Mini Connector - Possible Domestic Wiring Problem

[stevemac2]

Hi, we have a number of BT mini connectors set up in our house where the wifi signal is weak.  The connector in our bedroom which is used to log onto work remotely has intermittent connection problems.  The other mini connectors in the house tend to work with very few problems.  The mini connector in the bedroom seems to lose connection from time to time meaning that the speed is very slow or unavailable.  Resetting the mini connector sometimes helps but sometimes not.

Given that the other mini connectors work well, I was wondering if there could be something specific about the mini connector in the bedroom?  Could it be a problem with the domestic wiring that we'd need to get an electrician to fix?  I don't think it is a problem with the mini connector itself as the one in use is brand new.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Les-Gibson]

Ideally, mini connectors should be plugged directly into the ring main, if your bedroom socket is on a spur or the mini connector is on an extension lead then it could quite probably not function well, they'll function even worse if both cases are true

[stevemac2]

Thanks for your quick reply.

Apologies in advance for my ignorance of domestic wiring.

All the bedrooms upstairs are on the same circuit in the fuse box.  2 out of 3 of these rooms are fine for operation of the mini connectors.  All the mini connectors are plugged in directly to the sockets rather than using extension leads.

Would it be worth trying the mini connector in a different socket in the same room, using a longer ethernet cable?

[licquorice]

The first thing to do is transpose 2 of the connectors and see if the problem moves with the connector or remains with the location.

[Les-Gibson]

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@stevemac2wrote:

Thanks for your quick reply.

Apologies in advance for my ignorance of domestic wiring.

All the bedrooms upstairs are on the same circuit in the fuse box.  2 out of 3 of these rooms are fine for operation of the mini connectors.  All the mini connectors are plugged in directly to the sockets rather than using extension leads.

Would it be worth trying the mini connector in a different socket in the same room, using a longer ethernet cable?

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A ring main is standard fix and means that the wire goes from the distribution unit (or fuse box), around the house and then returns to the distribution unit. A spur is frequently used when (say) a room is added later and one wire is taken of the main into the new room to provide electricity and goes no further.

[stevemac2]

So, I'm still having problems with my mini connector.  

I have tried to plug a brand new mini connector into a different socket in the room.  The mini connector seems to connect OK and I get a good download speed for a few minutes.  Then the connection seems to be dropped and the power light flashes on and off which, from the manual, sounds like it has either gone to sleep or is resetting indefinitely.

And advice on how to resolve this would be much appreciated.  If I need to get a tradesman to come out and look at it, who would be best - an electrician or a phone/broadband engineer?  Or, should I push BT to come out and help?

[Keith_Beddoe]

@stevemac2 

Please confirm that you only have one mini connector connected to an Ethernet port on the home hub, and all the others are slaved off that one master connector?

[stevemac2]

That's correct.  We have one master mini connector connected directly to the home hub and then 4 other mini connectors connected to each other.

One thing that occurred to me is when I'm connecting the mini connector for the first time.  I press the connect button on the new mini connector for 5-8s then a second time for 1s then I press the connect button on another mini connector to connect.  Does it matter which mini connector I connect to or should it always be the mini connector which is connected directly to the home hub?

[Keith_Beddoe]

Normally with powerline type adapters, you pair each on back to the master.

But check the guide https://www.bt.com/content/dam/bt/help/legacy/3646%20BT%20Mini%20Connector%20Kit%20WHITE%20User%20Gu...

[stevemac2]

Yes, the guide states that you just need to connect to any one of the other connectors, not necessarily the master.  However, will try connecting to the master and see if that makes any difference.