Connecting the router to the Test Socket

Good Morning,

Just a quick question.... my ISP has asked me to connect my Router to the test socket..

I have no issues with doing that, but knowing they will want to do some test I just wanted to check something out...

I have 2 extensions hardwired from the Master Socket.. am I right in thinking that while the test socket is in use that those extensions will be out of use? IE they will have no dial tone and anything connected to them will not dial out or if it's a phone recieve calls?

May sound daft but I wanted to be 100% sure....

Correct, if the sockets are wired correctly then the extensions will be dead while the test socket is used for testing.

Thanks Andrew... you are as ever a wealth of VERY useful information...

Oh and a very speedy reply..

One other quick question... is now an OK time to disconnect the router and reconnect it to the test socket? (IE is it Off Peak)

In reply to a post by CJT:

Thanks Andrew... you are as ever a wealth of VERY useful information...

Oh and a very speedy reply..

One other quick question... is now an OK time to disconnect the router and reconnect it to the test socket? (IE is it Off Peak)

I wouldn't have thought that the discussion of Peak or Off-Peak is particularly relevant, in a fault-finding situation, but it would depend on your own ISP's T&Cs.


Incidentally, just to clarify, the requirement to use the Test Socket is to ensure that ALL internal wiring (e.g. extensions) are disconnected &, hence, cannot be contributing to the problem that you are checking.

Ultimately this is a valuable safe-guard as, if your ISP has to send out a Line-Engineer, then your internal wiring cannot be blamed!!

Hi John,

Apologies I think I had a chat with the ISP about the speed on the line, which is why they want me to connect the test socket.. and they mentioned rebooting the router in "off peak" hours... perhaps that is where I was getting confused...

I will do this later on and see how it performs..

In reply to a post by CJT:

(IE is it Off Peak)

It's not off-peak that's relevant but when rebooting the router it is best to do it during daylight to get the best speeds and lowest noise.

On your Q about the extensions not working when using the test socket, when you remove the faceplate you should find the extensions wired to the back of it. Hence they won't work. If you found nothing on the back of the faceplate then the extensions will be wired incorrectly into the box itself and they will continue to work.

Ideally you should test both a normal connection, and connecting via the test socket. This will help you find any problems with your home phone network and phones.

In reply to a post by XRaySpeX:

In reply to a post by CJT:

(IE is it Off Peak)

It's not off-peak that's relevant but when rebooting the router it is best to do it during daylight to get the best speeds and lowest noise.

On your Q about the extensions not working when using the test socket, when you remove the faceplate you should find the extensions wired to the back of it. Hence they won't work. If you found nothing on the back of the faceplate then the extensions will be wired incorrectly into the box itself and they will continue to work.

Thanks XRaySpeX

My intention is to now do it tomorrow morning, after 10am... and I have informed the ISP of this.... I will check the extensions once the Faceplate is off...

I have speed tested.. but the ISP (TT) have suggested connecting to the Test Socket so they can perform some tests..

So I wanted to be sure if I do it, when it's best to start, and when it best to reconnect the router (once they say they have performed the tests) so I can attempt to maintain a good fast speed

Speed test is useful but router stats are best indicator of any line issues

ISP won't care when you choose to do it. For the purpose of their tests they won't worry about the small fluctuations in speed at diff times of the day.