Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Hi

Newbie - so go easy on me folks.

Quite a simple query really & hope someone can advise.

We have a 'cable & wireless' telephone extension socket fixed to the skirting board in the bedroom which isn't used. We have just ordered a new superking size bed & need every inch we can get to fit the bed in.

I want to remove this socket from the wall as it isn't any use & will simply hide the redundant cable under the carpet / floorboards.

Question is - if I remove the socket / box & associated wiring - will the rest of the Virgin telephone system 'go down' in the house or is this extension wiring totally independent of the main telephone wiring?

I intend to remove it all carefully & will tape up any exposed wires etc, but just wanted to know if it is safe to do so without the fear of the rest of the telephone lines in the house remaining intact?

Many thanks in advance

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Is this the master socket, or an extension.

If it is the master socket you need to keep it.

If it is an extension you can disconnect it, but ideally find where it was extended from and disconnect in that socket too.

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Thanks for your speedy response.

I can only imagine that this bedroom socket is an extension socket as the main cable to the house enters through the lounge wall where the TV is sited and there is a telephone socket in the lounge too.

The previous house owner had plenty of cat 5 cable running around the house to various bedrooms - obviously before the days of wireless.

---------- Post added at 18:12 ---------- Previous post was at 18:08 ----------

Thanks for your quick response.

I can only imagine that this is an extension socket as the main cable TV 'cable' enters the house in the lounge and there is a phone socket in the lounge too.

It wil be fairly hard to find out where it is an extension from as the wires go into the floorboards.

The previous house owner had cables going everywhere

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Fairly easy to determine what it is. If it's an extension it will just have connectors on the back. If it's a master there will be a capacitor and another component.

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Thanks.

Can you please divulge a bit more info about your reply as this is a wee bit too technical for me to understand?

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

In the attached image, the socket style on the left is USUALLY on modern installations an extension socket and the socket on the right is indicative of a Master Socket because it has extra circuitary in to make the phone ring (not used so much anymore as most of us have digital cordless phones) so the faceplate is removable at the bottom to attach extension wiring and access the test socket.

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Wow thanks

The socket I'm talking about actually resembles the bigger one of the two (the one on the right in your photo with the the removable bottom half.

There is a twist however - ALL three phone sockets in the house (lounge, hall, bedroom) are the same. I assume this will make it even harder to work out which one is the 'master'?

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/...2011/10/48.jpg

Look at the back, this is a master socket

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/...2011/10/49.jpg

This is an extension socket

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Thank you very much for this information. What a wonderful forum!. I was looking at tackling the removal of the socket this evening - so I'll have a look for the capacitor. I understand now thanks to your photographs.

Great stuff..

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Attachment 22695

Attachment 22696

These are photos of the socket removed. Am not sure if this upload of the photos has worked?

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Yes the upload has worked. I hope this makes everything a bit clearer as to what I have.

The big box to the right is a TV point I think for attaching a V box?

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

That appears to be your master socket; you can see the surge arrester. If you remove it, your phones won't ring UNLESS you move it to where your other socket is and replace that by this one, keeping the wire colours the same and connecting them to the same pin numbers as now

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

I'll have a look at the other ones in the house (lounge & hall), will take photos & post them ASAP. This way you can hopefully give me your final opinion. Like I said a couple of posts ago - all 3 sockets in the house have the same fascia.

Standby..

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Attachment 22697

Attachment 22698

Here we go.

The photo with the carpet on the skirting is the one in the lounge (the one we use our digital cordless phones from)

The other photo is the socket in the hall which we also don't use

Hope this helps. Thanks once again - much appreciated believe me...

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Just my little bit of input...

It's possible to have more than one 'master' socket on one line.

In the distant past to sort out a problem with bad continuity I swapped a slave for a master as there were only 2 'good' cores on the extension cable and I didn't fancy chasing out walls to replace it - a tip I picked up from a Telewest Engineer. Its all to do with the Ringer Equivalence Number, a master socket has a REN of 1 (I think??) and a phone line will support a total REN of 4 before problems start.

Cheers
Grim

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Thanks for that but a bit too technical for me.

When I took the front of the 'TV' box off to the right of the phone box in the bedroom there were two cables coming into it from the cavity wall - 1 being the TV cable and the other being the phone cable which then goes from this TV box into the phone socket on the skirting.

I also noticed that the phone box in the bedroom has far more wires within it connected (although only two connect to the fascia) with small rubber covers on them. This hints to me that this is probably the extension wires connecting off of this incoming wire, sending the extensions to the other boxes in the house.

I therefore reckon that this box in my bedroom is the master and the others are the extensions. I can't be sure cos I don't really know what I'm talking about (hence why I am posting on here) but think that all the clues are adding up to that fact...

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

They both look like master sockets; the one without the carpet has a BT logo, does this one work? It's probably not connected.

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Yes - the one in the hall does work & is a NYNEX socket. I've not even tried the one in the bedroom which I want rid of, but looking at the wires entering & exiting it I'd imagine it does work.

Have had a look at the front of the house outside too. From the brown cable box on the front wall - two separate cables of different thicknesses (obviously 1 x TV & 1 x phone) exit upwards & through the wall into my bedroom & into the gubbins shown in my 2nd photo of my bedroom socket.

And two separate cables of different thicknesses (obviously 1 x tv & 1 x phone)exit rightwards & round the front of my house though the wall to the TV point in the lounge

Which could lead me to conclude that both the bedroom & lounge sockets are masters. Therefore I might be able to disconnect the bedroom one after all assuming that these phone systems run in parallel as opposed to series? i.e. independant of each other & not on one big circuitary loop?

---------- Post added at 22:01 ---------- Previous post was at 21:57 ----------

Oh aye - I've just noticed the BT logo on the inside of the cover of the box in the hall. The top half on the frontage of the box does say NYNEX though I promise you. Looks like someones been doing some 'butchering'...

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Firstly, you need to have an "idc tool" that's the think you use to push the wires into the connectors, available from maplins and other electrical outlets for a few p.

Then, I suggest you pull off the wires from your bedroom socket having plugged a phone in downstairs then phone your number from a mobile to see if the phone rings OK. If it does you're OK, remove the socket but obviously leave the cable alone apart from the two wires that went to the bedroom socket as it probably feeds your other sockets.

If the phone doesn't ring, connect the bedroom socket back up again, then we need a plan b

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Thanks Pete

I will also have to take apart all connected wires in their little 'bubble' protection covers to enable me to get the actual socket off the wall & then reconnect them & shove them away under the carpet / floorboards.

I take it that the two main ones I need to focus on however are the two which connect to the faceplate? i.e. disconnect those & the phone downstairs doesn't ring then stop the process right there?

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Absolutely; if your other phones still ring after you have disconnected the two, simply cut the two and tape them up. You'll probably have to cut the socket off as it appears from your photo that a cable runs through the box - easier to cut holes in the box to release the cable. Best of luck!

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

Pete

You're right - If sucessful I can just cut the box off & feed the rest of the wires through without disconnecting & reconnecting.

I'll get a tool from Maplin later & will let you know how I get on.

Thanks once again for your help
Cheers

Re: Telephone extension wall socket removal
 

success!. Took the two wires from the faceplate & the phone connected to downstairs still rang. Socket gone, wires taped up, hidden under the carpet, objective achieved thanks to all your help esp. Pete. Much appreciated - wouldn't have had the confidence to try it without the help of the forum. cheers!