• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Increase Broadband Speed

  • Home
  • Guide
  • Speed Test
  • Best Routers
  • Best Wi-Fi Access Points
  • About
  • Blog

Tip: Fit a filtered faceplate

Fitting a filtered faceplate (which costs less than £10) can substantially increase broadband speeds, particularly if you have telephone extension sockets.

If you make only one tweak, please may it be this for an ADSL or ADSL2+ service! Simply remove the standard faceplate on the NTE5 BT master socket and replace it with a filtered faceplate. In most cases, this makes a dramatic difference and it’s cheap! This is probably one of the biggest secrets in the broadband industry. You can throw all those micro filters away!

Microfilters for broadband

As described in our ADSL faceplate page, there is substantial evidence that shows that filtered faceplates can dramatically increase broadband speeds, and yet the vast majority of consumers are not aware of their benefits and do not use them.

Filtered faceplates are automatically fitted as part of the installation of fibre broadband (unless a self install option has been chosen).

When most people set up their broadband connection, they go round their house and plug in micro-filters (which were provided with the modem or by the ISP) in all phone extension sockets as well as the BT master socket. Doing this can involve a significant number of broadband filters (which can look unsightly), and it is essential that there is a filter plugged into every single phone socket, including the one used for Sky’s set-top box (if you have one). You don’t need to do this, and there is a better, cheaper solution.

All you need to do is unscrew the standard faceplate on the BT master socket, and fit a filtered faceplate. This simply fits over your BT socket. It is totally legal and supported by BT. All this device does is separate your broadband signal from the rest of your house telephone wiring, reducing interference and noise. An extra benefit of this faceplate is that, since ADSL filtering is now taking place at the BT master socket, there’s absolutely no need to put any filters on your telephone sockets throughout your property, providing a truly elegant solution.

To make it easy for you, you can buy a high quality ADSL faceplate through Amazon on the left at a low price.

 
 
 

Next Tip: Connect your modem to the master socket

Return to our Increase Broadband Speed Guide

Primary Sidebar

Most popular guides

Increase Broadband Speed Guide – Top 15 Ways to Boost Speeds
 
How to Speed Up DNS Look-ups
 
How to Fix Bufferbloat
 
How to Set Up and Improve Wi-Fi
 
10 Gigabit Ethernet Guide: is it time to upgrade to 10 GbE?
 
15 Ways to Improve Video Conferencing

Equipment Guides

Guide to Choosing the Best Wi-Fi Router/Hub
 
Best Wi-Fi Access Points For 2020
 
Best Routers For 2021

Test Your Broadband

Run Our Broadband Speed Test
 
Online Speed Tests – the Best and Worst and How to Use Them

Recent blog posts

  • The 2021 Guide to Setting the Best and Fastest DNS Servers for PS4 and PS5
  • ‘A Perfect Planet’ and ‘Dr Who’ Demonstrate 4k HDR at its Best on BBC iPlayer but We Want More
  • Review of the Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine (UDM) Pro Router – ideal for ultrafast broadband connections
  • Government Cuts Gigabit Broadband Investment and Targets, So Why Not Do It Yourself?
  • A 4k HDR Christmas Present from Sky: movies go HDR with Dolby Atmos
  • 10 Gigabit Ethernet Guide: is it time to upgrade to 10 GbE?
  • 15 Ways to Improve Video Conferencing including Zoom and Skype
  • Guide for Rural Communities: How to Get Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) Now!
  • Wi-Fi Setup Guide: What is a Good Signal Level or Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) for Wi-Fi?
  • How to Disable Wi-Fi with Sky Q and Use Ethernet Instead
  • TV and Video Will Triple Average Home Monthly Internet Usage to Beyond 1 TB By 2025
  • Disney Plus in the UK Finally Matches Bit Rates in the USA
  • Wi-Fi Set Up Guide – how to set up and optimise your Wi-Fi to boost performance and speeds
  • Review: Sky Finally Launches HDR With Its Ultra HD 4k Service and It’s Fantastic But…
  • Online Speed Tests: The Best and Worst and How to Use Them
  • How To Speed Up DNS Look-ups for Faster Performance
  • Chart of Fibre Broadband (FTTC) Speed Versus Distance From the Cabinet
  • Review of Disney Plus in the UK: Shame About the Picture and Sound Quality
  • Amazon’s Music HD Service Spells New Era for CD-Quality Music Streaming
  • Bufferbloat: Why it is Harming Your Broadband and How to Easily Fix It

Superfast/ultrafast broadband

What is Fibre Broadband? FTTC and FTTP Explained
 
Ten Reasons You Need Superfast Broadband
 
Ten Reasons You Need Ultrafast FTTP Broadband
 
Chart of BT FTTC Speeds Versus Distance From the Street Cabinet
 
Which Fibre ISP?
 
What's Involved in a Fibre Broadband Installation?
 
What is G.Fast?
 
UK Broadband Statistics

How to Improve your existing connection

Increase Broadband Speed Guide
 
How to Determine Your Connection Speed
 
Fit a Filtered Faceplate
 
Which ISP?
 
Get a Better Router
 
Speed Test Guide
 
Tweak Target SNR Margin
 
Chart of ADSL Speed Versus Distance From the Exchange
 
How to Improve Wi-Fi
 
Best DNS Server Settings

Copyright © 2021