,used to be a way of giving extn’s without internal wiring (also used to be done internaly too from a old jct box) This is a legacy from pre adsl/vdsl service, can be very bad for adsl/vdsl speed/errors, removing it ,will 9/10 improve speed and issues of high errors

Have you tried some contact cleaner and cleaning the face plate contact points??

Morning all.

I will try and sort some pics today, promise, but whilst I sit in bed and drink my coffee, humour me.

Going back to the original problem, if the existing connection route is…

Pole -> external junction/starwire box -> multiple sockets, one of which has the NTE/Master box

… then removing the face plate from the NTE box has not isolated it from the rest of the wiring, as it’s still all connected back at the junction box.

So, the only bit that’s now not in the picture is the faceplate, so that must be where the fault is?

Just to be clear, when you remove the faulty faceplate, can you walk off with it or are there any wires connected to it as it dangles under the main socket.

when you remove the faulty faceplate, can you walk off with it

Absolutely. When unscrewed and taken off, the faceplate is not connected to the backbox in any way.

Right, here we go

Where the cable goes through the wall

https://photos.app.goo.gl/x7au7HGeXcvcnN117

The NTE box

https://photos.app.goo.gl/D9B73Yn5Mt9wniJY8

The junction box

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JkxMCtNgpG1Yh1u16

The cable to the NTE is the one going into the junction box at the back on the right. The cable on the left is, I assume, the pole cable, but it doesn’t seem to go directly to the pole, it seems to duck back in the house. Following the cable from the pole (you can see it coming in top left off the pic below) it too seems disappear somewhere…

Cabling spaghetti:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/YKntLoGCQpzbQgm47

I’d get up there and have a more detailed look, but, you know, wet slippy stone roof tiles…

Your broadband provider should be getting Openreach out to sort it, you shouldn’t be having to touch it.

Get them rung back up and Openreach booked in.

It helps that an Openreach guy lives up the road from us, but he replaced all the boxes on the wall in our house last time we had problems

I’ll defer to sparkyrhino’s superior knowledge here but,

If that’s a common ‘old style’ wiring practice then it’s not something I’ve come across before, but it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest (I’m not a telephone engineer). Getting rid of all the extension wiring can only have a positive effect, though you’re still going to be left with that junction box to splice the remaining cable.

The whole point of the NTE5 is it’s the point of demarcation between BT / Openreach and the customer. Anything from the faceplate forwards is yours to do with as you wish, from the back box outwards is Openreach. I used to believe that tampering with the BT side of things is illegal; following previous discussions here that may be a myth but regardless, for the sake of risking breaking your neck on that roof I think I’d be getting Openreach out to replace the entire cable run between house and pole.

Random thought: is there any sign of damp in the socket? There’s no drip loop on the outside of the cable, that might explain the otherwise weird failure of the faceplate.

Yep, totally get that everything up to the faceplate, including that cabling spaghetti, is Openreach, much of this is just my curiosity as to how it all hangs together.

So, anyway, the broadband is working fine today but the Internet light is flashing red on the router again. According to the instruction booklet/leaflet, this means ‘no internet’, which is clearly not the case, so something weird is still going on. I’ve just rung Shell (broadband provider) and spoke to the same lady I spoke to yesterday. Apparently there’s already a new microfilter in the post, so we’ll see what that does. I think they’re pinning their hopes on that.

I guess I’ll have to ironically hope that this doesn’t sort it, as then I have some leverage to say “can you please just get Openreach here to sort out the cabling mess”

It looks like the overhead wire is dropping down to the tiles/flashing and then disappears, just trying to work out if it goes to the box near the bell (Box Connection 16!) or direct to the socket.

Does the external bell work? They are known for putting faults on.

Does the external bell work?

Nope. It might still be connected, but it doesn’t work.

Box Connection 16!

Is that special then?

I guess I’ll have to ironically hope that this doesn’t sort it, as then I have some leverage to say “can you please just get Openreach here to sort out the cabling mess”

I’d be surprised if it did.

You’ll likely get more traction by reporting a fault on the voice side of things, certainly that used to be the case. You’ve had intermittent crackling on the line for a while now, right?

Box 16 little flappy brown box

it looks like a right galaxy of star wiring going on there, can you take off the nte and take a pic of how thats wired? Could be back wired too off the rear of the nte

Looking at the lead cleats that’s very old if that was mine I’d be tempted to ditch all the star wired stuff and just keep the drop wire into the property. You do need to identify the drop wire.

Just out of interest is fibre available in your area if so just dump it and go FTTP