Improving Broadband?

johannis

Hello all,
We are at a point where we are looking at replacing an ageing PC and while we are at it i am keen to sort out some inherited issues with our phone line and broadband.
We currently get broadband through Sky and while the speed is ok its nothing like as good as it should be for the area. This is because the house we bought came with a series of unexpected DIY related problems. In this case i have no idea where the main BT box is? i can see where the line enters the building and i can find a series of extensions around the house (which i presume is part of the problem). But no main box.
Basically before we can explore the world of streaming etc we need our line sorting. Sky clearly don't offer this as a service, presumably BT do but my worry is that it would be so expensive sorting it out that it would mean we couldn't afford anything capable of exploiting our hopefully new superfast broadband?
Any thoughts, advice?

JJ_Egan

Starter is to find the incoming phone line and the BT Master socket .
Then measure speed via ethernet cable from the master socket .

Possible you could find a local Telecom engineer to sort out at a reasonable price .

mgfvvc

Is it possible that you don't have a proper master socket? I believe that is possible if the telephone wiring is old enough.

Your ISP, which I believe is Sky, should be able to arrange to sort it. I would expect it to cost about £150, but they would have to confirm that.

johannis

Thanks both, no master socket would make sense, i'd always assumed that it was behind some panelling?
Is going through sky the best option?
I'm not so bothered about switching if it made sense (although BT still owe me £150 after we switch to sky and i fell foul of their 'hidden contracts', so not ideal!)

macman

BT would never have installed an NTE5 master behind panelling, though of course some numpty may well have panelled over it at a later date.
There's no such thing as a speed for an area, the speed is mainly determined by line length from the exchange and the state of the line and any extension wiring Or, these days, by the strength of the wifi signal, which is why the speed test must be done from the test socket using ethernet.
BT won't do any work on the master as you are not their customer, you would need to pay Sky who will then contract it with BT OR anyway. Minimum charge at least £130 though, so first trace the master by following the cable through from outside. If it'a fault on the extensions then the test will show you that. Any handyman or electrican can rewire extensions, it's nothing to do with BT/Sky beyond the master socket.
You mention issues with the phone as well: if you have noise on the line then get that fixed first because it will severely affect your linespeed.

Scrounger

If you're handy with a screwdriver, cheapest way would be to fit your own NTE5a. :eek:
The two incoming wires to A & B (doesn't really matter which way round they go) and run all your extensions from the new master (pins 2 & 5).

If you get stuck, just ask on here.

Scrounger

diamonds

Its BT Openreach who need to identify their equipment at entry point. Do you have a old Post Office connector/block terminal anywhere that is the point of entry ?


BT used to charge for it to be changed to a PST(plug and socket) NTE5a master, I remember my gran paying £150 for such for my parents whilst we were on holiday, that was mid 80's after BT were privatised.

So people used to do DIY conversions, do you have a GPO/PO block terminal anywhere on your property inside or out ?


Block Terminal https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=gpo+block+terminal&client=opera&hs=vUY&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAkQ_AUoA2oVChMI2ePtzpPKyAIVQboUCh3HRgvX&biw=1280&bih=730


Dad still has the block terminal and wire runnīng up the outside of the house to the master bedroom (yeah we were posh, we had two phones in the 60s when tje house was built lol) its covered in 55 years of paint but its outside just to the side of a window on the house. This was classed as his line point, and lose wires /corrosion from the terminal outside into the house of about a inch were classed as his responsibility.

Gran paid for the downstairs only to be rewired (oh to come down a class LOL) with the Master PST, turned out they had to replace the wire all the way up the garden so that £150 was a bargain, all this to get a Pulse tone phone for my mother.

I've seen terminal connections under floorboards, behind kitchen units, loft spaces/area are common if the overhead wire into your property had like ourselves 2 telephones with the main entry point being upstairs and the line running downstairs as the slave.

Claremac

I had a similar story. Our house is 5 years old and the broadband speed with Sky has never been anywhere near what was promised. I put up with it for quite a while but recently switched to fibre. Again the speed didn't reach what was promised. I checked at Sky's own speed finder http://broadbandconnection.sky.com/speed-finder which shows what the speed to your house is and used this info to complain to Sky. I had mentioned to them in the past that I didn't have a Master Socket (it was a mixed TV/phone socket) where the line comes in to the house but they didn't take much notice. This time as soon as they tested the line speed and it came out lower than promised they agreed to send out an Openreach engineer free of charge. He came and fitted a Master Socket and the line speed to the house went up from 30 to 40 Mbps straightaway.

I suggest that you check your speed using the link above and phone Sky is it doesn't meet the speed promised which they are contractually obliged to meet or release you from your contract. Good luck!