ADSL filters

Can anyone tell me why I have to replace the filter on my phoneline all the time?
Sometimes they only last a few hours, sometimes several weeks but never more than a couple of months, then the internet goes really slow.
If I buy a more expensive filter, is it likely to last longer?

thanks tech folks.
 

cobretti

[-] :: [-] ~ [-] :: [-]
Just having a wild guess here, but is it possible that excessive noise/interference on the line could be fucking with the filter?
 
is it possible that excessive noise/interference on the line could be fucking with the filter
well that's what the filter is there to remove...

Are they getting clogged up with too much filth?
that must be it. or uploading my shitty tracks.

seriously, just wondering if someone can tell me if there's any diff between the free ones my ISP sends me and ones you buy from a shop for a tenner, or if they're the same thing and gonna break just as quickly.

ta
 

nomos

Administrator
Not sure if this has any relationship to your problem but...

1. For the longest time our ISP had our home line rated well beyond its capacity. I.e. the line coming into our neighbourhood can only handle ~2Mbps yet our home line was set to handle something like 8Mbps, which overloaded it with noise. So the connection dropped constantly and we were sometimes getting a lot of audible noise on the phone despite the filters. Finally someone noticed the problem during a long tech support call and it's been OK since.

2. Anytime we plugged in more than one phone the new one would die. Not sure if that was bad luck, weird wiring in the house, or an effect of the above.

So, no idea, but it might be worth checking that yours aren't simply being overloaded by a line rated beyond its capacity.
 

Dusty

Tone deaf
You can get 'active' filters which are meant to be much better at cutting out the noise, the cheapo ones you get from your ISP are passive. No idea if they would last any longer?
 

nomos

Administrator
So I should ask them to actually turn down the tap and give me slower internet?
not necessarily, but ask them to make sure your line isn't rated too high. if it is, it won't be any faster, just more unreliable. but like i say, i have no idea if that could be the root of your problem. just one thing to consider checking.
 

hint

party record with a siren
I'm no expert, but it might be worth trying replacing your master socket faceplate with an NTE2000 faceplate:
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_nkw=NTE2000&_sacat=0&_trksid=p3286.m270.l1313&_odkw=RJ11&_osacat=0

It gives you 2 sockets - one for phone, one for internet, and does away with the need for a standalone filter. I have a noisy line and fitting one of those certainly helped. You just unscrew the standard faceplate and fit the NTE2000 in its place.

It's only an option for the master phone socket though. You might not be plugging your router into the master socket already, so it could be inconvenient.

Your BT master socket will have a removeable bottom half on the faceplate and look like this inside. Note the internal socket on the right hand side:

image012.jpg
 
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