Faulty BT Line

[narkeybee]

Getting back to the the OP,if it was a line fault, surely water in the circuit would be detected by line tests, the fact that it is cleared by an incoming call, I would suggest the fault might be in the exchange. The fact that the broadband is working fine would suggest not a line fault.

 

[winston1]

If you fit a filter between the incoming line and the router/modem then the ADSL signal will not get to the router/modem and thus the router/modem cannot work

The micro-filters supplied have 2 output sockets, a filtered one for a phone, and an unfiltered RJ11 socket for the router. The thing is referred to as a micro-filter even though the modem side is unfiltered.

 

[SUNRAY]

Routers usually come with micro-filters.

The phone requires the filter. The only reason the router requires one is because the RJ11 plug on the router will not fit a phone socket.

I will put this back for completeness.
Or use this lead which also comes with the routers and doesn't require an adaptor or filter:

 

[Andydevon]

quick review for the OP but it sounds very much like corroded terminals at the street box level. You need a decent engineer to identify and sort which does not appear to be the case so far.

 

[Handymanjo]

Has the exchange line card been changed.

 

[winston1]

I will put this back for completeness.
Or use this lead which also comes with the routers and doesn't require an adaptor or filter:
View attachment 240489

Never had a lead like that with a router.

 

[SUNRAY]

Never had a lead like that with a router.

I'll say the vast majority if not all of the modems/routers I've unpacked have included them, I currently only have 2 in the drawer, however I have used 3 at site where only a modem is in use so no filter required and I've repurposed (cut up) several.

Edit: of the 5 broadband services I currently have running only 2 use a RJ11/12 cable

 

[KEEP SAFE]

Just had 7th Open reach engineer out to diagnose fault.
Said there was a blip on the line but didn't know what it was.
Checked green box no fault detected.
Asked him to check junction box on pole (nobodies checked it yet) said no need.
Said i might be charged as no fault detected!!!

 

[davelx]

Document the whole saga with times and dates and copies of correspondence to the Marc Allera, CEO BT Consumer Business, saying that this state of affairs is unacceptable and asking if there is anything they can do. BT has a "Hit Squad" that can be mobilised in cases like this.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Just had 7th Open reach engineer out to diagnose fault.
Said there was a blip on the line but didn't know what it was.
Checked green box no fault detected.
Asked him to check junction box on pole (nobodies checked it yet) said no need.
Said i might be charged as no fault detected!!!

Blip on the line, sounds like a bad connection, or a short. They use an instrument which sends pulse down the line, the reflected pulse indicates the distance to an open circuit, poor connection or a short - it works rather like radar.

 

[SimonH2]

This would have serious regulatory implications for Openreach if true.

I suspect the origin of this claim is double pronged.
Firstly, the "walls" that were always supposed to exist between BT and OR were ... a bit porous. Regardless of everything else, it's hard to imagine that the bosses at OR will do anything other than what benefits their sole business owner (i.e. BT).
Secondly, OR have a two tier support system. Basically the cheaper ISPs pay less to OR for the line, and in return get a slower fault response time. So any ISP that pays the higher rate (and given that BT sells reassuringly expensive contracts, especially business ones, I suspect they do) does get priority treatment when handling faults.

Thanks. That sounds encouraging. However, I'm not sure what effect the 'filtered front plate' would have on the signal, once you've gone beyond it. Perhaps that's what the engineer was referring to.

These days you'll get a 5C socket with xDSL filter plate. On the front of that you'll see two sockets - one for a phone (filtered), and one (using an 'RJ11' socket) for the router - no microfilter needed.
On the back of the filter/front plate are terminals that you can use to extend the filtered phone and unfiltered xDSL circuits anywhere you want. Typically the way to do it is use 3 pair CW1308 cable (i.e. standard phone cable), using the blue and orange pairs for the phone, and the green pair for the DSl signal - and put a combination socket (phone + rj11) socket at the other end. Unless you have a house that covers multiple postcodes, it's not going to make all that much difference to the DSL signal to extend it to another room. If you have a load of Cat5e or Cat6 network cable lying around, you can use that.

However, that part of the loft is difficult to access and is not boarded over.

What you could do, is to pre-install a suitable cable from the loft to where you want the master socket - again, use CW1308 cable. Any half capable OR tech who isn't being a complete **** should be happy to terminate the aerial fly cable into a junction box in the loft and fit the master socket at the other end.
But board the relevant parts of the loft.
Or instead of the loft, find a suitably inconspicuous point in an upstairs room for the junction box.
I've been told in the past that Sky techs are explicitly prohibited from going into lofts - H&S grounds.

By way of anecdote, a few years ago BT (may have been before OR because a (supposedly) separate outfit) were hauled up in court after one of their techs was seriously injured - broken legs and pelvis or something like that. He'd been working in the loft of a flat, and unknown to him had moved to a part that was over a stairwell - and then fell through the ceiling. With no-one around to offer assistance, he eventually ran out of strength to hold on and fell some way onto the stairs. It was expensive for BT ...
So it's understandable why some outfits will prohibit their employees going into lofts - where boarding (if there at all) will be of unknown quality (I've seen lofts "sort of" boarded with old cupboard doors and stuff like that.

 

[JohnW2]

... Unless you have a house that covers multiple postcodes ...

I suspect that, more-or-less by definition, that is not possible

My house has a postcode of it's own (well, now shared with a neighbour's house which, until about 60 years ago, was part of mine) -and I think that's about as close as one can get!!

However, in relation to even a very large house, I agree with...

.... it's not going to make all that much difference to the DSL signal to extend it to another room

... even if it has only one postcode

Kind Regards, John

 

[SUNRAY]

Never had a lead like that with a router.

Just pulled this failed lead from service in a friends home fortunately he had a spare from another router pack:

And as it happens I installed a new TP Link router with one of those supplied leads a couple of months back, meaning I now have four internet services running with them and two with 6P modular plugs (RJ12)

 

[winston1]

I'll say the vast majority if not all of the modems/routers I've unpacked have included them, I currently only have 2 in the drawer, however I have used 3 at site where only a modem is in use so no filter required and I've repurposed (cut up) several.

Edit: of the 5 broadband services I currently have running only 2 use a RJ11/12 cable

All the routers I have had had a micro filter and a double ended RJ11 lead.

 

[SUNRAY]

All the routers I have had had a micro filter and a double ended RJ11 lead.

So have mine, I have a drawer full of them unused.