Moving master telephone socket.

Joined
1 Nov 2007
Messages
142
Reaction score
1
Location
Hertfordshire
Country
United Kingdom
My master telephone socket is down at skirting board level behind a heavy desk. I would like to raise it to above-desk level for better accessibility. Am I right in thinking a new socket connected to it by a short extension lead (less than 1m) plugged into it would be okay? The socket is traditional copper, carrying my land line and fibre-to-cabinet internet.

I'm competent at electrical soldering, so would simply soldering extra wire to the incoming wires, and relocating the existing socket be a better solution?

Looking online for sockets I see some which are described as 'master' and some as 'extension'; what is the difference, please?
 
Sponsored Links
Am I right in thinking a new socket connected to it by a short extension lead (less than 1m) plugged into it would be okay?

That might work, extension leads are often thinner wire than needed to connect to the rear of an actual extension socket with IDC slots. It's better to connect some CW1308 cable to the removable lower half of the socket, assuming yours is that type? You won't have a plug sticking out then and you can shunt the desk up against the wall without damaging it.
nte5-test-web.png

so would simply soldering extra wire to the incoming wires, and relocating the existing socket be a better solution?

You're not allowed to move the master, it belongs to OpenReach. You would have to pay them to move it. About £130 IIRC. Any problems with the line in the future and they will know you have been tampering(BT don't use solder!) and it could cost you a lot more than that.

'master' and some as 'extension'; what is the difference

The master socket has components on the PCB, older ones have 3 components...
image056.jpg


Modern ones have lots...



Extension/Slave/Secondary (all the same thing) sockets have no components on the PCB at all, they are not needed. So they are cheaper.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all those replies. Mine is an older socket, without the "Test socket" facility. So I'll give the simple plug and extension lead a go. If that gives dodgy results I might just fork out for BT to do the job properly, and get a modern socket at the same time, though they're going to have to contort themselves to get behind the desk!!
 
Sponsored Links
If you're competent enough to do it and use jelly connectors, you will be fine. I moved mind from downstairs living room to upstairs bedroom and in doing so actually improved the connection speed (shorter wire length and better connections). There are only two wires used for incoming and outgoing voice/data now anyway.

Should Openreach ever visit and suspect anything, it's highly unlikely they would do anything about it. It's so difficult to prove who did what. I work with BT and Openreach a lot in a commercial setting and I've asked about this before. They'd rather just get on with it and close the ticket.
 
Thanks guys. I'd never heard of 'jelly connectors' before, but I've just watched a video of how to use them and they look just the job.

But, being ultra cautious, before I use them I'm going to get an extension kit like in rsgaz's link, shorten its cable, plug it straight into my master socket, and see how it goes.
 

DIYnot Local

Staff member

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
Back
Top