This wizard will help you identify if your master socket is compatible with a BT Wholesale I-Plate or BT Broadband Accelerator. If you already know what kind of socket you have, check our phone socket comparison page to see if it is compatible.
The I-Plate (Interstitial Plate) is a device developed by BT Wholesale which fits on to your master telephone socket which can help improve the performance and reliability of your broadband service if you have telephone extensions connected (even if you have no phones plugged in to them). For a detailed description of how it works please see the I-Plate overview on the BT Wholesale website.
The master socket is usually the first socket where the telephone line comes in to the property and is where the I-Plate needs to be installed. If you are unsure what type of master socket you have, please look through our guide below to help identify your socket and see if yours is compatible.
If your socket is around 68mm wide it is an old style socket or an extension socket and you cannot use faceplate filters or the BT I-Plate on this socket.
If your socket is around 85mm wide it is a newer style socket and may be compatible. Proceed to the next step.
A 'split' type master socket, known as an NTE5, has a horizontal groove in the phone socket and the screws and socket are located in the lower half of the socket. A non-split socket will have the sockets and screws in the middle. You can also identify a split socket looking at the side as bottom half comes out separately.
If you have a split type socket, proceed to the next step.
A Standard rectangular faceplate is shown (left) removed from the master socket (centre) and back-box (right). You should not remove the master socket from the back-box as this is BT property and should be opened by engineers only.
If you have a faceplate which sticks out, then it's likely to be an ADSL filter faceplate. These allow you to filter all your telephone extensions in the master socket, which means you don't need individual micro-filters on each phone extension socket. If you have one of these then you would not benefit from a BT Wholesale iPlate.
A newer socket which has an "Openreach" logo on already has the function of an I-Plate built in so you wouldn't benefit from installing one in this case. Any other split sockets (such as those with the "T" logo or BT "Piper" logo) should be compatible and an I-Plate may help improve your broadband speed or reliability.
The I-Plate is available from various online retailers such as Dabs for around £15.
The I-Plate fits between the standard faceplate and the BT master socket as shown. See our video guide below to see how to fit an I-Plate.
