Ancient BT master socket

totallybonkers

I've recently purchased a property built in the 1960s, and am in the process of getting it renovated. My electrician (previously worked as a telecoms engineer) has pointed out that my master socket and the wires inside are really old - it still says 'Post Office' on it (and so predates 1981) and the wires inside are really brittle. It's also attached to a window frame which I am shortly getting replaced.

Does anyone know how I would go about getting this upgraded to modern standards and moved to a more suitable location without taking out a new BT contract?

Norman_Castle

Your current line provider can ask open reach to work on your line but unless there is a fault I expect this work would be considered an improvement payable by you. If you moved it yourself with help or advice from your electrician who would know?

matelodave

If your electrician really was a Telecoms Engineer then it shouldn't be beyond him to sort it out - Master sockets can be obtained from lots of places and, although it's not strictly legal to move stuff yourself, providing you dont do anything stupid, no one will know.

have a shufti here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Openreach-Telephone-Master-Socket-Faceplate/dp/B07NX2KC8Y

onomatopoeia99

matelodave said:

If your electrician really was a Telecoms Engineer then it shouldn't be beyond him to sort it out - Master sockets can be obtained from lots of places and, although it's not strictly legal to move stuff yourself, providing you dont do anything stupid, no one will know.

have a shufti here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Openreach-Telephone-Master-Socket-Faceplate/dp/B07NX2KC8Y

They will know if they look at it while fixing a fault, but they won't generally say anything unless it has been spectacularly botched.

And by "not strictly legal" you mean "not legal", as the socket and wiring to it does not belong to the householder.

iniltous

As already commented on the BT Consumer forum , Openreach don’t ‘work’ on ‘lines’ that are not in use ,so to get any ‘official’ work on that ‘line’  it needs to be brought back into service ,
 order from whoever you want ( it doesn’t have to be BT ) and when Openreach visit they will sort that mess out , alternatively recover the socket and wiring back to wherever that internal multi core ( white ) cable is ran from , then when ready order service,  with whoever you want , on the appointment date , the Openreach installer will renew the multi core internal cable and socket with new cable and master socket , at a location agreed between you and the engineer , it’s unrealistic to expect OR to sort this out without any paid for service over it , if they did , what guarantee do they have that you would actually ever order service ?, plus how could you get OR to visit if you were not a customer of a service provider , OR work on instructions from service providers ( like BT, Sky etc. ) without you being a customer of a service provider , how could OR ever be ‘instructed’ to visit the property.

BUFF

btw, it might be worth considering that the traditional PSTN network is due to be switched off by/in 2025 - only 2 years away - & replaced by FTTP which uses different sockets etc..

brewerdave

BUFF said:

btw, it might be worth considering that the traditional PSTN network is due to be switched off by/in 2025 - only 2 years away - & replaced by FTTP which uses different sockets etc..

That's the target date for switch off of the PSTN network - ie all calls will go via IP rather than analog line HOWEVER there will still be many subscribers on the old copper network then , so even those without a current internet connection will need to be supplied with a very basic modem/router to allow digital calls over the internet.
 Full fibre (FTTP) MAY not happen because of the huge costs of connecting up remote areas to the fibre network altho the Government had set a revised target date of 2030 for full coverage in the UK.