Old BT phone socket lost

JohnSwift10

Years ago when I got Virgin Media phone and dial up internet I got a new wall socket installed so the next time I decorated I removed the redundant BT wall socket, tucked the wires into the box and papered over it.
The old BT socket is now missing

I am thinking of dumping Virgin for Sky superfast broadband. Will I need to find and replace the wall socket or will Sky have to put in a new cable and socket?

neilmcl

I assume you still know where the old back box and cables are? In which case buy and install a new faceplate - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Openreach-Telephone-Master-Socket-Faceplate/dp/B07NX2KC8Y/ref=sr_1_2

In theory you shouldn't have touched the original wiring as it remains the property of Openreach.

iniltous

Sky don’t have a  local phone/broadband access network , so if you ask Sky to provide phone or broadband service it would be Openreach that provide the service for Sky , initially it’s quite possible that any order will be progressed as no visit needed , and even if you tell Sky a visit for the phone will definitely be required, it may not happen , you would then need to go down the failed install route.
If Sky agree from the outset that an Openreach visit is needed ( so arrange an appointment with OR for  you ) ,  you may get service on the appointment date…if ( for example ) the house is overhead fed ( dropwire from a pole ) then the existing dropwire could be replaced or intercepted and a new lead in and a new socket provided, if it’s underground and you don’t know where the cable appears inside the property anymore, the installer won’t be able to complete the job, and chances are excavation in the garden will be needed to expose the cable , pull it back from the house ,piece it out,  and re-terminate it on the external wall , then run a cable inside to a new socket ( you may be charged for this ), the installer won’t start knocking holes in your walls ‘looking’ for where you hid the original wiring.
If your service is underground and doesn’t appear on the external wall but goes inside the property ( commonly used in houses built in the 60’s and 70’s ) and is the same ‘style’ of property as your neighbours , you could ask them where their service appears inside as yours will be the same , and you may be able to expose the wires you lost.

JohnSwift10

iniltous said:

If your service is underground and doesn’t appear on the external wall but goes inside the property ( commonly used in houses built in the 60’s and 70’s ) and is the same ‘style’ of property as your neighbours , you could ask them where their service appears inside as yours will be the same , and you may be able to expose the wires you lost.

I know where the socket is, I just papered over it and the wire is underground, there is no indication of where the wire enters the house though it should be easy enough to figure it out.


There is not a telephone pole in the whole estate.

So new fibre broadband uses the existing copper wire, which was installed 30 years ago when the house was built and no new cable needs to be installed?

I will just buy a new socket.

JJ_Egan

FTTC fibre to the local cabinet then copper wire to the home . This is the one sold as Fibre for many years .

New Fibre is direct optical cabling exchange to the home .

iniltous

It wasn’t clear that you still knew where the ( hidden) wiring was ,
as already stated, if the Sky service you want is FTTC ( fibre to the cabinet ) then the ‘copper’ wire from the cabinet to your home is used, it doesn’t matter how old that cable is .
FWIW, the Virgin Media service you have is similar , in that they didn’t provide  a ‘fibre optic’ cable into your home , it’s copper , so both Openreach FTTC and VM are hybrid systems ( copper/fibre ) FTTP is different, and although VM do have some FTTP, if your service was provided years ago it won’t be VM FTTP , if OR FTTP was available, then it would be all new optical cables run , so the existing copper cables would be redundant anyway, but ‘Sky Superfast’ suggests FTTC  

The_Fat_Controller

@JohnSwift10 all wiring at the back of the master socket should not be touched by the consumer.

A new socket should be fitted and checked by Openreach or their contractors.

neilmcl

The_Fat_Controller said:

@JohnSwift10 all wiring at the back of the master socket should not be touched by the consumer.

A new socket should be fitted and checked by Openreach or their contractors.

That horse has bolted so he may as well install a new socket himself.

The_Fat_Controller

@neilmcl, I hope the OP isn't faced with what I would have in the same situation, my incoming cable runs under my driveway and just appears at the socket in my lounge, some 15 feet inside the property.

Easy you would think, however that thick oil impregnated cable has 6 pairs, so if I had done the same knowing which to reconnect would be a problem.

Hopefully the OP has just a single pair hidden behind the wallpaper !

neilmcl

The_Fat_Controller said:

@neilmcl, I hope the OP isn't faced with what I would have in the same situation, my incoming cable runs under my driveway and just appears at the socket in my lounge, some 15 feet inside the property.

Easy you would think, however that thick oil impregnated cable has 6 pairs, so if I had done the same knowing which to reconnect would be a problem.

Hopefully the OP has just a single pair hidden behind the wallpaper !

It really isn't, there's plenty of online resources that tell you. You don't  even need any special IDC punch down tools for the job now as the latest sockets/faceplates have cam lock connectors.

FYI, for BT drop wire it will be A = White, B = Orange.

JohnSwift10

The_Fat_Controller said:

Hopefully the OP has just a single pair hidden behind the wallpaper !

Yes just a single pair.

I found the socket and connected the wires, hopefully correctly, but when I plug a phone in the line is dead.