Just moved - BT wiring question

Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction.

I've just moved into a small flat. I'm due to have the phone/broadband installed next week. Apparently the service will just be 'activated' so no engineer will call.

I am trying to make sense of the existing BT sockets. There is a double socket in the lounge (unscrewing the front plate reveals a bunch of wires seemingly standard).

I've since discovered another socket in the bedroom (cabled from the lounge) which I've identified as a BT NTE5 'master' socket. However, there are only 2 wires connected to it, going to the screw terminals A and B (colours Blu/Wh and Wh/Blu) - no other connections are made.

Would a BT master socket just have 2 connections? Or could it simply be that the wrong type of socket was used for the bedroom extension?

Thanks for any help.

gospete said:

I've since discovered another socket in the bedroom (cabled from the lounge) which I've identified as a BT NTE5 'master' socket. However, there are only 2 wires connected to it, going to the screw terminals A and B (colours Blu/Wh and Wh/Blu) - no other connections are made.

Click to expand...

The master socket should be the one that is connected to the cable coming in from the street. There are only two wires in a master socket - connected to the A and B terminals. The colours used will vary.

Extension sockets should use slave sockets. The number of wires connected between these and the master socket will vary between 2 and 6 - either will work with modern phones.

It sounds like the wrong kind of socket has been used in the bedroom - though you'll probably find that it works regardless.

Thanks for your answer.

I've been doing a bit of cable tracing. I think the incoming BT cable is located behind the slave socket in the lounge (probably because its more central) - with two of its wires (Blue/White - White/Blue) joined with BT connectors to the corresponding Blue/White wires going to the NTE5 in the bedroom. So my guess is that the NTE5 is indeed the master socket, although it is located somewhat remotely (possibly because the bedroom was used as an office at some point).

So when I receive the router, is it best to plug it into the NTE5 rather than the slave socket ?

Thanks.

Pictures ( inside and outside of the two sockets ) would help to give precise help.

bernardgreen said:

Pictures ( inside and outside of the two sockets ) would help to give precise help.

Click to expand...

Thanks Bernard.


The first picture is inside the wall housing of the slave socket. I think the black cable is incoming, the white cable goes to the master in the bedroom.


The second picture is a close up of the wire joins between the black and white cables.


The third picture is the slave socket itself.


The fourth picture is the master socket in the bedroom, showing the white cable (from Pic1) going to wiring connections A and B. As shown, no other wires connected.

Does this configuration make sense. Also is it best to connect the router to the master, not a slave ?

Thanks again.

Very strange

Third picture is as marked an LJU 4 which is two master sockets both connected to the same line by the ble/yellow pair. It is not a NTE5. Master sockets have the 1.8uF capacitor, slave sockets do not.

I take it there is no socket on the box shown in picture 1

What should be there is an NTE5 on the black incoming cable. The NTE 5 has a master socket. Best option is to ask BT to fit the NTE5 for you as part of the new service to the flat.

gospete said:

Apparently the service will just be 'activated' so no engineer will call.

Click to expand...

A line test will have found the master sockets and hence it is assumed the line is intact and fit for use. In theory it is as you can use it but with micro filters necessary on each telephone to stop the ADSL signals affecting the phones.

Contact BT ( or who ever is providing your broadband / telephone service ) and tell them you do not have an NTE 5.

When the NTE 5 has beenn fitted then you replace the front plate with a filter plate ADSL-NTEFACE-SOL which can be bought from

http://www.solwise.co.uk/adsl_splitters-faceplates.htm ( there are other suppliers )

The router plugs into the ADSL socket, a phone can be plugged into the Phone socket, this is filtered to prevent ADSL afffecting the phone

At the back of the NTEFACE the blue/white pair ( the speech pair ) to the other socket need to be connected to the filtered terminals 2 and 5 Orange/wt to terminal 3 and White/or to 4. Terminal 3 is the bell wire and a few phones need this connected for their bells to ring ).

At the other socket connect Orange/wt to terminal 3 and snip out the 1.8uF capacitors as well as the resistors and surge suppressors.

Thanks Bernard.
Just to clarify. Picture 1 is the wall box that picture 3 (dual socket) is screwed to. As shown by the pair of Wh/Orange wires in each picture.

Also, to confirm. The white cable shown in picture 1 runs along the hallway to the box in the bedroom (picture 4) which seems to be an NTE5 box (which I called a master in my earlier post) with removable faceplate etc.