i cant work out how to wire my phone sockets!!?

Question

just got BT connected to my new house, and they claim everything is working fine. but when i plug into the master phone point, nothing. the phone definately works but need to make sure the wiring off the incoming cable is correct. dont want to be stuck with a rip off call out charge.

Answer 1

Hi, BT said the same to me, to put it simple, if you dont get dial tone on the 1st socket (master) then there is a cable fault outside, but before you shoot BT, best check the LJU 1st, open the socket, if its a old style, single face plate you will see the cable connected (or should) to the connector on no. 2 & 5 this is the incoming line, the wires need to be firmly pressed down, into the IDC connector. these are normally blue/white & white/blue, but it depends on the age of the cable popping into your house. now if its a new style BT socket, there is an extn plate on the front, remove this, then youll see the BT part, (not supposed to be in this bit, but however) you should see 2 wires screwed into the plate on leg A & B, thats it really, another way is to follow the dropwire coming into your house, to the socket, this will proves your at the 1st socket, then ensure its connected, if this doesnt help then the best thing is give me a shout via yahoo, ill guide you through faulting finding... its takes about 5-10mins, but some ahve made the mistake the old cable socket, they thought was BT, and made a little boo boo. but its no dark art and doesnt take long!, good luck

Answer 2

The first point is not to mess with the wires. As you will most likely have CAT5, the connection is fragile. If you break a cable, you will have to pay BT for the Engineer to repair it and that will be expensive. As BT have checked the line, it must be fine as their equipment analyses the line from the exchange to your socket. As the diagnostics test came back OK, it must be your phone. Check to make sure the phone doesn't have an "annalogue / digital" switch. If it does, make sure it is switched to digital. If not, you might have a break in your telephone's cable. To do simple tests, first, use a different line or mobile to call your number. If it rings and then goes to the answering service, the line appears fine. Next, take your phone to a friend's / family member's home and plug your phone into their socket. If it doesn't work, get a new one. It will only cost you a tenner from Argos. I used a few of the cheap ones when my child was younger as I needed disposable phones due to the regular damage. Finally, if neither appear to be a problem, very carefully, remove the two screws to your socket. Open the cover carefully and take a look at the wires inside. Two wires should be connected and two should be loose. Check that the component are fixed tight to the panel. Sometimes, the sockets have a bad bit of soldering. Usually it can take many months before this fault is noticed as the line socket works it's way loose from the panel. If you notice any obvious fault, call BT and ask for an Engineer but do NOT tell them that you know the fault as they can claim that you tampered with their equipment. Just ask the Engineer to check the socket. Also, regardless of whether or not you notice a fault, when you screw the cover back onto the socket, do it carefully. As it's a new line, the BT Engineer will notice any cross threading or damage to the heads of the screws. Good Luck!

Answer 3

Bobb's answer is good but I think this question is for the UK. The wiring & connections you have mentioned are typical for the UK. You are correct when it comes to the colour coding for the connections. Connection 3 for the orange/white wire is the bell wire. This bell wire allows the phone to ring. Having said that most modern phones will ring if this wire is not connected as they have their own ringing circuit. Your internet I am guessing is broadband & you could easily get away with not using the orange/white wire. I imagine the socket does not have screw terminals but an insertion type connection & for that you will need what we call a KRONE insertion tool. These can be expensive. Usually the local DIY store stocks a cheap plastic alternative. Having said all this your internet should work by connecting the wires to the connectors 2 & 5 ignoring all the other connections. Something to note:- The broadband speed you get can be affected by the bell wire in your extension wiring. The BT iplate resolves this, up to a point, by isolating the bell wire from the main NTE. But the easiest thing to do is leave the bell wire dis-connected or not bother with extensions. By not having extensions or you use the iplate you can get up to an extra 1 meg of speed on your broadband. I have seen this proved on many occasions.

Answer 4

The wires into the house should be connected to terminals 2 & 5. A single phone should work with that connection either way round. If you've got more than 1 socket, life gets more complicated.

Answer 5

Don't panic, when BT test a line they look for the socket at the end of the line, not which address it goes to. Each pair of wires can be traced from the exchange to house by routing records kept by BT, trouble is a lot of these records aren't accurate, so your number ends up at another house. Happens everyday! Double check your phone in a neighbours socket, if its ok then call out BT (it could be my hubby that turns up to fix this, so its tea with one sugar please!

Answer 6

well here is a web site for a wiring diagram for telephones,
http://www.wppltd.demon.co.uk/WPP/Wiring/UK_telephone/uk_telephone.html
but Bt wont charge you if you call them out, if i was you i would call them.

Answer 7

B.T. wont charge you a call out charge, they never have me, and as it goes if you ring from another number they will be able to tell you if signal is coming to your point.

Answer 8

Try
http://www.wppltd.demon.co.uk/WPP/Wiring/UK_telephone/uk_telephone.html