Connect two different phones to sky hub

[Lorrie35]

I have upgraded to sky fast fibre broadband. It is all installed upstairs along with a landline handset. I have a different make landline handset downstairs. How do I connect the 2nd phone (downstairs) to the hub/box upstairs so that both phones will ring? Thank you 

[Mark39]

@Lorrie35 you can either use a long extension cord with a doubler so that it plugs into the Hub together with your other phone. Or more practically, you could purchase a cordless DECT phone, with a base station that plugs into your Hub, and two handsets which talk wirelessly to the base station in order to make and receive calls.

[TimmyBGood · Accepted solution]

@Lorrie35 

Note that without unofficial and somewhat dubious rewiring, any existing wired extension sockets will no longer work.

[Lorrie35]

Yes, that sounds about right, could I use a 'splitter'?

[Hillclimber50]

I have a simler problem Sky broadband installed today, Router upstairs, base station of phone plugged into router fine, Downstairs second phone how can I swap the units to have the mainbase unit downstairs, 

[Mark39]

@Hillclimber50 you could run an extension cable from the upstairs Hub so that you can plug the base station into it downstairs. But wouldn't it be simpler just to leave things as they are and take the phone handset downstairs during the day? Alternatively, you coud invest in a new DECT  cordless phones with 2 handsets - one for upstairs the other for downstairs?

[David382]

I'm not understanding why it is being said difficult to do and old not compatable today.

When on copper wires the Drop wire from outside went into OpenReach box in my hall with a normal phone socket on it, out of the back of of it there are two seperate cables one with a standard phone socket on skirting board in lounge the other in the study. All 3 phones are donkies years old BT Decors.

Engineer removed the drop wire from the OR first socket he then took a phone lead took one of the plugs off and wired it into the first socket where the drop wire had conected and the plug went into the fibre router phone outlet. 

All works perfect and all three phones ring.

[Mark39]

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@David382 wrote:

I'm not understanding why it is being said difficult to do and old not compatable today.

When on copper wires the Drop wire from outside went into OpenReach box in my hall with a normal phone socket on it, out of the back of of it there are two seperate cables one with a standard phone socket on skirting board in lounge the other in the study. All 3 phones are donkies years old BT Decors.

Engineer removed the drop wire from the OR first socket he then took a phone lead took one of the plugs off and wired it into the first socket where the drop wire had conected and the plug went into the fibre router phone outlet. 

All works perfect and all three phones ring.

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Not a solution supported by Sky.

[Hillclimber50]

Mark 39 to run an extention cable is not on due to the layout.I do have a two phone set up but only one can be connected to the router the other just has a charger base. I need the one with the main base away from the router and in the liveing room where we spend most of the time. Wondered if I had a signal booster that I could plug the main unit into.

[Mark39]

@Hillclimber50 if these are standard DECT phones, both handsets talk wirelessly to the base unit plugged into your Hub. 

Does the handset in the living room not work?

[Hillclimber50]

Yes both phones work but only the unit plugged in to the routre has the ansewer machine and the other base has just a power socket. Yes can switch the phones but it is the base units i need to swap

[Mark39]

@Hillclimber50 you could check with Sky but I suspect an extension cable would be their answer.

However, you can almost certainly access the answer machine functions via either handset - I certainly can with my cordless phones. There's no need for physical access to the base station to use the answer phone.

[TimmyBGood]

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@David382 wrote:

Engineer removed the drop wire from the OR first socket he then took a phone lead took one of the plugs off and wired it into the first socket where the drop wire had conected and the plug went into the fibre router phone outlet. 

All works perfect and all three phones ring.

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Certainly: that's 'Voice Re-Injection' (VRI)

VRI could have been offered as part of a standard installation (Openreach even developed a specific master socket faceplate for VRI on digital copper circuits) but as @Mark39 indicates, it just doesn't happen, mostly because Openreach don't want to be involved in support for extensions and cannot afford the additional time taken if the national FTTP rollout target is to be met.

 

Householders can choose to investigate and commission VRI from a private contractor if they wish, with the caveat that care must be taken not to risk a crossover with a contiguous external metallic connection if one is still in place at the address.