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Old 21-09-2016, 18:02
Lin_Bank
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Hi and thanks for reading this: My query is that we have just moved into a new house (not a brand new house) and have plugged in our modem and landline phone into the telephone point or 'jack' (hope that's the right word) by the front door and all is fine with that and the wifi signal seems fine around the house when using our laptop. However, we also have a PC which we would like to set up in a spare bedroom and have internet there too. There happens to be another phone point or jack in this room (its square and has BT on it) but when we plug a phone into it it's completely dead. I'm wondering if this could have been a 'separate' line at one time - is that possible because I noticed that there is only one line coming to the house from the telegraph pole outside. I have taken the front panel of this telephone point and all seems fine other than it doesn't work.

We did think of getting around this problem by buying a wireless adapter. My husband bought one from Ebay and perhaps its because our PC is quite old (running Windows XP) but we couldn't get it to work so actually plugging the PC into the phone line would be better.

Thanks for any replies.
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Old 21-09-2016, 18:33
njp
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It's not clear to me what you mean by "plugging the PC into the phone line". If you have a router elsewhere, you get Internet access via that, either wirelessly (which you have tried unsuccessfully) or via an ethernet cable. If the PC is next to the router, you would just plug the cable directly into the router. If it isn't, you could use a very long cable, or you could use a pair of plug-in devices (one near the router, and one near the PC) that give you ethernet via the mains wiring. I suspect this would be the best solution for you. I take it you don't need a working phone socket in the spare bedroom for any other reason?
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Old 21-09-2016, 18:53
Thine Wonk
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Hi Lin,

it sounds like it could have been for another line or maybe it's just not working anymore, often extensions only used 2 of the wires out of the bunch and this is no good for a modem, although if it was an extention I'd have expected you to hear a dial tone.

Your best bet is to plug the modem into the main socket near the door and then either get a wifi router and USB wifi dongles (if needed) for any devices that don't have wifi support. You mentioned that the computer is old, but a tiny USB wifi receiver should work just fine if the inbuilt one isn't.

Another option is to buy a 'powerline ethernet adaptor', you just plug these into a wall socket by the modem and that extends the internet to other plug sockets where you plug the other end in, the internet literally runs along your powerlines! it is perfectly safe, you can run a standard ethernet cable from the receiver extender plug to the computer then.

Powerline ethernet adaptors https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...hernet+Adapter
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Old 21-09-2016, 20:06
chrisjr
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Hi and thanks for reading this: My query is that we have just moved into a new house (not a brand new house) and have plugged in our modem and landline phone into the telephone point or 'jack' (hope that's the right word) by the front door and all is fine with that and the wifi signal seems fine around the house when using our laptop. However, we also have a PC which we would like to set up in a spare bedroom and have internet there too. There happens to be another phone point or jack in this room (its square and has BT on it) but when we plug a phone into it it's completely dead. I'm wondering if this could have been a 'separate' line at one time - is that possible because I noticed that there is only one line coming to the house from the telegraph pole outside. I have taken the front panel of this telephone point and all seems fine other than it doesn't work.

We did think of getting around this problem by buying a wireless adapter. My husband bought one from Ebay and perhaps its because our PC is quite old (running Windows XP) but we couldn't get it to work so actually plugging the PC into the phone line would be better.

Thanks for any replies.
Plugging the PC into the phone line, even if it were connected would not give you internet access. That can only be achieved by connecting the PC to the router either via WiFi, ethernet cable or Powerline Adapters that use the mains wiring.

There may be wires connected to the rear of the phone socket which would normally go to the master socket where you have plugged the router and phone into. It sounds like the previous occupant may have disconnected this cable on the back of the master socket. This could have been done to reduce possible interference to the broadband signal by the unused cable.

It could have been a separate line. The cable coming from the telegraph pole could contain two pairs of wires, one pair is needed for a line so two pairs can serve two lines and the bedroom one could be ceased. More likely though is that the bedroom socket was an extension of the hall socket and has simply been disconnected or one or both wires in the pair has broken.
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Old 21-09-2016, 20:13
chrisjr
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it sounds like it could have been for another line or maybe it's just not working anymore, often extensions only used 2 of the wires out of the bunch and this is no good for a modem, although if it was an extention I'd have expected you to hear a dial tone.
A phone line only has one pair of wires. That is all that is required for a broadband router to work. That is true whether the router is plugged into the master socket or an extension.

You may see other wires connected to an extension. One common one is the bell wire. Older phones needed this to make the phones ring on extensions. Modern phones don't need it. Sometimes you also see a fourth wire connected which is an earth. Most commonly used in switchboards for signalling functions like diverting a call to another extension.

But neither of these extra wires are needed by the router, in fact they may not even be wired in the cable plugged into the back of the router.
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Old 21-09-2016, 20:14
tealady
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You need to upgrade from XP as it is not supported and you may find a lot of software does not work or are not supported on it.
I would be quite wary of connecting it to the Internet.
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Old 21-09-2016, 20:23
Thine Wonk
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A phone line only has one pair of wires. That is all that is required for a broadband router to work. That is true whether the router is plugged into the master socket or an extension.

You may see other wires connected to an extension. One common one is the bell wire. Older phones needed this to make the phones ring on extensions. Modern phones don't need it. Sometimes you also see a fourth wire connected which is an earth. Most commonly used in switchboards for signalling functions like diverting a call to another extension.

But neither of these extra wires are needed by the router, in fact they may not even be wired in the cable plugged into the back of the router.
Thanks Chris I stand corrected, I should have double checked that. I've been on FTTC for the last 15 years and I think I'd just plain forgotten how ADSL worked in terms of cabling. I am an IT engineer (nothing to do with broadband or phones) and I should know better than to give technical advice from memory without double checking it.

I'm aware there's a standard 'twisted pair' into the property inside the master socket, I thought that where they were split out more than just the 2 were needed for a modem - I have learned something today, thanks.

In terms of the issue the OP is facing I think wifi or powerline adaptors is the best way to go.
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Old 21-09-2016, 21:41
chrisjr
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Thanks Chris I stand corrected, I should have double checked that. I've been on FTTC for the last 15 years and I think I'd just plain forgotten how ADSL worked in terms of cabling. I am an IT engineer (nothing to do with broadband or phones) and I should know better than to give technical advice from memory without double checking it.

I'm aware there's a standard 'twisted pair' into the property inside the master socket, I thought that where they were split out more than just the 2 were needed for a modem - I have learned something today, thanks.

In terms of the issue the OP is facing I think wifi or powerline adaptors is the best way to go.
Who have you been on fibre with for 15 years? BT only started trialling what would become Infinity in 2009. Didn't think anyone else was doing it before then? Unless you are using one of BT's business services?
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Old 22-09-2016, 09:17
Lin_Bank
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Thank you for all those replies and I apologise if I didn't make myself clear. However, I now think the phone point is defunct and I think the ethernet adapter is the way forward for us. Thanks again everyone.
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