Master telephone Socket or Normal telephone extension socket?

[eveares]

So my Auntie has moved into her new bungalow and had her fibre broadband (BT Infinity) set up the other day. Unless I am mistaken, below looks like an extension telephone socket.

Can anyone confirm that this is an extension socket?

So far, this is the only telephone socket she can find. Also, if she has BT Infinity, should they not have supplied her with a VDSL filter rather than an ADSL one!

Anyone else with BT Infinity care to check if their filters say ADSL or VDSL on them please.

Aunties-Telephone-Socket

• eveares
• 3 Jun 2017

Regards: Elliott.

 

[sparkwright]

Need to see inside it.

Where does that cable going through the door frame go to?

 

[Adam_151]

Looks like it could be an old style master socket, before they went to to the NTE5 with removable front cover. The logo in the bottom corner suggests it was fitted by the phone company during the 80s

 

[eveares]

Need to see inside it.

I realise that, and will depend if it has the filter capacitor built in it that you would find in a telephone master socket. I have not yet been to the bungalow so do't know where the cable through the door frame goes or anything for that matter.

 

[jg321]

Before the days of NTE5 sockets, BT often installed a junction box (e.g. a BT80) which took the drop wire in, and then a white internal cable came from this and went to a socket that looks like the one you have there.

Providing there's no extensions or star wiring, there isn't really any benefit to a more modern NTE5 setup.

Best way to find out, trace where the drop wire comes into, and I'd bet it goes to a junction box as described above.

Edit: I wrote white external cable, when I really meant white internal cable! Doh.

 

[jg321]

The logo in the bottom corner suggests it was fitted by the phone company during the 80s

My Mum's early 80s install had an NTE5 with the T logo on! Must have been one of the first!

 

[jamesmcbride]

We had a master socket like this installed by BT early 90's (when our rotary dial telephone died)

 

[SimonH2]

As above, if there was an existing socket already wired then they tend to re-use them.
Usually, when someone moves out/cancels their service, the phone line is left connected - complete with dial-tone. You can't dial anything but 1nn numbers to contact BT and get a service connected.
As to the VDSL service ... Yes, an ADSL filter can be used. And these days, unless you specifically ask for (and pay extra for) it then you don't get an engineer install. Instead you get a self-install where the "engineer" simply goes to the cabinet and jumpers the line through the FTTC cabinet - the customer has to plug in the router and install a filter if needed.
If they do fit a new socket, they now fit what (to me) is a horrible "tool-less" new design of socket (NTE 5C IIRC) which has it's own matching face plate with filter if they know it's being installed for a FTTC service.

 

[EAST61]

As above, if there was an existing socket already wired then they tend to re-use them.
Usually, when someone moves out/cancels their service, the phone line is left connected - complete with dial-tone. You can't dial anything but 1nn numbers to contact BT and get a service connected.
As to the VDSL service ... Yes, an ADSL filter can be used. And these days, unless you specifically ask for (and pay extra for) it then you don't get an engineer install. Instead you get a self-install where the "engineer" simply goes to the cabinet and jumpers the line through the FTTC cabinet - the customer has to plug in the router and install a filter if needed.
If they do fit a new socket, they now fit what (to me) is a horrible "tool-less" new design of socket (NTE 5C IIRC) which has it's own matching face plate with filter if they know it's being installed for a FTTC service.

Why do you think they are horrible? They do the job without the IDC tool.

 

[SimonH2]

Well most of it is subjective - I think they look horrible, I'm more of a square socket person so I like the earlier versions. Other things I consider "faults", I suppose others might consider good features.

• You can't stack them closely side by side (I've got 3 at work, 2 of them the new ones) - if you do then they cease to be tool-less as you need to use a (thin) screwdriver to get the faceplate off.
• In many environments, the very last thing you want is something that's easy to take apart without any tools. With the older design, you can hardwire to the back of the interstitial VDSL filter and there's nothing unpluggable - if someone wants to disconnect it then they have to use a screwdriver, not exactly much of an obstacle, but you'd be amazed at the difference that can make Like it or not, many master sockets are not where you'd ideally put them from a security/reliability PoV.
• The connectors look very fiddly to use - and indeed the last OpenReach tech we had in confirmed that they are a PITA to deal with, especially if mounted low down.
• I strongly suspect they aren't good for more than some very small number of insertion cycles before the plastic bits are deformed. I suppose the older ones probably aren't either when a screwdriver/random bit of something is used as an insertion tool - but at least that only affects the plug in bit the user can replace.
• I noted that they don't come with any user instructions - and they have some very non-obvious features.
• Apparently a common cause of complaints is when someone doesn't have the xDSL service specific face plate and uses a standard plug in microfilter directly into the master socket - and the extension wiring doesn't work. This is because the extension wiring terminals in the master socket are connected by extra pins on the plug on the back of the plug-in faceplate - so you remove the faceplate, the extension wiring is "still connected" (it connects to the master socket, not the removable faceplate), but is electrically disconnected.

The only positive thing I can say about them is that they are slightly less bulky than the older ones with the interstitial VDSL filter plate.

 

[Lectrician]

How many offices have them stacked side by side? When they get replaced, removing the fronts is going to be fun.

https://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/ho...wtoguides/downloads/NTE5C_Instructions_CP.pdf

 

[winston1]

How many offices have them stacked side by side? When they get replaced, removing the fronts is going to be fun.

https://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/ho...wtoguides/downloads/NTE5C_Instructions_CP.pdf

Interesting. They seem to have the old and new colours mixed up however.

 

[SUNRAY]

Interesting. They seem to have the old and new colours mixed up however

How many offices have them stacked side by side? When they get replaced, removing the fronts is going to be fun.

https://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/ho...wtoguides/downloads/NTE5C_Instructions_CP.pdf

.

I recently had a 'fault' with my ADSL, I rang in and asked them to reset it like 'just last time', a couple of hours of testing later (during which time the visit charges were explained to me 7 times by different people), none of the people I spoke to understood what these face plates are or accepted it had been supplied by BT (or whatever their current Micky Mouse name is). In that time I even ripped open a microfilter so I could plug it in and include the extension wiring and router in order to prove the fault (my cordless base station is elsewhere in the house), I even tried 2 other routers.
In the end they insisted my microfilter and router were faulty and were going to send out replacements. BUT just like the previous occasion about 10 minutes after the call ended the internet started working again all by itself and the replacement items never did arrive.

If the BT fault line employees don't even know what these units are, how are Jo public supposed to?

Edit: my reason for this post was to agree with you about wiring colours being mixed up, but the ringing line is supposed to be green so that will no doubt have caused a few problems too.

 

[SimonH2]

How many offices have them stacked side by side?

Quite a lot, though when the OR guy came and fitted the second of ours, he pointed out that a gap needs to be left between them (which in many situations will look cack,

When they get replaced, removing the fronts is going to be fun.

Indeed.

Interesting. They seem to have the old and new colours mixed up however.

Yup.
And try poking the wires in when the socket is mounted on the skirting in a dark corner.

If the BT fault line employees don't even know what these units are, how are Jo public supposed to?

Bear in mind that the people you talk to when there's a DSL fault are NOT BT OpenReach - they work for the Communication Service provider (CSP) who is a completely separate outfit. If your internet is from BT, then the CSP is part of the same group of companies, but it is still a separate outfit.
It will take time for the CSPs to update their documentation (and computer systems) and retrain their staff to recognise the new sockets.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

random bit of something is used as an insertion tool

Example: