Hi there. We have had the faceplate off a couple of times and off for a few months with the filter in between the faceplate and the test socket to test broadband speeds etc..

Now, Today its caused some problems,

I have even tried putting it back to how it was with the faceplate and wires all secure in.

the other sockets around the house are wired into the back of the faceplate. The blue and white ones only as always, one in 5 and one in 2. When i do this i can hear the phone line, but its quiet and crackly. not very clear at all. Even tried changing the wires around and its the same.

When a house phone is plugged into the faceplate without the wires i can hear everything and its clear. As soon as i put the other two wires in for the other sockets it cuts off the one plugged into the faceplate and sounds quiet and crackly on from the other sockets.

Im unsure what it could be. The wire is intact and nothing has changed since yesterday when it was all fine.

Maybe it could be the faceplate damaged somehow on the back. It hasnt been caught though.

Any ideas?

it won't be your faceplate as it works fine with the wires disconnected. do you have anything plugged into the other sockets?

There are three other sockets, two have phones plugged into them. I have tried with just one or the other in each socket and its the same.

Sounds like the wiring of the extension sockets is dodgy. Or one of the sockets. The symptoms you describe make me think there is a short circuit (or a very close approximation of one) somewhere.

To begin with remove all phones bar the one at the master. Have the extension cable connected, but unplug the face plate so the extensions are not live Now work out from the master socket following the extension wiring and check carefully for damage, especially if it goes under carpets anywhere. Once you get to the first extension unscrew the face plate and check the wiring on the back.

Remove the wires completely and test at the master socket, ie plug the extensions into the line and check with a phone at the master socket. If the line is clear then you know the wiring from master to first extension is good. If not then the cable is faulty somewhere.

If you get a clear line attach just the wires from the master socket onto the extension. Again test at the master. If all is clear then you have a good first extension. If not then something is wrong with the socket. Also check the line when you plug a phone into the extension socket. If the line stays clear then you have eliminated the wiring, the extension and one phone.

Now connect on the wires to the second extension and repeat the test. If you get a dodgy line then follow the wiring from extension 1 to extension 2 checking for damage. When you get to extension 2 unscrew it and remove the wires. Test again. If it's OK then the cable is OK if not the cable is faulty.

Connect up the socket and retest. And just keep repeating this process for every extension.

A pain in the thing you sit on but it's the only real way to crack the problem. And while you are about all this make sure the wires are connected pin 2 to pin 2 and pin 5 to pin 5. ie if you have blue in pin 2 at the master make sure the blue goes to pin 2 at the extensions. I have known randomly reversing 2 and 5 cause problems.

But with some trial and error (mostly error and a few words you wouldn't want your mum to hear you using probably ) you should be able to track down where the fault lies. Could be an even bigger pain in the wotsit if it's a cable fault!