Question How to use a new cable tester?

[axlrose]

I purchased a cable tester and want to see if I can find problems that keep popping up in my home network. Is the idea to just put the tester at one end, and the detachable piece at the other end of the run of cat 6a and test the wire itself? Sorry, I haven't used one before. Is the idea that somewhere you find a problem with a cable and that's the issue that needs to be fixed in order for the devices on either end to work better? I have three AP's set up, and I have cable running to all three, but I can rarely get all three to read as hardlined. Usually one reads wired and the other two mesh off of it at slower speeds.

Thanks.

 

[kanewolf]

I purchased a cable tester and want to see if I can find problems that keep popping up in my home network. Is the idea to just put the tester at one end, and the detachable piece at the other end of the run of cat 6a and test the wire itself? Sorry, I haven't used one before. Is the idea that somewhere you find a problem with a cable and that's the issue that needs to be fixed in order for the devices on either end to work better? I have three AP's set up, and I have cable running to all three, but I can rarely get all three to read as hardlined. Usually one reads wired and the other two mesh off of it at slower speeds.

Thanks.

Please provide a link to the tester you bought.

Is your WIFI hardware UniFI or some other brand ?

 

[ex_bubblehead]

I purchased a cable tester and want to see if I can find problems that keep popping up in my home network. Is the idea to just put the tester at one end, and the detachable piece at the other end of the run of cat 6a and test the wire itself? Sorry, I haven't used one before. Is the idea that somewhere you find a problem with a cable and that's the issue that needs to be fixed in order for the devices on either end to work better? I have three AP's set up, and I have cable running to all three, but I can rarely get all three to read as hardlined. Usually one reads wired and the other two mesh off of it at slower speeds.

Thanks.

Unless you spent upwards of 5000-10000 dollars for a tester what you have will only tell you that there is continuity from one end to the other and can also give you clues as to whether or not the terminations have been wired correctly.

 

[axlrose]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RT1J9MB?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Unifi hardware. I have three AP's but it's rare that I can get all three to read wired. I want them to read wired all of the time and not be meshed with lower performance. The response I get to this question is always that there is something wrong with my cables.

I am hoping to use this device to check if there is a weak link in my lines to see if I can fix it and get everything reading wired.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

.....The response I get to this question is always that there is something wrong with my cables.

This is the single most common problem, especially if you terminated the cables yourself. It's also quite common for the contacts to be a little flakey in that they will work in one port and not another, even though the cable tests good. The other thing is to stay away from that flat cable as it is NOT standards compliant, and due to the fact that a too small diameter wire is used they do not fit the terminations correctly thereby being very flakey.

 

[bill001g]

That is a pretty worthless tester. Does not do a lot of good for it tell you the cable is open or miswired but with no details to help you fix it.

I have a simple device similar to this one. It will go though the wires and show what is connected to each pin.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TMDFG3W

 

[axlrose]

I do actually have some flat cables that could be the problem. Honestly right now, if I can just find if/where there is a bad cable, that's a start. Maybe it's just the cable from the wall to the device, that I didn't make myself, and I can make one to replace it. If it is one of my long runs, I'll redo the end until it reads solid. Actually the two that don't read wired right now, have a flat wire from the wall to the ap. If I can find those are not reading well on this device, and the long run through the wall does read okay, it might be as simple as new wires from the wall to the device and I'm happy to make those and fix the problem.

So maybe I'll start with those two cables. I just hook one end up to the device, and the other end up to the dongle and the device tells me the success of sending a signal through that cable essentially?

 

[kanewolf]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RT1J9MB?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Unifi hardware. I have three AP's but it's rare that I can get all three to read wired. I want them to read wired all of the time and not be meshed with lower performance. The response I get to this question is always that there is something wrong with my cables.

I am hoping to use this device to check if there is a weak link in my lines to see if I can fix it and get everything reading wired.

Since you have UniFI hardware, do you use the standalone mode with the phone app or are you using the controller software?
If you are using the controller software you should disable wireless meshing and new WIFI device auto linking.

 

[axlrose]

I never have the option to disable wireless meshing. It's always grayed out. I battle unifi every time I need to go in and update the ap's. I like how they work...when they work, but part of the problem is that I'm not a network person at all and I think a person that understands networks loves all of the control unifi offers. I should probably be on a different ecosystem that I can better understand and have knowledge of. Not a knock on unifi, but a lack of skills on my part. Every so often, they seem to not be working well, and I go into my desktop and pull up the software and they need updating. Eventually they work better, but I usually put hours and hours into figuring out how to get them set up again. I had to update a month or two ago, and haven't been able to get them all to read wired since. They were prior to that, but it took me weeks of posting in forums and trying things before I got to that point. The ap that is reading wired right now is actually on a moca. I had to learn all kinds of things about that and replace little metal devices (can't remember the name, but they needed to be upgraded to faster bandwidths to allow internet) and I had to by a different device to navigate the maze of coax cable that was installed in my house before I bought it. I'll get there again eventually, but I'd sure love them to just read wired all of the time and especially after I go in and update them a few times a year. Maybe I'll find some cable problems and that will fix it.

 

[kanewolf]

I never have the option to disable wireless meshing. It's always grayed out. I battle unifi every time I need to go in and update the ap's. I like how they work...when they work, but part of the problem is that I'm not a network person at all and I think a person that understands networks loves all of the control unifi offers. I should probably be on a different ecosystem that I can better understand and have knowledge of. Not a knock on unifi, but a lack of skills on my part. Every so often, they seem to not be working well, and I go into my desktop and pull up the software and they need updating. Eventually they work better, but I usually put hours and hours into figuring out how to get them set up again. I had to update a month or two ago, and haven't been able to get them all to read wired since. They were prior to that, but it took me weeks of posting in forums and trying things before I got to that point. The ap that is reading wired right now is actually on a moca. I had to learn all kinds of things about that and replace little metal devices (can't remember the name, but they needed to be upgraded to faster bandwidths to allow internet) and I had to by a different device to navigate the maze of coax cable that was installed in my house before I bought it. I'll get there again eventually, but I'd sure love them to just read wired all of the time and especially after I go in and update them a few times a year. Maybe I'll find some cable problems and that will fix it.

UniFI is not trivial. Disable meshing is probably grayed out because mesh is active.
If it were me, I would forget all but the most reliable wired AP.. Then disable mesh (should be available).
Then add the other two.

The biggest issue with cabling is too much untwisted wire when you terminate your own. Next is not following the 568B color code.
Get some pictures of your terminations and port them to imgur. Link the pictures here.

 

[axlrose]

UniFI is not trivial. Disable meshing is probably grayed out because mesh is active.
If it were me, I would forget all but the most reliable wired AP.. Then disable mesh (should be available).
Then add the other two.

The biggest issue with cabling is too much untwisted wire when you terminate your own. Next is not following the 568B color code.
Get some pictures of your terminations and port them to imgur. Link the pictures here.

I've done some of that process before. Long, struggle. I'll test some wires and see if that is the problem. If it's my own lack of skill in making cables (just purchased some stuff and learned with videos online) I'll try to correct that. First step is to see what cables aren't doing well. Maybe my cables that I made are doing well and it is cabling that I didn't make. I know my cables are all cat 6a. I know I worked my hands and figures sore making runs. I also know that the two most recent runs I ran to a new location for a tv are working well. No other cables other than what I made myself in those two runs. Had to punch through an exterior wall from the second floor into the first and drop the line down to the floor. It was an adventure and challenging to do alone, but those work. I'll let you know what I find about the cables soon.

 

[kanewolf]

I've done some of that process before. Long, struggle. I'll test some wires and see if that is the problem. If it's my own lack of skill in making cables (just purchased some stuff and learned with videos online) I'll try to correct that. First step is to see what cables aren't doing well. Maybe my cables that I made are doing well and it is cabling that I didn't make. I know my cables are all cat 6a. I know I worked my hands and figures sore making runs. I also know that the two most recent runs I ran to a new location for a tv are working well. No other cables other than what I made myself in those two runs. Had to punch through an exterior wall from the second floor into the first and drop the line down to the floor. It was an adventure and challenging to do alone, but those work. I'll let you know what I find about the cables soon.

Get brand new, factory made cat5e or 6a, 100% copper, round 24GA, factory made 3m cables. Test all your APs with these factory made cables direct to your switch. Do all your configurations like this. THEN move the APs to their final locations.

 

[axlrose]

Testing question. If I am looking at the device correctly, it gives an error if there is one. I tested the couple of cables from the wall to the ap today, and they seemed to read fine. I figured I'd test those first as they are the flat variant, and not created by me and probably kind of crappy. Is my next move to go from the router to the ap and see if there is any issue and then if there is, start going cable by cable (router to wall, wall to wall, etc.?)? My wheels are spinning a little with where to go if the lines from the wall to the ap's are fine.

Is there any chance it has anything to do with the POI devices? They are from Unifi and go with the ap's, but the line goes to them, gets powered, and then the line goes out and to the ap powered. Any chance there is a weak link there? Power surge damage? Outdated devices?

Thanks.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Dump those flat cables immediately and replace them with the proper gauge round cables. You will continue to have problems until you do so.

 

[axlrose]

Okay. That's easy enough to do. I can make some new cables tomorrow and test that, but the device seems to say they are in working order. How can I go about testing the rest of my cables before I start making new ones? I guess I'm just asking, what process next. Do I start with the whole run, or single cables?

Thanks.

 

[bill001g]

I would avoid making any cables. It takes a lot of practice to make good ones and even people who make lots get bad ones from time to time.

Any simple patch cables you should be able to just buy premade. If you need very specialized length or want some special color or want the end boots to be some other color then you make them.

The ones that run in the wall you have little option but to use bulk cable if you have to replace it. In wall cables that were working seldom fail. It is almost always one of the ends. Although you do see RJ45 crimped onto the end of in wall cables most are terminated using special keystones. Keystones tend to have much less failure because you are not move and bending the cable so much. You then use commercially made patch cables to run between the keystone and the end device.

Are you sure you actually have a issue. The most common issue that is cable related is some connection drops to 100mbps or intermittently goes down. Many times you will see some kind of log message in one of your devices or you happen to notice the lights. Cable issue do not cause things like high latency or poor performance in just some application. Very technically you can get packet loss in a cable but it is fairly rare.

Any flat cable you should long term just plan to buy new ones. None of these cable actually meet the standards to be called a "ethernet" cable. The wires are much too thin. They do work for many people which is why your general consumer is not screaming about gettign ripped off. The problem is some equipment is much more sensitive than others to out of spec cables and the longer the cable is the more chance it will not work proper. What is strange is amazon prevents the sale of fake purses but sells fake ethernet cable themselves.