Hi guys, was hoping someone around here would be able to help.

Just moved into a flat and about to order broadband once BT connect my line. I want to buy one of the NTE5 faceplate ADSL filters for tidyness, so thought I'd have a look at the master socket to make sure it would work.

The socket is a BT Openreach badged NTE5 and does have a dialtone at the moment. My understanding is that the incoming line should be connected to the screw terminals inside the main socket and then any extensions can be connected to the removable faceplate. It appears that the incoming line is connected to the removable faceplate and nothing is connected to the screw terminals. There arent any extensions (yet).

Is this normal, and if so what should I do with an ADSL filter faceplate? Would it be possible/legal/advisable to move the incoming line to the screw terminals?

Thanks for any advice!

Iain

is it a new build/ mill conversion? chances are the contractors messed up when putting the nte5's in. are you sure you have no ext'ns in the property already? if so then by all means take it off the face plate, remembering what is connected to pin 2&5 and connect it to the screws, pin 5 to the screw marked A, pin 2 to B.
legally your not supposed to, but if your carefull then shouldn't have any problems

Its a 4 year old conversion of an old building, so that sounds plausible.

There's definitely no other extensions, its only a 1 bed flat so I would have found it by now

There are 2 pairs connected to the faceplate - presumably I can just ignore the second pair?

Image here:

http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/3627/cimg0517mm4.jpg

Very naughty if they have done that. I assume that if you plug your phone into the test socket on the base of the NTE that you don't get a dial tone?

And if you plug into the removeable panel you do whether it is in situ on the base section of the NTE or not.

Of course one assumes it really IS an NTE5 and not an old style LJU? The old style sockets had a single piece front panel with all the components and terminals on the rear of it. The bit left on the wall was simply a backing box. Which doesn't really sound like what you have described admitedly. After all the only screws you'll see in the wall box of an LJU are the two holding it to the wall/skirting board!

Posts crossed in the either. Now you've posted the picture it is clear you have a miswired NTE5. i would get Openreach out to sort the wiring. As it is a clear "fault" they should do it for free. Contact whoever you pay line rental to and get them to book an engineer's visit.

Basically that way you cover your rear in case you screw up and cause a real fault. If you re-wire it yourself and get a problem you will probably be landed with a bill whereas if you let Openreach do it you might not be billed.
Last edited by chrisjr : 05-08-2008 at 16:36

Thats spot on, no dialtone in the test socket but a tone when plugged into the plate.

Its definitely an NTE5, if I remove the back part I can see the resistor and screw terminals. Its also not been connected very well, lost the dialtone (thought BT were connecting the line) but turned out the connection was just loose.

Very very silly by whoever wired up the socket. Probably some sparkey employed to wire up the elecrics who got landed with the job of installing the phones as well. just hope he was a better electrician than phone engineer!

By the sounds of it I wouldn't be surprised if he used a screwdriver to push the wires into the terminals rather than the correct tool, loose wires are a dead giveaway for that one.

You certainly should get the wires moved to the correct terminals. If the wiring has been done to any kind of proper standard then the line should be the blue pair. But that is by no means a given when whoever did the wiring couldn't even get the terminals right!

I've just connected (eherm, I mean BT have just come over to connect....good quick service) the pair from pin 2 and 5 to the screw terminals as has been previously suggested. It was actually the blue pair, so I guess that's something.
Now have a dialtone on the test socket so I can connect my faceplate filter and extensions properly

Cheers all!

If you get Openreach out to fix your NTE5 for FREE ask them if they'll fit you an NTE2000 filtered faceplate AKA SSFP to OR engineers.

Just hope the idiot responsible for the phone wiring wasn't also responsible for the mains wiring. otherwise you might not get to post 11