ADSL only available on one phone jack??

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danielwd

46 posts

Geek

#139386 7-Feb-2014 09:08

Hi all, looking for some expert advice here. Vodafone couldn't help.

So I just moved into a new house, and I asked the previous tenant "why don't you have your wifi router in a more central part of the house" to which he replied "I thought it had to be plugged into that specific jack." I LOLd a little and told him you could plug it into any working phone jack... provided it had appropriate filters etc.

So I moved into the house and tried to set up the router only to find there was no DSL light on my modem and in my admin I'd get a "ADSL not ready" error when I tried to connect. I tried another phone jack, and still no luck. As I was troubleshooting the problem I decided I try the jack the previous tenant had, and low and behold... the DSL worked straight away.

Can anyone comment on this weirdness? I've never seen or heard of this before.

Behodar

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#981642 7-Feb-2014 09:11

It's not weird at all; that's a correct setup. The master splitter has a dedicated jack for DSL, with the others exclusively for phones. This prevents any other devices from interfering with the signal.

danielwd

46 posts

Geek

#981643 7-Feb-2014 09:13

Behodar: It's not weird at all; that's a correct setup. The master splitter has a dedicated jack for DSL, with the others exclusively for phones. This prevents any other devices from interfering with the signal.

Hmmm, well weird for me, as I've never had any trouble before. Maybe I just happened to have the modem on the right jack in the first palce :P

Thanks for your reply. I wonder why the Vodafone tech couldn't tell me the same when I explained what the last tenant had told me.

InstallerUFB

840 posts

Ultimate Geek

#981654 7-Feb-2014 09:27

It is a normal set up - There is a master spliter installed (probably in the ETP) so there is a dedicated xDSL & Phone line to one jkpt only, on one circit in the house wireing, and the rest of the jkpts have only the phone line connected to them on another circuit. - plug in filters are not required in this set up to filter out the xDSL signal from the phones (exatcept one in the dedicated one)

something like this

danielwd

46 posts

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#981655 7-Feb-2014 09:29

Well I learnt something new today. Thanks!

johnr

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#981656 7-Feb-2014 09:31

As above this is how it should be and the best setup to have

coffeebaron

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#981717 7-Feb-2014 11:02

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webwat

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#982264 8-Feb-2014 13:27

Behodar: It's not weird at all; that's a correct setup. The master splitter has a dedicated jack for DSL, with the others exclusively for phones. This prevents any other devices from interfering with the signal.

The previous tenant did have it correctly setup with a filter on the phones, except that its a master filter hardwired into the line and splits off a dedicated connection for the ADSL.

If wireless doesn't work so well at the far end of the house then you could look at putting a wifi access point somewhere to improve coverage, and run a LAN cable to the modem.

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Buzz Bumble

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#982373 8-Feb-2014 17:53

Behodar:
It's not weird at all; that's a correct setup.

It may be the "correct setup", but it would be a bit of a pain in the backside if you decide to move the modem to another room for any reason.

I've never come across this kind of set-up anywhere (except where there's actually a separate broadband phone line of course) - broadband has always been connected to all the jackpoints and small plug-in filter boxes used where needed.

DarthKermit

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#982397 8-Feb-2014 18:29

Buzz Bumble:
Behodar:
It's not weird at all; that's a correct setup.

It may be the "correct setup", but it would be a bit of a pain in the backside if you decide to move the modem to another room for any reason.

I've never come across this kind of set-up anywhere (except where there's actually a separate broadband phone line of course) - broadband has always been connected to all the jackpoints and small plug-in filter boxes used where needed.

"small plug-in filter boxes used where needed" is the run-of-the-mill solution that ISPs give you when you get a basic broadband package from them. Sbiddle's comprehensive article linked to above http://www.geekzone.co.nz/sbiddle/8357 explains why a master filter is a superior solution.

Whatifthespacekeyhadneverbeeninvented?

RunningMan

8955 posts

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#982410 8-Feb-2014 19:00

Buzz Bumble: broadband has always been connected to all the jackpoints and small plug-in filter boxes used where needed.

From a technical point of view, this is a significantly inferior solution. Three very common symptoms of this sort of installation are reduced sync speed, increased random disconnections, and interference from other devices such as rogue phones or Sky boxes.

It's advantage is reduced initial cost, and increased flexibility of where to put the modem. Having some sort of (even rudimentary) structured cabling system solves the location issue, and you only have to have one callout from a technician to sort an internal wiring issue (the most common cause of xDSL related issues) and you have spent more money than the instal cost for a master filter.

Filters plugged in to each outlet simply cannot isolate problematic pre xDSL wiring, bridge taps etc. The only thing they do is prevent the xDSL noise being heard on the phone, which is only one part of getting a good connection working.

IMHO, a properly installed master filter will give you a far better experiance with a xDSL service - higher up and downstream throughput and far reduced disconnections.