Internal wiring question - post move to digital voice

Hi all,

I have a BT 5C MK4 master socket with one extension connected, along with an RJ11 cable from the alarm panel also wired into the master socket.

Now that I’ve switched to Digital Voice, the extension and alarm panel wiring are no longer in use.

Will leaving these two pairs connected affect my broadband speeds or prevent the setup from performing optimally? Or is it best to disconnect them?

Thanks in advance.

Edited by Bobby_Valentino (Thu 08-May-25 17:00:33)

It’s only carrying voice (presumably from either your router FXS port or an ATA) so there are no ‘speeds’ involved as this wiring is no longer carrying any VDSL frequencies from the cabinet.

The OP doesn’t say that they have moved to FTTP, so it might be SOGEA .. and for this reason, I say dis off the extension and alarm wiring at the NTE. It isn’t doing any good, but might possibly do a little harm.

If they HAVE gone to FTTP…. then just leave it all in situ

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

The OP doesn’t say that they have moved to FTTP, so it might be SOGEA .. and for this reason, I say dis off the extension and alarm wiring at the NTE. It isn’t doing any good, but might possibly do a little harm.

If they HAVE gone to FTTP…. then just leave it all in situ

I have NOT moved over to FTTP.

Great – I'll disconnect both the pairs from the BT master socket.

Great – I'll disconnect both the pairs from the BT master socket.

Go for it. The other way leaves an, albeit slim, chance of being an aerial for inducing RFI into the signal. Or a loop fault on the wiring or alarm equipment causing the circuit to seriously struggle

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

The OP doesn’t say that they have moved to FTTP, so it might be SOGEA .. and for this reason, I say dis off the extension and alarm wiring at the NTE. It isn’t doing any good, but might possibly do a little harm.

If they HAVE gone to FTTP…. then just leave it all in situ

Must remember to actually read the OP properly and reply accordingly 🤣

But the OP doesn't say his alarm system has been discontinued, so what's going on with that? I would expect disconnecting its wire to be the same as a burglar cutting the line.

In reply to a post by pluralist:

But the OP doesn't say his alarm system has been discontinued, so what's going on with that? I would expect disconnecting its wire to be the same as a burglar cutting the line.

I beg to differ Bob.

Now that I’ve switched to Digital Voice, the extension and alarm panel wiring are no longer in use

Maybe the OP reconfigured / disabled functionality on the alarm panel - they did say another extension and wiring to the alarm were no longer in use…🤷‍♂️

Edit: oops I see @Zarjaz had replied before me.

Edited by Pheasant (Fri 09-May-25 06:31:28)

on a side note, what were you and pluralist, drinking to insure major forum blindness ?😂😂😁🤭

I’d love to say something half decent, bud sadly not. Just blindness 🤣

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

I’d love to say something half decent, bud sadly not. Just blindness 🤣

hehe, seriously though its soo easy to miss read......

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

I’d love to say something half decent, bud sadly not. Just blindness 🤣

Friend who is a school teacher says the teenagers don't read the question. I think most of us adults are equally guilty of speed reading

The problem I was trying to highlight was that there was no logical connection between moving to Digital Voice and the wiring of the extension and alarm panel.

For instance it's possible, probable even, that both the extension and the alarm systemt were previously redundant anyway. The OP was implying that we should make the jump to that view, when if it were the case it would have been normal simply to say so. I think most people would say the kit was no longer in use so could they remove the connections to the NTE.

After decades of wasting time troubleshooting problems having been given incorrect "facts" I always worry about statements that require such an assumption from the reader.

So I asked the question.

PS: One case that really amused me was a tower machine in a network that wouldn't switch on, so I was called out on a twenty-minute journey. The diagnosis took more like 20 seconds.

The switch on the wall socket was off. Which puzzled the two or three others of the office staff in the room because they never bothered with those switches. It turned out the cleaner the previous evening had used the socket to plug a vacuum cleaner in and correctly switched the socket off afterwards.