if, and I mean if, you NTE5 is wired correctly then the BT incoming wire will go to the backplate with the A/B connections.

Your wired extensions should all come off the detachable lower faceplate.

If you unplug the faceplate then none of the extensions should have a dial tone.

The test socket exposed by unplugging the faceplate should give the best ADSL results as it is only connected to the incoming pair.

If you install a filtered faceplate you would have to reconnect your voice extensions to its 2/3/5 connector block. If you wanted a wired ADSL extension it would connect to the A/B connector block on the faceplate (if fitted, the original BT ones don't have this).

So you should get the best results in the test socket, plugging a filtered faceplate in with no wired extensions attached should give the same result unless there's a connection issue with the faceplate not fitting the test socket properly.

When you add the voice extension wiring it shouldn't have an effect, but you may see a small one as no filter is 100%.

When you say "plugged in only the BT incoming wire into the XTE-2005" that tells me you wired it up wrong.

I am able to see behind the Master socket.

I have 1 Black cable with the mutli coloured wires and another White cable with multi coloured wires.
The black one im assuming is BTs and the white cable is what connects all my extensions around the house.
So I have a faceplate with 2 blue and white wires and 2 white and blue wires connected to 2 + 5.
I simply removed the wires from the white cable which disables my extensions from working. So now I have only 1 Black cable with wires connected to 2 + 5.
Hope this makes sense.

wait a sec. are both cables my internal extensions? I have 3 sockets down stairs and 1 upstairs. need to check this again without any wires in the faceplate.

It may be useful if you post some links to photos of your various sockets.

So now I have only 1 Black cable with wires connected to 2 + 5.
Hope this makes sense.

not really. What is connected to the two terminals at the very back of the NTE5 ? ie the bit you can only get to normally by removing the faceplate and then unscrewing what is underneath it. The two terminals are often screws but I think later ones may be push-in IDC connectors.

I read your description as saying you had the black and white cables connecting to 2+5 on the detachable faceplate

In reply to a post by hittyh:

I am able to see behind the Master socket.
I have 1 Black cable with the mutli coloured wires and another White cable with multi coloured wires.
The black one im assuming is BTs and the white cable is what connects all my extensions around the house.

That doesn't sound quite right!?

The only wire connected behind the NTE5 should be BT's wire from the 'street'.
This connects directly to the back of the Master Socket. Any extensions should connect behind the removable faceplate - the idea being when you removed the faceplate to reveal your 'TEST' socket all of your internal wiring will be disconnected in case it's causing problems.

In reply to a post by yarwell:

The two terminals are often screws but I think later ones may be push-in IDC connectors.

You are indeed correct, for many years the NTE-5 had screw terminals so that the old figure 8 stranded drop wire could be connected to them. However the drop wire now has to be replaced with a twisted pair cable so BT stopped using NTE-5 sockets with screw terminals. Engineers now only carry NTE-5 sockets with IDC terminals on the rear and Pressac the manufacturer of the NTE-5 stopped manufacturing them with screw terminals last year.

for many years the NTE-5 had screw terminals so that the old figure 8 stranded drop wire could be connected to them.

<pedant>
Drop wire has never been stranded.
It is always a solid conductor, but the diameter and material used may have differed, which prevented it's use with IDC terminals. IDCs require 0.5mm diameter solid copper wires to work correctly.

Older types of drop wire used conductors of a larger diameter of copper alloy to provide mechanical strength.
Current drop wire uses 0.5mm copper conductors, but also has separate steel supports within the construction to provide the strength needed to span large distances.
</pedant>

Edited by deleted (Mon 16-Aug-10 11:42:28)

Sorry, when I say "behind" I mean after taking the faceplate off. What im seeing are 2 cables (white and black) with phone wires. Both cable's wires are plugged into the IDC terminals on the back of the faceplate. These must be my extensions for upstairs and downstairs.

Right now both cables are twined together on either 2 and 5 or A and B (depending on the faceplate used) assuming this links them.

Will the Phones still ring if:
a) the extension for downstairs (white cable) is plugged in to 2,3 and 5.
and
b) the extension for upstairs (black cable) where I need the router, is plugged in to A + B.

Edited by hittyh (Mon 16-Aug-10 15:44:29)

Will the Phones still ring if:
a) the extension for downstairs (white cable) is plugged in to 2,3 and 5.
b) the extension for upstairs (black cable) where I need the router, is plugged in to A + B.

should do. If you have a phone upstairs you'll need a microfilter there but nowhere else.

ive found out the black cable is for all downstairs extensions and the white is for upstairs.
I connect both white and black cables to the filtered 2,3 and 5 IDC terminals and plug the router into the adslnation socket. I get 15mb downlink.
I keep the black cable in 2,3 and 5, and connect the white cable (upstairs) to A and B. All extensions ring but the speed drops to 9mb still using the master adslnation faceplate.

place all the wires back into 2,3 and 5, I get 15mb again.