Double electric socket next to BT master socket

I want to upgrade to BT Infinity, however, I am told I must have a double electric socket next to the BT master socket. I don’t know why. Is it essential as currently I don’t have one in that place.
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Actually it isn’t a requirement to have them “next to” the master socket.
You will need a socket for the modem and another for the Home Hub (or a double adapter or a 4 way) but the installer can run a thin CAT 5 cable from the BT master to the modem (up to 30metres) and then the HH is connected by normal CAT 5 cable (up to 100 metres)
In my case the modem is about 3 metres from the BT socket and the HH is about 8 metres from the modem.

Similar Messages

Is it possible to re-locate my master socket for i...

I want to get BT infinity in my home but there are no power sockets near my master socket.
My question is: Will it be possible to re-locate my master phone socket to upstairs near where my current router is and where there is power sockets?

Common misconception.
You do not need power sockets next to your master socket.
They will route a new Cat5 cable from the master socket upto 30metres away. Wherever you want your router is were you need power points.
They can convert an existing extension into the master socket but that will all depend on the quality of the extension.
The BT engineer that fits the extensions are VERY helpful and will suggest the best route for your connection.
On the installation date, just ask, and you will usually get.
If I helped, then consider clicking the star to the left

BT Infinity 2 and Master Socket.

Hello all. We ordered our BT infinity 2 and telephone line and they said the engineer will be coming on the 13th to set things up. After looking through the installation of BT infinity I found out that it has to be connected to a master socket. This is my problem.
My master socket is located right next to my main door and there is an extention socket in my bedroom. Can I have the master socket moved during installation ? Having a bt hub where you keep your shoes looks odd. Will the engineer relocate the master socket or change the extention socket into a a master socket or I shouldn't be expecting anything ?

Reading through some of the posts, a lot of the installation depends on whether you get a decent engineer, luckily I did.
My master socket was in a downstairs room and my study / office is in the room right above it. I explained to the engineer what I wanted / needed. He was a bit hesitant as he said it meant him having to drill through an external wall, No it won't as I already have a hole that talkes an extension from the master to the study, right easy he says he could convert the extension to the master and make the old master socket the extension. Great, cup of tea and a few hob nobs later job done.
If the engineer can not do what mine did he should fit a 30m extension lead to the master socket and you can plug the hoem hub to this, my understanding is that the extension cable is pinned to skirting or wall they will not lay kit under carpet.
Good luck
Sholtie

Need help identifying my master socket for broadba...

Hi i am awaiting my line to go active for broadband but i just want to make sure the socket i am going to use is my master socket.
I can only find 1 socket in my house and it has a T logo in the bottom corner. This socket is on the bottom of my stairs (annoying place). I have opened it up and it looks like it has a capacitor on it. When i follow my wire coming out of the box it goes down a couple of steps and goes into another small box with a T logo on the front but all this has on it is a screw dot in the middle and another T logo.
So is the socket on stairs the master socket and if so what is this other box is it some sort of wiring centre?
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Ahh right so it is my master socket but it must be older than the picture above as mine takes the whole face off and not just the bottom section and it does not have any test point on it.
Would it be recommned to update my socket to a newer one? I ask this as i was looking into iplates to help boost my speed but there not conpatible with my current socket.
And i need to put a extention into my living room is it best to just plug it into my master socket or will i lose speed this way?

Master socket terminal corroded by "damp" - respon...

Hello,
I had problems with noise on the home phone. I agreed to having a BT engineer visit and if the fault was with my phone equipment I would have to pay £99. I was getting desperate so agreed.
He came, found corroded terminals on the master socket (where you plug in your phone). He replaced this and all was well again with the phone line. As this socket marks the point of demarcation with BT having responsibility from this point outwards I thought this was the end of the matter. I have just had a bill for £99 and have spoken to BT who maintain the corrosion was due to damp. The engineer did not mention damp but said it was due to the age of the socket and corrosion is what happens. The socket was the original from 1985 when the house was built.
I have found quite a few other instances of this situation on forums.
I read that there are two types of corrosion:
Oxidation, which naturally occurs on copper surfaces, that blue/green colour stuff.
Galvanic corrosion, this is caused by the copper getting moisture onto it over a prolonged period of time. The colour of that is a dirty white/grey.
It was definitely the former. The socket is on an internal wall with wallpaper around it. There is definitely not any damp on this wall.
I see in BT's Ts and Cs "You agree to look after any of our equipment. If you do not do so and the equipment is damaged other than through fair wear and tear, you will, have to pay for it to be repaired or replaced".
There has to be an underlying cause of the corrosion for it to be 'my' fault. There is not. The "damage" has not been caused by my neglegence.
I also read that it is not unknown for engineers to use the wrong clear code when closing the task.
Any thoughts on how to convince BT that they should not be charging me for this?
Thanks,
James

JimBob12 wrote:
To quote the Electrical Safety Council - "All electrical installations deteriorate with age and use"
I certainly sympathise but suspect that you're on a loser arguing with BT, because deterioration is not inevitable despite that quote. Our master socket is of similar age and similarly sited but the inside is virtually as new; the difference must be environmental. That's not to suggest you've done anything wrong, but it will be mighty difficult to get Openreach to take responsibility for it.
You can click the white star next to this message if you think it was helpful.

"Master socket or lack of"

Ok trying to trce the phone lines
black drop line comes into the house via a door frame somewhere near the bottom of the door frame on the iside a white cable exits and on the end of this after a pass under the floor the cable ends at what looks like a BT master - single piece like an extension , cap inside and BT trumpeter logo however nothing its connected to it. My partner seems to think there is an old GPO box in the door frame!
there is an extension box on the oter side of the wall from the incoming wire which has a further extension bodged into it and on the end is the BT home hub and Vision box the phone works off the home hub
is it worth getting an eingineer in to sort it out a the master has clearly been stuck on a patched wire and the whole thing has been bodged and patched by previous occupant
Broadband is down to 1.something to a max of 3Kbps as for phone we dont have any hard wired phones to check the line.
are we liable for any charges for getting it sorted or likley to be fined for the messing about with the drop wire?
Sean

seanlyon wrote:
OK further investigation black drop wire goes into the door frame and caught in behind the standard for the door is a small white junction box, from that emerges 2 white wires, one presumably goes to the small single piece master socket, the other goes to what looks like a cheap DIY shed extension box from which comes a further extension under the floors to where the BThub is plugged, As the hub hasnt been attached to a "master" (the extension has no capacitor or anything in it) will this be contributing to the braodband speed drop off and vision not working.
As i said in OP no phones connected to the sockets so cant really test the line with a handset.
whats the best way to configure the set up for best quality
Hi
The socket that you think is the master is it possible for you to plug the Home hub into that? ensure that there is nothing else plugged into the other sockets, goto www.speedtester.bt.com and run a speed test.
I know you say that you do not have a corded phone to test the line but to ensure that you do not have a noisy line which (would cause speed issues) can you not beg/steal or borrow one?
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How to connect Master socket and extension to fibr...

I have just had my fttp service enabled.
I watched the online video on how to connect my phone, and it says that if you don't have the special socket that allows you to switch from copper to fibre, you should just connect the phne to the modem.
I don't have the socket, just a normal phone socket right next to the modem.
How do I connect my extensions? Can I just connect my modem to the socket and go from there, or do I need to do anything else?
Sorry folks, I know very little about this stuff!

There is a guide here.
http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/37138/related/1
My guess is that you would have to disconnect your extension wiring from the old master socket, and plug it into the Tel 1 socket via a phone splitter, if you need a phone near the fibre modem.
There are a few other FTTP users on this forum, who may be able to give you more advice.
There are some useful help pages here, for BT Broadband customers only, on my personal website.
BT Broadband customers - help with broadband, WiFi, networking, e-mail and phones.

Question re master socket vs secondary and install...

I'm seriously considering switching to Infinity but have a question re sockets. My current modem and network gigabit switching are all upstairs, coming from a secondary socket running outside the house from the master socket on the ground floor. I want to have the new infinity modem etc in the same upstairs room as now so I don't have to muck around with my existing network cabling. My question is can the egineer use the existing cabling and convert the upstairs socket without having to run a new cable from the master socket downstairs (as it would be next to impossible to drill through the ceiling etc without my partner killing me) as this is the deal breaker for me and Infinity? Many thanks

He should be able to do that for you.

Request to resite Master socket-using external wir...

Sorry its a similar post, however these are my specific questions.
Engr coming this friday to install BT Infinty fibre service.Modem due tomorrow and Engr brings Router(I think).
My current layout is copper cable to house via BT Pole,to front of house first floor,then cable run down wall to lounge bay window and master socket is installed underneath/adjacent to bay window.(no power socket available nearby).
Lounge, hall, stairs and landing all recently replastered and redecorated.Yes I know I should had this lot installed first!
I will not accept Cat5 cable extension from downstairs to upstairs (clipped against skirting etc)and also fitting of a new twin socket outlet in the lounge.
We have a study at the rear of the house first floor where PC is installed with current Router, and sufficient sockets.
Will the nice Open Reach Engr consider the following,
1. reuse the copper wire to the house and cleat the cable run towards the rear of the property.
2. If the cable is not long enough, can he joint it-or is this a no no!(outside)
3. If 2 is not possible would he consider renewing the copper cable from pole and run it to my study(outside wall).
4. Will he drill through mortar/brick wall to gain access to study to run cable inside for less than 1 metre?
5. If he is not willing to do 4-Could I drill the hole for him!
I promise to make him unlimited tea/coffee, foot his ladder and buy loads of cake and biscuits.
If I am "kidding myself" please tell me!
Many thanks for any advice,
Regards
Graham
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graham6520 wrote:
Hi,
Many thanks for swift reply.
1. I have three sockets in the study with PC-so power sockets are not the issue!
2. I do have one"aftermarket non BT" phone socket in the study where the router/modem is currently connected to this socket. This socket is at the end of a "serial phone circuit"(ie master socket in lounge to phone in lounge to phone in kitchen then upstairs to study!).I know this route sounds long and "iffy" but its good quality cable and properly "terminated".I have had no problems whatsoever in 20 years re phone REN etc.Last time a BT Engr was at the property was summer this year and my download speed was 1.9mbps at the master socket and I asked him to test speed at the"end of my phone wiring in the study(where the router is plugged) and he confirmed same 1.9 mbps.
From this I deduced no loss on my DIY wiring!-I could be wrong-I am a novice!
the wiring will not be suitable for a master but the engineer will run a new cable then use the existing wiring just for phones
3. If the installer could just fit a master phone socket to replace my DIY existing socket in the Study, that would be fantastic and so easy! not possible
4. Please forgive my ignorance re your item 3 below, can you clarify or simplify ie does the router and modem"sit next to each other" and can they both reside in the study(if the installer can fit a master socket in the study).
master connects to modem, then modem to router, you can extend any of the cables that connect them though the best one would be modem to router as you can buy suitable cables in upto 100m length
I will be very grateful for a further update from you and other experts, this upgrade is really important to me, I am at home having lost my job through ill health 2 years ago and don't think I am well enough to drill a hole through the outside wall on a ladder with vertigo!-unless the installer refuses to drill the wall. I don't think my wife would sign off the risk assessment for me to do it! could always drill from inside, i always do, more important to have it in the right place on the inside than outside
Thanks once again,
Graham

Broadband speed / lack of master socket

My broadband speed according to all the speed tests is around 0.5Mb/s - sad, I know. One of the things I wanted to try to bump it up a bit was to plug the router into the master socket. It looks like we don't have one but one of those old junction box things above the front door. Has anyone had any luck trying to persuade BT to replace a junction box with a normal master socket? All advice welcome.

That thing above your door will just be a block terminal, they have them in place because the external cable can not extend inside your premises for more than two metres. This is because the plastic sheathing on it releases chemicals when burns, but to be honest if your house is on fire there are probably 101 other plastic household items that will also release harmful fumes on top of the already harmful fumes from the fire itself.
By the sounds of you will just have a LJU for your NTP, aka master socket. Will probably have the old T logo on it?
Anyway, as mentioned above you can't just ask they come and replace it. Openreach operate a 'if it ain't broke don't fix it policy' so if you called an engineer out they will charge you £130 for a wasted visit as it will have been right when tested. Depending on the engineer, he may replace it while on site but chances are he might not as it will be an easy close for him and he can get to his next job.

Socket extension or need Master moving?

Hi. Need advice before I finalise/speak to the engineer/bt about how I'm going to get FTTC working in my property. Property shaped like an L - has master socket positioned at approx the right angle of the L. Only access out (3 sides 3-5' thick solid stone wall) is to the right side of the L ->. Existing bb connection at the very top of the L via a standard phone extension (not bt) approx 25' from the master socket. This is I understand not going to work for a fibre modem. Realistically the existing cable is going to be very very hard to follow or retrace (its buried under plaster inside a 4' thick wall. What will Bt do at no cost or at cost if I am foolish enough to try to get down a very old property to the existing point as an extension or to enable it as the master?. What cost options are involved in doubling back out of the back door (location of master socket) and running outside the building to the existing secondary socket and drilling back inside? Or is there some practical alternative that anyone can suggest Wifi travels about 10' in the house and probably won't even leave the area 4' around the existing master socket so not practical I think.

pbwpu wrote:
ray_dorset wrote:
No, it just has to be copper and twisted-pair - which CAT5 is.
As standard phone cable its not twisted pair is it.
Well, yes it is but maybe your cable isn't. Only you know that.
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If not, I'll try again

Master Socket Issue

Would like to take up option of Infinity now it's available in my area, anything has to be an improvement on my current BT rate of 2 Meg.
However the current master socket is in the hall and I want everything in the living room where it is now. I have read about the Master sockets issues and rang the Sales line last night and asked about moving the master socket.
The operatives initial reaction was effectively "what's your problem have the modem and hub in your hall" - I don't want that , I don't have the space. The next solution is the data extension kit - again I don't want a lead running round 3 door frames to get to my living room. After putting me on hold for a while he came back with the princely sum of £205 to move my master socket. I asked him whether there was any possible movement on price - No.
Anybody else hit this wall - I am pretty aggrieved having been loyal to BT Internet for many years, £205 is a joke.

Do you have any phone extensions from your master socket that run into the room you want the modem?
If so, then just tell the Engineer and he will move it for you, they don't charge, well didn't when I had Infinity installed.
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Using master socket to test Home Hub 2

I've been having problems with my broadband dropping out. I've tried 5 different ADSL filters so have now decided to test the hub using the master socket. I'm not wireless. My question is do I need to also connect the ethernet cable to the hub whilst testing or is it just the power and broadband cables? Thanks

Thanks for your help. I don't think the lead is going to reach my master socket from my pc so I suppose there's no other way of testing it.
Does anyone have the following problem:
When my connection drops, the only way I can keep it going is by making a phone call! I just dial 1471 and leave the line open. Not very satisfactory but at least it works lol.
I don't have any other electrical items in the room except the printer, I use a simple extension socket that seems ok and I've changed the ADSL filter - have tried 5 - and I'm now thinking of calling out an engineer but don't want to incur the £129.99 fee before I've completely eliminated internal wiring problems and thought that by doing the test it would tell me if my wiring was the problem and not something outside.

Master socket

Traced out phone circuit in my bungalow which has a junction box in the loft at point where phone line enters then spurred with master socket, with capacitor, at end of longest line.
Any advice please ???
Siscokid
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Hi and welcome to the forum
Not sure what advice you require, you are not allowed to touch/move/tamper with the main socket.
This is the responsibility of BT Openreach
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Move master socket?

I have BT Vision now working. My TV is in a seperate room from Home Hub 4. Vision and BT Sports work even though screen says off line and with powerline adaptors. However I do not treceive the on demand or catch up unless I rune an ethernet cable accross the hallway and lounge to vision box. Then all OK. Apermanent solution seems to have the master socket moved to alongside my TV/Vision box. Any idea the approx cost involved please?
Many thanks

Should be OK under the carpet provided it's not anywhere that's walked on and no furniture is directly over the cable. I had similar for years with no problems.
The iPlayer is probably a separate issue and you'd probably do better to start a new thread with more detail and an appropriate subject heading.
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Double electric socket next to BT master socket

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