Poor speeds

[HarveyStokes]

Just moved to a new place, internet speed is very poor. Have tried enthernet and wifi, still only getting about 4 megs, and drops out a lot. My provider is Talk Talk who tell me the issue is my internal wiring and to use a "test socket", which I have been unable to locate.
Does anyone know where to find a "test socket" or what wiring issue I could be having. Thanks in advance.

 

[root]

Hey @HarveyStokes, thanks for joining CF

I'm going to assume by the mention of a master socket & TalkTalk, that you're in the UK. As it happens I used to work for an ISP so have a bit of experience with this sort of thing!

The test socket will usually be in one of your telephone sockets (if you have multiple) or if you have only one. Newer ones you can just pull the bottom off, old ones, you need to remove the 2 screws and the bottom half should slide out. Be careful not to pull too quick as you may disconnect some extension wiring.

If your property is very old you might not have a master socket. If that's the case, a BT Openreach engineer should fit one, usually this is free of charge. Or in some properties like flats the master socket might even be in a central location with any/all sockets in your property wired off of it. Usually Openreach will move it to inside your property if that's the case though officially that would be chargeable work.

This site has more info:

Tip: Ensure you have a BT master socket | Increase Broadband Speed

www.increasebroadbandspeed.co.uk

Officially you're meant to pay for any 'wiring improvements' within your property. If you're less than 100% confident it might be worth looking for a 'private telephone engineer'. These are usually ex-BT engineers and tend to be cheaper than getting Openreach to do the work. They'll be able to locate your master socket and potentially work out what's causing the broadband fault. It might also be worth chatting with your neigbours and seeing how well their broadband works - if they're getting significantly faster speeds than you then it's likely an issue on your end, if they're seeing the same performance then potentially you might be stuck on quite a long line. Your only options here are to order FTTP if it's available, or move to a different network such as Virgin - again, if it's available - usually only around in larger towns and cities.