Trouble getting internet over my home cat5e ethernet

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MichiganWilliams

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Dec 30, 2013
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Hello! Be patient, I don't really know how to explain my problem.

I moved into a new home recently. I'm trying to use ethernet to directly connect to the internet instead of using wifi (poor signal, plus I work from home and want to know I've got a stable connection). The house has RJ45 plugs in every room so I thought this would be easy, just plug my laptop in and I'd be good to go, but that hasn't worked.

Here's the setup:
I have comcast (phone/tv/internet) with a Cisco 105+ Modem/Router in my closet communications panel. The coaxial cable goes in there as well as a bunch of cat5e lines that are all connected to this panel thing that says telephone on it.
The phone cord is plugged from the Cisco 105+ telephone port into this panel I'm posting a photo of...
IMG_1963.jpg


Each room has RJ45 plugs in them, I'm posting a few photos of their connections because I don't really know what I'm looking at.
IMG_1960.jpg

IMG_1961.jpg

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I use the phone for work but only need 1 of the plugs in the house to be able to plug the cordless phone into. The rest I'd like for the internet. How do I make this work? I've tried plugging an ethernet cord from the modem into the panel above, and then a cord from the wall to my laptop but I don't get internet that way. Is this fixable for a novice or should I pay someone to help me, and if so, how do I find someone that can do this?

Thanks!
 
Solution
kanewolf
You need to re-terminate those jacks. It the pictures with the coax and cat5 -- see how much non-twisted wire is just hanging out. That doesn't meet spec.
You would also have to pull the other wires from the phone punchdown and terminate them with RJ45. You would then plug them into an ethernet switch and run a single cat5 to the router.
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kanewolf

kanewolf

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You need to re-terminate those jacks. It the pictures with the coax and cat5 -- see how much non-twisted wire is just hanging out. That doesn't meet spec.
You would also have to pull the other wires from the phone punchdown and terminate them with RJ45. You would then plug them into an ethernet switch and run a single cat5 to the router.
 
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Solution
USAFRet

USAFRet

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lord, save us from crappy phone and Cat5e installers.
You, or someone, needs to do a whole lot of rewiring.

For any install like this, there should be a hardcore schematic of exactly what is going where, and it should have been tested to verify it works.
 
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MichiganWilliams

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Dec 30, 2013
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So If I understand, I need:
1. a switch - I see a ZyXEL 8 port gigabit switch 10/100/1000Mbps, is that the kind of thing I'm looking for? I don't know anything about switches and it looks like newegg has a bunch of categories like managed/unmanaged/PoE/Different speeds/QoS/etc/etc.

2. a crimp tool
3. some rj45 plugs.

Anything else? (I'll try to find a youtube video on how to put those plugs on.

I don't see any kind of diagram. How do I know which cat5e cable goes where? Is there any device that can help me figure that out? I'd like to leave one of them for my phone.

Also, do those outlets still work (the rj45 + coax) if I just reposition the wires in them?

Thanks for the help!
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Well...its hard to say exactly what you 'need'. Unless you are going for a whole rewire.

What do you have now? I don't know and you don't know.
Is it properly terminated? Again, unknown.

From your pics, whoever wired this did it badly. What else did they screw up?
Unknown.
 
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kanewolf

kanewolf

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An unmanaged 10/100/1000 switch should be fine.

A crimp tool, a punchdown tool, some RJ45s, a simple network continuity tester, some extra cat5 cable. Check the jacks in the wall. If they don't have cat5 or something similar written on them then they will need to be replaced also. Watch some youtube on installing "keystone" jacks. You want to untwist the minimum amount of cable. Follow the 568B color code for ALL your terminations.
 
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MichiganWilliams

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Well, I bought a switch, a crimper, a punchdown, rj-45 ends, a tester, and some cat 5 cable. Before I went to work on the cable in the wall, I decided I'd practice... I'm glad I practiced. I can't get a single cable to test properly, in fact... I can't even get the ends to snap into the tester. I follow the 568B color code but when I try to crimp... something messes up because none of my rj45 ends want to snap into the tester after that. The bag says RJ45 8P8C Mod Plugs, so I think I have the right ones. No idea what I'm doing wrong.
 
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bill001g

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You either have not crimped them hard enough and let the pins high or you damaged the release tab on the bottom by over crimping them. The cheap crimp tools work well but it takes much more practice to learn to use them. The ratchet ones apply the proper crimp but cost a lot more.

Try to insert a empty rj45 into the tester, you likely will not be able to since all the little pins are not crimped. Now crimp the rj45 without a wire you will see the pins go either even of just below the surface. It should easily fit into the test and release....of course not of any use without wire.

This is a skill you just have to practice. Even after you get past this you will make a number where 1 or more wires does not make contact because it is not pushed all the way to the end or it slipped a little when you crimped it. After you make a number you will learn to feel when the wires slide in smoothly to the end and when the crimper has properly compress the pins.
 
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kanewolf

kanewolf

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What I usually find the hardest is getting the wires parallel to insert into the RJ45. My thumb and forefinger get sore after a few dozen RJ45s... Strip the cover off about 2 inches, get the wires correctly ordered per color code, then trim them to about 3/4 inch. You will have to tweak you technique to get the wires to bottom out in the RJ45.
 
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MichiganWilliams

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Dec 30, 2013
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Update: I went back and bought a new crimper (the other one came free with the cat5e). There was no wiring diagram for the house, so I had no idea which cable went with which room on the telephone panel seen in the first photo. I figured I'd start with one and see where it led me. I totally guessed the 7th cable in, partly because it looked like it had the most slack and I thought if I screwed up I would still be able to fix it. Anyhow, after walking from room to room, I found out I now have internet in my office!!!!

Thank you so much for all the support. It kept me up last night thinking about it and I almost called to hire someone to just fix it for me. Thanks for all the help!
 
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