New Build flat, Is this phone socket wired Incorrect.

[Murdoch]

As others have suggested, as long as you are refering to the "master" socket in your flat, you need to get BT out to check the phone and make it works - BT have descended into a terrible farce - off shoring their help centre HAS made things worse.

4 years ago, we moved house , just down the road. The Friday before we moved the local BT man attended the property, checked out the new master and transferred our number to the new house  - to his credit he hung around long enough for me to hook up the HH5 and check my laptop was connecting to the internet.

One the Monday another contractor came along and connected our new house to the number of the person who bought our old house - which we didn't realise for about 3 days until a somebody rang to speak to the new buyer

Needless to say the off shore BT call centre didn't believe me - so when asked them to confirm the number I had called them on - they said "but that isn't your number" - I then got transferred to a UK help centre and a very nice man arrived the following morning - sorted the problem in a matter of a few minutes

We were without our landline for 1 week

 

[O3gan]

Hi all thanks for your help.

i bought a multimeter on my way home and can confirm that there is voltage in only the blue white pair.

I will take your comments on board about complaining about the dial tone rather than the broadband.

the engineer didn’t visit the inside of my flat because annoyingly the service provider refused to book a home visit. Only one to the exterior box.

the engineer that did visit my home was from the service provider and he brought with him a spare modem. He was clearly trying to ensure that it wasn’t a modem fault. He spotted that I have no dial tone (I don’t own a landline phone to plug in and check). At which point he just said “it is an Openreach issue” called the fault department who sent an Openreach engineer to the outside of my flat. 

remotely they claim that they can see my router

If remotely they claim they can see my router, and I am getting volt reading on the blue white pair then surely it is a faulty socket?

I will be writing a complaint to the CO... just as soon as I get broadband for  that email

 

[Andy™]

remotely they claim that they can see my router

they will tell you anything. i once phoned to complain of complete loss. i had already tested it but nothing, completely dead. they said it was working and they could see my modem connected. whilst on the phone i to them i noticed openreach around the corner at the pole.. the cables for everyone on that were tied to a fence and not connected whilst the pole was replaced... so yes, they will tell you a load of BS and hope that you go away and keep paying them for a non-existant service

 

[ProDave]

Well now you have done that, you might as well swap the master socket over to the blue / white pair and see if you get a dial tone.

But why one of the previous "engineers" that visited could not have done that?

 

[O3gan]

It is already on the blue white pair. The only one with a voltage reading.

i suspected as much regarding them lying to me about being able to recognise my modem.

i just want them to send an Openreach engineer into my flat but they make it impossible. 

Thanks for your help all

 

[Andy™]

next time you phone them, remove the cables from the master and tell them its completely dead. sometimes you got to improvise a bit to get them to actually send someone out...

 

[Blue Duck]

What voltage reading did you get  on the multimeter? 

The last one I fixed was 50v IIRC should be 48v.

 

[Andy™]

or around 100 if someone is calling

 

[O3gan]

next time you phone them, remove the cables from the master and tell them its completely dead. sometimes you got to improvise a bit to get them to actually send someone out...

Great idea!!! Will do

What voltage reading did you get  on the multimeter? 

The last one I fixed was 50v IIRC should be 48v.

It read around 50.  I didn’t want to disturb the wiring by stripping them at all so I was touching the ends with unsteady hands so my reading wasn’t spot on, but it was roughly 50

 

[Doc Hudson]

Hi all thanks for your help.

i bought a multimeter on my way home and can confirm that there is voltage in only the blue white pair.

I will take your comments on board about complaining about the dial tone rather than the broadband.

the engineer didn’t visit the inside of my flat because annoyingly the service provider refused to book a home visit. Only one to the exterior box.

the engineer that did visit my home was from the service provider and he brought with him a spare modem. He was clearly trying to ensure that it wasn’t a modem fault. He spotted that I have no dial tone (I don’t own a landline phone to plug in and check). At which point he just said “it is an Openreach issue” called the fault department who sent an Openreach engineer to the outside of my flat. 

remotely they claim that they can see my router

If remotely they claim they can see my router, and I am getting volt reading on the blue white pair then surely it is a faulty socket?

I will be writing a complaint to the CO... just as soon as I get broadband for  that email

I think you may have been better getting a cheap corded phone rather than a multimeter. Strictly speaking you shouldn't be messing around opening up their incoming line box.

And when they do say they have fixed it the easiest test is plug a phone in and call your mobile, then from your mobile call your land line. Thus proving both incoming and outgoing calls are all working.   http://www.argos.co.uk/product/3924358

Doc H.

 

[binky]

your broadband won't work without an ADSL splitter, your master point should have 2 points if it's the only point in the house, 1 for telephone, 1 for broadband. That picture seems to show a single master socket for telephone.  I could also be talking wine infused garbage.  :Y

 

[kerching]

The twonks that answer the fault line calls know nothing!

customer had a fault, wanted me to prove where it was so he didn't get charged for a NFF call.     I got it down to a A to Earth fault 427m from his master socket 

call,centre said no fault

he told them what I had done

they said I couldn't have as I didn't have the tools!....wrong!

BT engineer came out.   A to,E fault at 420m....either mine or his tester needs calibrating  msl1:

 

[Blue Duck]

I think you may have been better getting a cheap corded phone rather than a multimeter. Strictly speaking you shouldn't be messing around opening up their incoming line box.

And when they do say they have fixed it the easiest test is plug a phone in and call your mobile, then from your mobile call your land line. Thus proving both incoming and outgoing calls are all working.   http://www.argos.co.uk/product/3924358

Doc H.

That's the very phone ive been using for testing phonelines for the last 5 years! Never had a problem, just plug in and hit 17070! Thats the limit of my testing abilities! :slap

your broadband won't work without an ADSL splitter, your master point should have 2 points if it's the only point in the house, 1 for telephone, 1 for broadband. That picture seems to show a single master socket for telephone.  I could also be talking wine infused garbage.  :Y

Wine infused garbage, masters just have an A + B the splitters are now built in, also think the image was just for illustrative porpoises

 

[O3gan]

Good News All!

I received a phone-call yesterday while I was at work "Hi im Shaun from Openreach, ill be at your flat in 20 mins".

My service provider who had been denying me the open reach visit didn't think it wise to let me know at all that Shaun was coming. I even have an email from them that same day saying that nobody from open reach would be coming.

So i raced home as fast as I could.

Anyway, Shaun found the issue quite easily, and tried to explain to me, which in turn i will try to relay to you a best as I can in my lehman. When the flats were wired the ports were labelled wrong and the box outside numbering didn't match the port numbers for each flat. So in essence everything was being sent to the wrong flat. 

Thanks all for your help and advice! I have broadband now!

 

[ProDave]

Well done.

Now as a VERY MINIMUM compensation, demand a refund of the several months you have paid without getting the service. 

 

[Murdoch]

Good News All!

I received a phone-call yesterday while I was at work "Hi im Shaun from Openreach, ill be at your flat in 20 mins".

My service provider who had been denying me the open reach visit didn't think it wise to let me know at all that Shaun was coming. I even have an email from them that same day saying that nobody from open reach would be coming.

So i raced home as fast as I could.

Anyway, Shaun found the issue quite easily, and tried to explain to me, which in turn i will try to relay to you a best as I can in my lehman. When the flats were wired the ports were labelled wrong and the box outside numbering didn't match the port numbers for each flat. So in essence everything was being sent to the wrong flat. 

Thanks all for your help and advice! I have broadband now!

Good man - thanks for the feedback - as Dave has said you need to push them for compensation - it clearly wan't your fault.

 

[O3gan]

Well done.

Now as a VERY MINIMUM compensation, demand a refund of the several months you have paid without getting the service. 

I will! I have multiple emails where I have been lied to, or misinformed causing me to needlessly take days off work. I intend to get them by the balls.

 

[Phoenix]

call,centre said no fault

he told them what I had done

they said I couldn't have as I didn't have the tools!....wrong!

I didn't realise that you could use a TDR on a cable that was still patched in at the exchange and had (potentially) telephone line voltage on it and all sorts of electronic-y bits terminating it at the far end.

Not doubting you, just curious, I've never used a TDR but know the rough principles it operates, so I just wondered how its used in this situation?

 

[Andy™]

tdr can be done live at 230v and possibly higher

 

[kerching]

Never had an issue with it......JDSU HST 3000 complete with Bells and whistles

for 'on supply ' TDr measurements I use an old BICCOTEST  Faultman, it has a mains blocking filter that can be put between Tester and live cable