Before you sign the final HDB release form on your BTO flat, you should have already done the requisite self-education on the potential faults to check in your new home (in case you have decided not to engage with a professional defect check contractor), performed a thorough inspection where you identified defects or any construction aspects you weren’t happy with, and consolidated a report on them for filing as a rectification request at the BSC. 

Self-education is one half of a successful home defect check, the other half is securing the right set of tools and knowing the function of each tool and how to use it during the inspection. This article on the data link tester is the first in a series of five micro reviews on the different tools you will be needing to carry out an effective inspection of your BTO flat. These tools are all included in BTO Defect Check’s $20 deal which also includes an empowering thirty-minute in-person demonstration of their use by our expert team of handymen and home inspection specialists.

What is a data link tester?

A data link tester or network cable tester is a portable device that network service technicians usually carry in their kit. It is a handheld diagnostic tool, often battery powered, that has an ethernet cable attachment. An industrial-grade data link tester may have multiple testing capabilities corresponding to the various ethernet cable categories, data rates, shielding, and bandwidths–all of which do not really figure in residential applications. There are also data link testers that can show IP addresses, polarities, and link-to-port connectivities. But for the inspection of your new flat, all you need is a small, basic, and fully functioning data link tester.  

Why do you need a data link tester?

Your BTO flat already has a LAN port which you can use for creating a secure wired network of all your internet-connected devices, servers, and video gaming consoles. A data link tester will prove handy during inspection since it will allow you to instantly test whether or not your home’s built-in cable network is properly installed and correctly wired. And if it’s not, you can include the defect on your BSC rectification request. 

Where do you get a data link tester?

Hardware and electronics stores might carry a data link tester that you can use during your home inspection. Or, you can source one from an online shopping platform. We also recommend getting your very own data link tester as part of BTO Defect Check’s $20 deal of expertly curated set of home inspection tools and handheld devices plus a thirty-minute in-person demonstration of their use by our skilled team of handymen.

The underlying defects that the data link tester–as well as the other essential home inspection tools–can help you uncover may have been caused by HDB’s construction or from your requested renovation work–which means it is important that you complete and file your inspection report within one month of your key-collection day, which is also the start date of your Defects Liability Period, and way before you begin any renovation work on your flat.