[SOLVED] how to get more than 100mbps in cat5?

Oceans12

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Jul 14, 2015
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hello,
let me explain my scanerio
i receive my internet in my ROUTER1 placed centrally in my home. providing wifi everywhere in my home.
i have an internally installed ethernet cable (inside the walls) from ROUTER1 to my room which goes in ROUTER2. (this is here since before i moved in).
ROUTER2 supplies wired and wireless internet to my room's devices like my computer , smart tv, game consoles etc. full nerd setup, where wireless just isnt sufficient.
i had a 100mbps internet and i was having fun till now.
i just switched to a new isp (same 100mbps speeds). it is offering 1gbps connection. and i am drooling for it.
however, i have absolutely no way of telling the internal wire from ROUTER1 to ROUTER2 is cat5 or cat5e. i am pretty sure it is not cat6. (im in a 3rd world country :) )
in ROUTER2 LAN STATUS. it shows that its a 100M line, instead of 1000M.
however i have researched and read on multiple places on internet that cat5 can serve more than 100mbps bandwidth under 100meters cable length (this condition is met in my place).
can someone explain if that is true, and if yes, then how to do it?
because i dont want to upgrade to 1gbps . and then get dissapointed and waste money.
things ABSOLUTELY not possible:
  1. finding out whether that internal wire is cat5 or cat5e
  2. relocating ROUTER1 or ISp source to my room
  3. asking isp for speed trials
  4. rewiring internally to a better cable
any help is appreciated.
plz ask if i forgot to mention something

TLDR:
how to tell whether my cable is cat5 or cat5e (without looking)?
is there anyway to get more than 100mbps in cat5 (under 100meters)?

EDIT: my routers are R7000 and AC88U and gigabit supported.
 
Last edited:
Solution
So someone ran ethenet cable though the walls and just let it hang out the walls in each room with a rj45 plug crimped on both ends ?

If the cable is that long you should be able to find marking on some part of the exposed cable.

In any case the issue is still the same. You need to check the wires in the rj45 plugs on each end. It is much harder to see the wire colors. It is even harder to correct a wire that is loose because now you need a rj45 crimp tool and you must do all 8 wires at a time. It tends to be easier for beginners to use rj45 keystone jacks in walls. You will need short rj45 cables to go from the new wall jacks to your equipment.
Cat5 cable has not been sold in many years, maybe 15. The cable is likely cat5e. Even a lot of cat5 cable will run at gigabit speeds.

Your problem is likely the jacks. Some wire is likely not correctly connected. Also be sure both ends are wired to the same standard 568a or 568b. In takes only 1 loose wire to drop it to 100m. If the wires follow the standards it will be the blue or brown pair that has a problem since if it was the other pairs it would not run at all if one of those has issues.

Next be very sure the ports on your equipment are capable of gigabit. Many people have older routers and some of them still have 100m lan or wan ports.

There is no way for use normal people to tell what cable is unless we see the markings on the side. There are very expensive test meters that will tell you. That is how cable is actually certified when is is professionally installed.
 

Oceans12

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Jul 14, 2015
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4,510
Cat5 cable has not been sold in many years, maybe 15. The cable is likely cat5e. Even a lot of cat5 cable will run at gigabit speeds.

Your problem is likely the jacks. Some wire is likely not correctly connected. Also be sure both ends are wired to the same standard 568a or 568b. In takes only 1 loose wire to drop it to 100m. If the wires follow the standards it will be the blue or brown pair that has a problem since if it was the other pairs it would not run at all if one of those has issues.

Next be very sure the ports on your equipment are capable of gigabit. Many people have older routers and some of them still have 100m lan or wan ports.

There is no way for use normal people to tell what cable is unless we see the markings on the side. There are very expensive test meters that will tell you. That is how cable is actually certified when is is professionally installed.

thanks for replying .
so both routers are fairly good . r7000 and ac88u (forgot to mention that sorry).
so that doesnt seem to be a problem.

i did not understand ur 2nd paragraph at all. can u ELI5 that? same standard?
 

Oceans12

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Jul 14, 2015
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4,510
thanks for replying .
so both routers are fairly good . r7000 and ac88u (forgot to mention that sorry).
so that doesnt seem to be a problem.

i did not understand ur 2nd paragraph at all. can u ELI5 that? same standard?
What @bill001g is saying is that the most likely area for a problem is where the in-wall cable is connected to a wall plug. If all 8 wires are not correctly connected in the correct order, you won't get a gigabit connection.

regarding the 2nd paragraph .

there is no wall plug involved. its just wire to wire .
 
So someone ran ethenet cable though the walls and just let it hang out the walls in each room with a rj45 plug crimped on both ends ?

If the cable is that long you should be able to find marking on some part of the exposed cable.

In any case the issue is still the same. You need to check the wires in the rj45 plugs on each end. It is much harder to see the wire colors. It is even harder to correct a wire that is loose because now you need a rj45 crimp tool and you must do all 8 wires at a time. It tends to be easier for beginners to use rj45 keystone jacks in walls. You will need short rj45 cables to go from the new wall jacks to your equipment.
 
Solution

rcfant89

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Oct 6, 2011
546
3
19,015
Quick and dirty easy way? Plug a computer in to each side of the wire. Forget the routers and everything else. Transfer a large file (like a 10 GB movie or something). Given your equipment setup you probably have two devices and if not, borrow one. When you plug both PCs in, you'll need to give them a static IP since they won't be on your existing LAN. So just go 192.168.1.25 and 192.168.1.26 (or whatever).

Bring up file explorer, type \\192.168.1.26\c$ type your credentials and then drop a file there. Make sure it's a large file so you can get a good gauge. If it's a 100 Mb wire then you'll see speeds like 10-12 MB/s. Gig will be roughly 10x faster so you'll know which is which.

Remember MB vs Mb. MB = Mega Bytes. Mb = Mega bits. One MB = 8 Mb so pay attention to the speed rate. Good luck.