I got interested in how I could increase the speed of my current broadband after having a new phone extension fitted as part of some building work, when the builder told me he's only wired up two of the wires of the possible six......... "why?" I asked him...... well he said "One of the others is a bell wire - not needed by modern phones and the others unused.....". Fair enough I thought and left it at that!
About the same time, I was reading an article about a device you can install in your master socket, with the claims it could for many people improve their broadband speed....
Being of the inquisitive type, I got "Googling" and it appears much of what this device does is simply restricts the so called bell wire. The bell wire is no longer needed on modern extensions - it was used for power with the old fashioned ringing phones, and guess what, the two wire extension my builders fitted is working just fine - for phone calls and broadband. Infact normally to your house there are just two wires.
Phone wires are designed as twisted pairs, pairs of wires are loosely twisted together along their length, this helps them cancel out any interference. The bell wire however is not in a pair, and ends up acting as a long atennee throughout the phone wire, which in turns reduces your broadband speed.
So what does this mean. Well firstly if your ADSL Router or Modem is plugged into the master socket (the suppliers socket) then unfortunately nothing - you're at the maximum speed most likely. However if you're using extensions, simply removing the bell wire at or near the master socket will reduce your line interference, leading to increased broadband speed as the number of errors the exchange sees reduces.....
It's very easy to fix, and if you haven't worked it out already, fear not in my next blog entry I'll describe the few steps you need to go through for free quicker internet at home, afterall everyone wants to surf faster! And bellwire removal is a quick way of achieving this! Until then, thanks.
I just 'voted' and told you, accurately, that my speed, after 24 hours has increased by less than 1mbps. But it started out at 0.24 (I live in the Back of Beyond's back yard) and jumped to 0.54! Now when I went to school, in the Stone Age, that was a ONE HUNDRED and TWENTY-FIVE percent increase!
ReplyDeleteAs it is Easter there is only one appropriate comment: Hallelujah!
Many thanks for your sterling work.
And an update:after 4 days we've now reached .57 with an occasional foray into .60.
ReplyDeleteJust wring my bell (wire)! Thanks again.
That's excellent to hear - I feel kind of guilty worrying that my broadband speed was only 4.2MBs before I removed the bell wire myself! (I now enjoy just under 6Mbps.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your new slighty quicker broadband - and thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.
Another update! At risk of being boring...
ReplyDeleteMay Day is celebrated with 1.47mbps. 600% increase since PBW (Post Bell Wire). A whole new era. You are a veritable Apostle!
That's great news that the speed has grown so much. You might find it worthwhile investing in a twisted phone to router cable like the ones belkin sell, they can make quite a difference in a delicate set up. Enjoy your surfing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your information about speed up broadband connection.It's useful for me.
ReplyDeleteI found the site for checking my broadband speed.
Hmm i have no wires connected to the inside of my nte5 box :/
ReplyDeleteAlan - do you have any extentsions?? If not any you're plugging your router or modem straight into the master socket then the bell wire fix won't help you, you may wish to test your internet speed whilst connected to the master socket to see if you have any connection problems, good luck.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI have a question...
My master socket is down stairs and it looks exactly like the one on the picture and another cable is plugged into it that goes upstairs to an extension socket which my BT Modem is plugged in to.
So the question is do i remove the bell wire in the master socket or extension or both??
You only need to the remove the bell wire from the BT master socket. (removing it from your over socket will do no harm mind).
ReplyDeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice. I have just opened the socket to find 2 orange and white wires fixed into position 3. I removed them both, taped them together and put everything back into place. Upon resetting my router, the speed has shot up from approx 1.2 Mbps to around 3.4. Brilliant (thus far). I have been getting variations in speed from the extension socket I have been using, the speed sometimes dropping right down. Hopefully everything is sorted now so thanks again!!
Brilliant. Disconnected bell wire and instantly went from 2.6 to 4.2. Thank you
ReplyDeleteNo probs glad removing the bell wire worked for you too
DeleteThanks for the advice. Did you also know though that replacing the untwisted unscreened lead from your telephone socket into the router/modem with a screened twisted lead (£2 from Amazon or Ebay) can also increase the speed and reliability even further by cutting out the interference. Hope this little tip helps - it worked for me! The lead you need is: Belkin Hi-Speed Internet M Cable RJ11M-Btm 2.1M Black
ReplyDeletehi....can any one help me in incresing my bsnl broadband plan..im using 512kbps plan...its download speed is only btwn 40-58kbps...is ther any tricks for incrsing my download speed...thanks in advnce
ReplyDeleteLook like I might have to give this a try seeing that people have been getting some good results.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Excellent! increased my speed straight away! even done this at my father in laws house and it worked there also! Great advice!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tips on how to maximise the Internet connection. That is effective but still the speed of internet depends on the service of Internet Provider.
ReplyDeleteAt first i connected my modem to the sub-socket. I connected my phone and modem together to the master socket. This reduces my bandwidth and the guys from ISP came and connect a split-er and now the connection is fine. The fact is that many users are not aware of these stuffs. Check out the blog from Terago Networks.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for such a great blog.
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Interesting and informative one,,,thanks for share the blog,,,i liked your blog!!!awesome one really!!Business Broadband Providers
ReplyDeleteThese seems to be very effective tips to speeding up the broadband and good to apply them as well.
ReplyDeleteThese are really great services and initiatives for speeding up your Broadband which are admirable.
ReplyDeleteBell wire causes attenuation on the line. Best to remove the wire completely to maximise your ADSL speed. Bell wire causing your signal to noise hence reducing your broadband speed. Use a pots Splitter on the main connection and then have a dedicated single jack for your internet connection.
ReplyDeleteDo I need a modem to use a router?
ReplyDeletebranch router
The Tds Telecom Speed Test goes beyond merely providing results; it offers actionable insights to help you enhance your high-speed internet experience. The tool may provide recommendations based on your test results, suggesting potential optimizations to improve your internet connection.
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