How to install a Telephone Extension
Need a telephone extension for your home? Here's a quick guide to getting a phone extension in the UK.
You may find that you don't have enough telephone points in your home - sure, you can use cordless phones and wi-fi, but what if you need an extra socket, perhaps for your Internet, or maybe for your Sky set-top box?
On this page, we outline the basic options...
Do It Yourself
If you need to get a telephone extension socket in another room of your home, the cheapest option is to "Do It yourself". Provided you don't tamper with the internal wiring of your home's Master Socket, you're legally allowed to run your own extension sockets, and kits are widely available at cheap prices.
Installing an extension is pretty easy - making it look neat is likely to be the only tricky bit.
Pictured below is a typical extension kit. One end plugs into an existing phone socket, then you need to run the extension cable to the other room, typically along the skirting board, banging in the supplied cleats with a hammer to keep the wiring neat.
When you've run the cable to the location of choice, you fit the box. This is usually a case of trimming off the excess cable, stripping back the end of the cable, and securing the wires to the inside of the extension box, then screwing the box to the wall of the skirting board
Do It Yourself kits are available from Argos , Maplin
Electronics and at the BT Shop.
Pictured here is a standard Telephone Extension Kit from Maplins which is available in 10, 15, 20 and 30 meter versions for upwards of £8.
Don't want to Do It Yourself?
Installation of a phone extension socket is a fairly straightforward job. If you really don't fancy doing it yourself, perhaps you have a friend, family member or a local handyman who could do it for you - the Yellow Pages or www.yell.co.uk can help if you're looking for a local tradesperson.
If you want to get BT to do the work for you, you can call BT and ask them to come and fit a telephone extension socket for you. Their website doesn't actually specify a price, but asks you to call 0800 800 150 to discuss your requirements. Be aware that unless BT is doing any other work at your property at the same time, their standard callout fee will apply. Last time we checked, BT will charge £116 for a site visit.
You can see why the DIY option is the preferred option for most!
A wireless alternative
If you don't fancy running cables around your house, or messing around banging cleats into your skirting board, there is another option - You can use your home mains wiring to connect to your master phone socket.
The Wireless Telephone Extender from manufacturer One For All provides an instant phone socket without any wiring, and can turn a standard electrical socket into a phone socket. You must have the devices connected via the same home wiring (i.e. via the same fusebox) for these to work.
Wireless phone extenders are available directly from Maplin Electronics (Cat No: A82FY) and Amazon.co.uk.
If you're planning to use one of the for your Sky Digibox, note that these extenders appear to work with standard Sky boxes, but not Sky+ boxes.
Frequently-asked questions:
- None as yet...
Got a general question about phone extension sockets? Ask on our Telecoms forum
Useful links
- BT Shop - For cordless phones and phone accessories
- HomePlug - Extend your computer network without wires over home mains
- Wi-fi - Wireless access to the Internet
- Mobile Broadband - Broadband on the move without wires
- Sky and Sky+ Help - Need some help with Sky installation?
Is this page correct? Something out-of-date or broken? Report a page error. If you're looking for help, please don't use this option - instead use our forum |
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