How does Star wiring work?

[VishalM]

Hi

What exactly is star wiring and why do people say it slows down broadband speed? Is star wiring just the multiple telephone extension sockets connected to the master socket or is it when the master socket is connected to telephone socket which is connected to another telephone socket? 

Thanks!

[pippincp]

Any extension sockets should be wired in a daisy chain from the Master socket. With star wiring there is no master socket as they are all wired independently.

Or with a junction box.

[VishalM]

Thank you for your reply. I’m still a bit confused, you said “With star wiring there is no master socket as they are all wired independently” but your star wiring diagram shows all 4 extension sockets connected to the master socket?

Also in a daisy chain, can you get an internet connection from say the 4th telephone socket if you were to plug in the router?

[iniltous]

Although a master socket is shown in image 2 , it has no master socket function, ( in other words the extension sockets are all wired from the same place ( assuming they are not connected from the master socket consumer panel but the A/B wiring connections ) , so chances are the extensions would continue to work when the master socket is disassembled ( when wired correctly that should disconnect them ) and any defect present on any of the sockets or wiring affects the ‘line’

In image 1, yes you could connect a router into the socket at the end of the daisy chain, but the broadband performance may suffer, if the extension wiring is of poor quality, or the ‘bell wire’ is connected in the daisy chain....2 wires are all that need to be connected , but quite often a third wire is connected ( useful when rotary dial phones were in use ) but unnecessary with modern phones and can have a negative impact on broadband performance.

If connected correctly ( as per image 1 ) and you have concerns about your service, your ISP would ask you to connect in the master socket test port , doing this eliminates ( disconnects) all the extension wiring and extension sockets , so if a defect is detected it ‘must’ be on what Openreach are responsible for , if not as per image 1 , then connecting in the test port doesn’t prove anything as the extensions continue to be connected to the line.

[licquorice]

Star wiring has the effect of adding a Bridge Tap to your line which can cause reflections of the Broadband signal and degrade performance.

[VishalM]

Thank you for your reply, so regarding the first paragraph, are you saying that star wiring is when all extension wires are connected to the same master socket’s A/B terminal and then that master socket is connected to the main master socket?

I had an engineer round yesterday and he connected 2 extensions sockets to a wire with jelly crimps (which runs downstairs into the master socket) and connects to the 5 and 2 terminals in the master socket and he said that was star wiring but I still get the full 76mbps download speed when I connect the router to the extension sockets... why am I not seeing any speed decreases? I know it sounds ridiculous not being contempt with full speeds but I have my reasons for wanting a slower speed haha.