Do BT iPlates fail?

The extension wiring in my house is bad - the wires run alongside the mains cables - so, when I first moved in, I took the front off the master socket and plugged the Home Hub into the test socket. I got a consistent 4 - 4.5Mbps connection.

Whe BT brought out the i-Plate I installed one and it did exactly what it said on the tin, I still got the same speed with all the extensions connected.

For the last couple of months, my speed has dropped to 2Mbps. Just out of curiosity I connected the HH into the test socket and voilà, 4.5Mbps. Replaced the i-Plate, back to 2Mbps. I repeated this several times and it consistently connects at only 2 Mbps when the i-Plate is used.

So, has the i-Plate failed? Anyone else know of one failing?

Yes an iPlate (or even the entire master socket) can fail.
My less than 1 year old master socket developed a very odd fault where the BB dropped as soon as the phone rang. Took an Openreach engineer to diagnose the actual socket. Probably caused by a nearby lightning strike.

In any case, try a new iPlate and see if things improve.

Thanks. I guess we get used to electronics - especially passive devices - working for ever.

I'll get one ordered

In reply to a post by parish:

Thanks. I guess we get used to electronics - especially passive devices - working for ever.

If you normally connect your router @ the master socket, use a filtered faceplate - it'll outperform an iPlate!

Even if you normally connect your router @ an extension socket, consider a filtered faceplate + a dedicated ADSL extension.

Details of how to connect a dedicated ADSL extension were somewhere on this web site.

N.B. The featured filtered faceplate has NO ACTIVE components on it.

All the iPlate does is filter out the ring wire (T3) at the master.

Just gently disconnect that, (don't cut it), and all should be well.

T2 and T5 are the working wires.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

All the iPlate does is filter out the ring wire (T3) at the master.

Just gently disconnect that, (don't cut it), and all should be well.

T2 and T5 are the working wires.

Thanks, but I've a feeling I did that originally, but the socket is awkward to get at to check. Anyway, I've ordered a new iPlate now so hopefully that will work. If not, then it's no great problem leaving the faceplate off and using the test socket as we don't use the extensions.

Just use the TEST socket anyway as regardless it will ALWAYS be better, even if the i-plate works.

Send the iplate back and get some dosh back

Well, the new iPlate arrived, I installed it, and...same problem.

Then I remembered that I replaced an extension socket about 6 weeks before I noticed the drop in speed (so I hadn't connected the two events).

I've double-checked that the new socket is wired correctly - even examining it with a magnifying glass to ensure there are no shorts - so I guess it must be a faulty socket (although a telephone connected to it works fone for both incoming and outgoing calls) which is causing interference on the signal wires (the bell wire being disconnected by the iPlate).

Oh well, as ukhardy07 suggested, just use the test socket.

Disconnect the wires at the new socket - leave attached at the master and try from the front plate.

In reply to a post by MHC:

Disconnect the wires at the new socket - leave attached at the master and try from the front plate.

I was trying to avoid that. Took ages to wire - fat fingers, thin wires - but i've tried it and it solves the problem so, faulty/poor quality socket?

It's one of these from Screwfix