Can BT swap master and extension sockets?

Hi

At the front of our house we have 2 phone sockets the broadband is plugged into one and a phone line for Sky TV into the other they are really old sockets from the 80s or earlier and we were removing the faceplates yesterday to try and find the master and from what people told us it looks as though the one the broadband is plugged into is a extension not the master which it appears is the one where the Sky TV is plugged into and after hearing that I could get a betteer broadband experience If I use the master instead of the extension I was wandering would BT be able to swap them over?

We used to have a junction box in the loft but BT removed it due to it being difficult to access and then put a white box on the outside of our house where the phone line enters the property My mum thinks this white box they installed on the outside wall is still a junction box but I think the box on the outside wall is just the entry point to the property for the phone line and not a junction box.

If the box on the exterior of the property is a junction box would that possibly make it impossible for BT to change the sockets around or would that not be a problem.

This is the box on the outside.
http://i.imgur.com/jpgum.jpg

This is the socket where the broadband is connected.
http://imgur.com/3IiGm http://i.imgur.com/FfTHT.jpg

And this is the one where the sky box is connected.
http://i.imgur.com/HZm8A.jpg http://i.imgur.com/v5FM9.jpg

If anyone could please tell me wheather we are indeed using a extension for broadband and that the master for sky an is the box outside a junction box or not.

Anyone who can help me out here I really appreciate it I am visually impaired so figuring out the wires in the sockets is really hard.

1st picture looks to be an extension
2nd looks to be them main point but extended
You can tell the 2nd one is the main as it has 2 sets of wire join it and one set of wires runs off to the socket in the 1st picture

Yes BT will happily move your master socket for a fee.

Both of those sockets appear to be labelled internally as LJU2/2A - so are both in fact master sockets intended for PABX use, they have no resistor or surge arrestor which differentiates them from the more usual LJU2/1A of that period.

Give BT a call and ask how much it would be to relocate the master socket - but make sure you are sitting down when you do, and have the kettle already on for the much needed hot sweet tea that people in shock apparently need

Edited by deleted (Mon 11-Apr-11 08:10:49)

The plate in picture one is an after market master point, as the yellow "bell ringing capacitor" confirms.
The two wires connected to it would normally lead you to believe it to be the master point.

The other picture doesn't show the whole of the plate, but the three wire system would normally denote an extension socket. Have you any other phone sockets in the house? If not then this could well be feeding the master socket in pic one, even though it shouldn't really be.

The box outside is indeed a junction box. The sockets have probably been added from there by sky, builders or DIYers in the past.

I used to be with sky, and because I did not have the correct BT master point (which you don't) they sent a BT engineer out to fit one at no cost to myself. You should confirm that with your service provider, as I don't know how much or if BT would charge if you ask them to investigate.

they have no resistor or surge arrestor which differentiates them from the more usual LJU2/1A of that period.

Ooops. I thought it was a capacitor. You learn something new everyday I suppose!

Both have the resistors in place ...

Having two "masters" albeit without the spark gap / surge arrestor can degrade performance. One simple solution is to remove the components from one of them a s a short term measure.

Those sockets were only made in 2002 - and cannot be from the 80's.

Where does the third extension sit? The SkyBox socket image shows 3 connections to 2 and 5 - itself a NO NO so there could be another socket hiding elsewhere.

You mention you are visually impaired - are BT aware of that? Certain services are provides FoC to specific categories of people.

In reply to a post by MHC:

Those sockets were only made in 2002 - and cannot be from the 80's.

Where does the third extension sit? The SkyBox socket image shows 3 connections to 2 and 5 - itself a NO NO so there could be another socket hiding elsewhere.

You mention you are visually impaired - are BT aware of that? Certain services are provides FoC to specific categories of people.

It appears from what you say that when the junction box was moved from the attic (in 2002) BT also updated the sockets. The room with the sky box has a garage on the other side of the far wall with a phone line maybe that is where the extra extension goes. Would this complicate matters in terms of getting the Sky box socket replaced with a non master? Am I correct that you think I might have a third master as well?

Indeed they do - didn't look much beyond the LJU2/2A marking. Still no surge protector and really meant for use with a PABX but they do seem to crop up fairly commonly in properties you wouldn't expect a PABX to ever have existed :/

Also just to add I am with Sky for my phone (including line rental) and broadband as well what would be the process in terms of getting BT to replace the old sockets with new ones and replace the extra masters with standard sockets.

Would I have to go through Sky or contact BT directly?