Pre-wired Cat 5e but wires not terminated, hanging loose in basement

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srikanthr05

Commendable
Mar 30, 2016
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Just moved into a new home and find the wall outlets for Ethernet not working as I (duh) expected them to. I had the builder run Cat 5e cables behind the walls and have 3 wall connection points in different rooms. But when the Comcast technician arrived, all he did was run a Coax cable from his box outside into the basement where the builder has left a bunch of coax and Cat5e cables tied together (not terminated) - and connected it to one of the coax cables in the bunch. Then connected the modem/router to the wall outlet in the living room via a splitter to run both cable and internet. That's when I realized the wall points for Cat5e aren't enabled! I tried the following but it did not work - connected the 3 different Cat5e cables in the basement by twisting the respective color pairs together - so 3 pairs of blue/striped blue etc. - idea being router is plugged into wall point in living room and this would make it one long Cat5e cable throughout the house and so activate the other wall points. Or so I thought.

Need help!! Appreciate it.

Sri
 
Solution
mjslakeridge
The good news is that this situation with your wiring can be resolved pretty easily at a low cost. First you will need a way to get the incoming coax cable connected to your 3 coax wires plus to your Comcast provided router/modem. Here is a 1-in 4-out coax splitter that will do the job:

http://www.amazon.com/4-Way-Coax-Cable-Splitter-Video/dp/B001X3Q2R8

Then you will need another coax cable to connect from the splitter into the Comcast router/modem.

After you terminate the 3 Cat5e cables, they will be plugged into the back of the Comcast router in your basement. (I am assuming that the router has 4 lan ports, most do).

Next, you need a secondary router capable of transmitting WIFI. Here is a link to a dual band router...
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The router (it's Xfinity's modem / router) is on the 1st level and connected to the Coax socket on the wall via the coax splitter. That socket was activated by the tech when he connected one of the loose coax cables in the basement to his cable that he ran from outside. Not sure (I should have paid attention) how he figured that particular coax cable came from the 1st level living room and not the other two. So, no Cat5e wall points are in use at this time - I am on wireless only.

Hope this helps.
 
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He plugged his tester thing to that coax outlet to verify he is getting a signal from the cable company. That means it is actually connected.

Coax signal is completely different than ethernet signal.
With coax, if it physically connected it will work. Ethernet does not work like that.

Those Cat5e cables need to go to ether the router, or to a switch and then to the router.
Individually, not simply twisted together.
 
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You can buy a crimping tool and a package of the little plastic "ends" that go onto the cat5 cable. Buy more ends than you need because you will probably end up messing up one or more until you get experienced.

How did the tech connect the coax to the cat5 cable? Did he terminate the end of the cat5 cable and use some sort of a junction box?

I would think the router should be connected to the coax where it enters the house, and then all of the properly terminated cat5 cables plugged into the back of the router.

(BTW, I bought my crimping tool and plastic ends at Home Depot, but they probably have them at Fry's and Microcenter.)
 
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the way I would do it is have the modem in the basement where the Comcast cable actually comes into the house. At the same time a router or splitter should be down there as well to connect the modem to your pre-installed ethernet cables.

Just to be sure are you saying the ethernet cables in the basement don't have the plastic connector pieces installed? you will need to buy a crimping tool then to complete the setup no matter what you do. Here's a simple kit with some plastic ends, the crimper and a network testing tool as well. It's easy to do just really annoying as those individual wires are really small.

http://www.amazon.com/UbiGear-Crimper-Connector-Network-Crimper315/dp/B008UY5WL0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459375589&sr=8-1&keywords=ethernet+cable+crimping
 
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I beg to differ. The basement is the absolute worst place to have the router.
Why? WiFi signal is seriously compromised starting from down there.

The main or only router/WiFi propagation point needs to be central in the house.

And for the RJ-45 connectors. This requires a bit of practice to actually get it terminated right.
Practice on a chunk of non-critical cable before getting it wrong on the wires already in the wall.
 
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Thanks, that is helpful. The tech did not connect the coax to the Cat 5e, he connected it to the pre-wired coax that was hanging in a separate bunch from the Cat5e cables. (The builder had left those)

If I connect the modem and router where the coax enters the house, won't it impact the quality? Since it is in the basement. Do I need a second router on another level that I plug into the Cat5 wall socket? Will that help?
 
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Just to be sure are you saying the ethernet cables in the basement don't have the plastic connector pieces installed?

- Yes, needless to say I am not happy with the builder ...
 
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Having the WiFi signal propagate from the basement is not optimal. Cement walls, trying to go vertical....Not good
You can actually have the modem and router anywhere there is a connected coax outlet. Does not have to be right where it enters the house.
Obviously, you want as few 'coax splitters' as possible.

As said, the ethernet is a whole other thing.

 
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I beg to differ. The basement is the absolute worst place to have the router.
Why? WiFi signal is seriously compromised starting from down there.

The main or only router/WiFi propagation point needs to be central in the house.

- Thanks. Can you give me some ideas on how to put that all together?
 
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Without a floor plan and schematic, it is hard to suggest. If I or anyone were to eyeball this, we could come up with a simple plan to get to your desired end state.

But...
Try the modem and router off another coax, more central. Just to test.
Where is the location for all the bare Cat5e cables?
 
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If I understand you correctly, the coax comes into the basement, but then connects to another coax cable that leads to somewhere else in the house. Is that more or less centrally located in the house? If so, you can put the modem/router there. (I hadn't considered the WIFI implications when I suggested the router be connected in the basement).

But, now here is the problem I see. Those cat5 cables that are dangling in the basement which lead to various wall sockets in the house. If you didn't plan on installing the router in the basement, why did you have the cat5 cables end there? I think you will have to install the router there, and then get a second wifi router, plug it into one of the wall sockets upstairs and use that for wireless. I am not an expert and I may be misunderstanding your setup so correct me if I have made a bad assumption.
 
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This is why 'eyes on' is critical here.
We do not know...:)

(and the "builder" majorly screwed up here)
 
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I agree fully. We need some sort of a diagram/schematic even if it is hand drawn. OP can you sketch it out and take a picture and upload it to Imgur.com and share the link here. I am sure there are more sophisticated ways to get a drawing to be viewable on Tom's forum, but I don't know how myself.
 
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Yes, both you guys are spot on. The builder screwed up and I cant believe I did such a lousy job of planning here. MJSLakeridge - you are correct in your understanding; let me sketch it out verbally and I will try to upload pics later tonight.

Home is basement + 2 levels
Level 1 is living room - has one wall socket for Coax and another for Cat5e
Level 2 has 2 separate coax sockets and 2 separate Cat5e sockets (in different rooms)

The 3 Cat5e cables and 3 coax cables are bunched together in the basement (hanging unterminated in case of Cat5e)

When the Comcast guy arrived for the install, he

1. Ran his coax cable with the signal from the box outside into the basement; right next to where the loose cables are
2. Connected his coax cable to one of the 3 coax cables hanging there
3. On Level 1 (living room) he installed the modem and router - used the coax wall socket as input to the modem. Same box is the router which I am using the wireless off.

If I go with terminating the Cat5e wires in the basement I am worried about the wireless signal strength as UsaFRet has also advised. I'm not sure what other options are there at this point. Kicking myself ..
 
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I am wondering if I could place the modem in the basement and connect the coax input; then plug in one of the terminated Cat5e cables to the modem and check where the other end goes (which one of the 3 wall sockets I mean) and then install the router there. Is that an option?
 
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I will look for your pictures tomorrow. I think you will need to install the modem/router provided by Comcast in the basement in order to be able to connect those cat5 cables which go to level 1 and 2. Then you can install a router/wifi device on level 1 or 2 in the most central location. You should be able to turn off the wifi in the Comcast device so there are not 2 signals bouncing around.

Is the coax coming in from Comcast also supplying cable tv service? If so you will need some kind of splitter in the basement to connect both the modem/router and also to the 3 coax cables hanging there.

Edit: I didn't see your second post because I was typing. But, yes that looks like the best option. BTW, the crimping tool kit someone linked to is a good deal. I paid more than that for mine and didn't get the cable tester.
 
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Yes.
 
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Thanks guys - I will see if that works out. And yeah I will check out the crimping kit link. I still have to figure out how to connect the other two loose Cat5 cables in the basement.
 
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The good news is that this situation with your wiring can be resolved pretty easily at a low cost. First you will need a way to get the incoming coax cable connected to your 3 coax wires plus to your Comcast provided router/modem. Here is a 1-in 4-out coax splitter that will do the job:

http://www.amazon.com/4-Way-Coax-Cable-Splitter-Video/dp/B001X3Q2R8

Then you will need another coax cable to connect from the splitter into the Comcast router/modem.

After you terminate the 3 Cat5e cables, they will be plugged into the back of the Comcast router in your basement. (I am assuming that the router has 4 lan ports, most do).

Next, you need a secondary router capable of transmitting WIFI. Here is a link to a dual band router:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=&cs=04&sku=A8777846&ST=pla&dgc=ST&cid=298442&lid=5699059&acd=12309152537461010&ven1=A8777846:100955342709:901pdb6671:c&ven2=:

On the back of this router is a Wan port which you will connect via Cat5 cable to one of your upstairs wall sockets. Also there are 4 lan ports which you can use to connect your computer, printer and up to 2 more devices (I use a HDTV TV tuner which takes the signal coming from the cable TV or antenna and connects to my router via ethernet so I can watch and record TV using Windows Media Center on my computer).

If you need to connect more than one device in the other 2 rooms that have Cat5 wall sockets, you will need a switch such as this one:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/tp-link-5-port-10-100-1000-mbps-gigabit-ethernet-metal-switch-black/2080181.p?id=1219528555732&skuId=2080181

It is similar to the router/wifi transmitter except it does not transmit WIFI.

Yesterday I suggested turning off the WIFI transmitter in the Comcast provided router/modem in the basement. This may or not be necessary in your situation. In my case, I have my main router/modem that AT&T provided which also transmits WIFI. However, the device sits at the far end of my house on the second floor, and the signal is too weak to go all over the house (about 90 feet long). So I had to buy a WIFI range extender and place it in the center of the house. It picks up the signal from the AT&T router and transmits it further. The only problem I have is when I run Wifispeedtest on a smartphone or tablet, it says the signal from the extender is being interfered with from other signals, including the signal from the main AT&T router. I have tried transmitting on different channels, but still an issue. This is not the same situation you will have because you are not using a wifi range extender, but I wanted to point out the issue of having multiple wifi signals in the house may cause problems (or maybe not). My AT&T modem/router is not a dual band wifi transmitter, so that in itself means a weaker wifi signal. That is why I suggested a dual band router for you.

Others may want to suggest alternative equipment, but this should do the trick. Since you will need a bunch of cat5 cables to connect your computers, printers, etc., you can buy some more bulk cable and practice terminating the ends with the crimping tool kit before you terminate the cables running through the walls. It is really not that hard, you just need good eyesight and some patience. You do have to wire them exactly right, there may be instructions with the kit, or you can certainly find them online.

You may wonder why I needed to use a wifi range extender if I have done a bunch of Cat5 wiring in my house. Good question! My Cat5 cabling was done not for computers, but for connecting a headphone distribution amplifier in my control room to remote 6 channel mixers located in the vocal booth, drum booth, and tracking room so that the musicians can do tracking mixes in their headphones while recording. By the time I had put a computer in my wife's home office which is quite far from the AT&T router/modem, I was too lazy to get up in the 3rd floor attic and run more Cat5 cabling, so I went with the wifi range extender. Maybe next winter when it is cooler in the attic I will run some more cable (but I have said that before last winter also).

Let us know how it goes, and Good Luck!
 
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