This topic

Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

giomach — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 21:21:31 GMT

Hi, I'm helping a resident of a care home to connect her Windows laptop to the wifi, but the wifi in the building is constantly breaking down, so I'm looking for an alternative.

Could she make an ethernet connection from her computer to her phone socket? I've got a BT Home Hub 5 which became obsolete when I got switched to fibre broadband. Before the switch, when my connection to BT was copper wire, this hub used to be connected to a phone extension socket on the wall, and to the ethernet port on my laptop, and this was how I got broadband for years. Could the same thing work for her?

I tried to test the theory in my own house, connecting the hub to an extension phone socket, but sadly it didn't work. The hub showed blue briefly, as hoped, but soon turned to flashing red. Why is this setup not working now, given that it worked when I was getting my broadband by copper wire? Has the switch to fibre broadband made a difference to this?

Any thoughts on whether this method is feasible, or on any alternatives, would be welcome.

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

licquorice — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 21:38:28 GMT

No, that is not going to work.

Not wishing to be rude, but with your level of understanding of networking, you are not in a position to provide any alternative method of connection. Neither I would suspect would it be feasible to provide an Ethernet connection by anyone with the necessary expertise in any case in that environment.

Your only hope is to get the care home to improve their WiFi coverage.

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

iniltous — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 08:08:54 GMT

If this phone socket is simply a part of the care homes internal phone system, used to contact ‘reception’ or used in similar way to a hotel , where you can get an ‘outside line’ by dialing 9 for example, and then make external calls that appear on your room bill , then it’s of no use ….

if it’s a socket connected directly (not via a switchboard) to the Openreach external network and the care home allow it , then that room may be able to order its own broadband like any regular address , but I suspect that’s not what you mean , you are not asking about that person getting their own broadband service and giving up on the care homes unreliable WiFi , you presumably mean trying to making the care home broadband better in that particular room , and that’s not doable.

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

chrisjp — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 12:03:01 GMT

"I tried to test the theory in my own house, connecting the hub to an extension phone socket, but sadly it didn't work. The hub showed blue briefly, as hoped, but soon turned to flashing red. Why is this setup not working now, given that it worked when I was getting my broadband by copper wire? Has the switch to fibre broadband made a difference to this?"

The answer to this is yes, of course it has. When you were switched to full Fibre to the Premises your old copper phone/broadband line would have been disconnected at the exchange, so is no longer operable.

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

giomach — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 18:30:58 GMT

Thanks to everyone who responded.

"When you were switched to full Fibre to the Premises your old copper phone/broadband line would have been disconnected at the exchange, so is no longer operable."

Actually, we made sure that our old wall phone sockets would still be operational under the fibre connection, and so they are, but clearly the broadband doesn't reach them. I suppose it is filtered out by our Smart Hub 2.

"Your only hope is to get the care home to improve their WiFi coverage."

Probably so, but first I have to convince them there is a problem. Up to now, they just say that all the resident has to do to go online is to get out and go looking for a particular member of staff, who is unlikely to be available, and who can magically do a temporary fix. Not much good if the intention is to watch a live event such as a religious service. By the way, the resident is over 90.

"if it’s a socket connected directly (not via a switchboard) to the Openreach external network and the care home allow it , then that room may be able to order its own broadband like any regular address"

Thanks for that clarification. I need to look into that. All possibilities can be considered but I wouldn't want the resident to have to pay for her own broadband.

I'm reading up about range extenders, mesh systems, wired ethernet connections, mirroring the web from a smart phone to a TV, etc. Cost is a big factor of course. The care home should be doing all this themselves, but I'm not going to let them sit back and just deny there is a problem.

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

WSH — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 19:12:29 GMT

"Actually, we made sure that our old wall phone sockets would still be operational under the fibre connection, and so they are, but clearly the broadband doesn't reach them. I suppose it is filtered out by our Smart Hub 2."

I think you've missed the point. Even if the line is still connected*, you can't just connect to the internet. You need to have a broadband account with an ISP and a connection to their equipment at the exchange.

*If you have just been changed to full fibre, I would not read too much into the line still appearing connected. It will be for a few weeks, until they get round to disconnecting it.

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

licquorice — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 18:54:33 GMT

@giomach sorry, but you are entirely missing how these things work.

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

giomach — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 19:22:07 GMT

The situation in our own house is settled and I don't want it to take over the thread, the issue here is the wifi situation in the care home. But for the record, our domestic copper connection is long gone, and the wall phone sockets are now connected to fibre via the Smart Hub 2. See the old thread here in which several of you participated most helpfully. And yes, we have a broadband account with BT, we had it before the change to fibre and we still have it.

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

WSH — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 19:31:37 GMT

OK, I'm completely confused now. I thought you were the one that brought up the idea about plugging the laptop into a phone socket and the internet would then appear by magic? Perhaps I've misread your original post.

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

licquorice — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 19:35:38 GMT

Comparing you home arrangement with the care home arrangement is totally irrelevant. They are completely different.

You can't just connect a router to a random phone socket and expect it to work.

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

WSH — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 19:48:56 GMT

@giomach Are you perhaps confusing a computer network connection, (what everybody calls ethernet these days), with the internal telephone extensions? If so, they are completely different wiring systems. Phone extensions won't carry ethernet.

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

shakey1981 — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 20:44:25 GMT

unless the care home or simllar have a WIFI network and connection that was installed by BT or EE and you have a laptop with wifi and the give you the SSID network name and key

or your using an EE OR BT wifi public app for free as a consequence oh having an account with either @WSH in which casw you will use your BT or EE credentials to login ?

an yes i know IT ISINT actually installed via your provider rather openreach on behalf of them as long as it uses none cable

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

giomach — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 21:10:30 GMT

Thanks for your continued interest. I have taken on board since messages 2 and 3 that you can't connect a laptop to a phone socket and get the internet. I'm not still arguing that. I'm looking for other ways to get a reliable internet connection for the care home resident, as I said earlier today in message 5, where I listed at the end some of the ideas that I haven't yet given up on. I welcome any comments on those.

I regret ever mentioning my domestic pre-fibre arrangement, where my computer was connected to the phone via a BT Home Hub 5. Initially I hoped something similar might work in the care home, but I accept that it won't. I mentioned my present domestic setup again today in message 5 only to clarify a misunderstanding in message 4, where it was wrongly assumed that my phones were still on the copper wire. I should just have let that pass, and let discussion focus on the care home.

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

WSH — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 21:18:10 GMT

@giomach Even the idea of using a mesh system, (presumably connected to the care-home system), is probably a non-starter. Speaking as a retired IT tech, the one thing you don’t do is allow unauthorised third-party equipment to connect directly to your network, because you have no control over it security-wise. I would be very surprised if the care-home allowed it. (In fact, one place I worked, connecting an unauthorised wireless access point was a sackable offense).

I’ll tell you what might work. If the mobile signal is good, you can get a 4G or 5G router, that connects via the mobile phone network BUT you would still have to pay an ISP for the connection and 4/5G connection are usually highly limited in the data you can use per month.

@shakey1981 Sorry shakey, I didn't understand a word of that, let alone why it was @me.

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

giomach — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 21:22:21 GMT

@shakey1981 Thanks for replying. The care home has a wifi network, and we can get the resident's laptop online with it. But the connection is invariably gone when she comes back to use it. I have not been able to get any explanation as to why this happens.

Is your second suggestion about using wifi hotspots? This would not be possible for the resident. She needs to get the internet in her room.

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

licquorice — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 21:29:02 GMT

There is nothing as an individual you can do to improve the situation, accept that it is entirely in the hands if the care home.

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

WSH — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 21:43:19 GMT

Ah, it's dropping the connection when she leaves it. Now why didn't you say that before? It's most likely to be a power saving setting on the laptop. What OS is it?

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

chrisjp — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 22:05:01 GMT

"When you were switched to full Fibre to the Premises your old copper phone/broadband line would have been disconnected at the exchange, so is no longer operable."

Actually, we made sure that our old wall phone sockets would still be operational under the fibre connection, and so they are, but clearly the broadband doesn't reach them. I suppose it is filtered out by our Smart Hub 2.

I guess what you mean is that you had your telephone extension wiring connected to the green DV socket on the SH2. That will provide a telephone service to all your extensions, but won't provide a broadband internet service because this is now only provided from thew SH2 LAN sockets and WiFi.

Re: Can a laptop access the internet by a wired connection to a phone socket?

shakey1981 — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 18:06:55 GMT

change they wifi power settings windows 11 here

windows 10 here

both option 1

change to the Maximum Performance setting

then see if stil disconnects after not using it for a while if your using wifi

could be energy saving in lan adapter also