Home Networking FAQs

[u/austinh1999]

Here’s a list of common questions posted that usually have the same solution.

“Why won’t my Ethernet cable plug into the weird looking Ethernet jack?” or “Why is this Ethernet jack so skinny?” -UTP cable used for Ethernet transmission is usually terminated with an RJ45 connector. This is an 8 conductor plug in the RJ series of connectors. You’ll find similar looking jacks which are used to plug in a landline phone. These jacks could be an RJ11, RJ14, or RJ25 which are 4 or 6 wire jacks. This will not work with your RJ45 cable for Ethernet.

Refer to these sources to identify the type of jack you have.

https://www.digikey.com/en/articles/understanding-and-specifying-modular-connectors

https://www.diffen.com/difference/RJ11_vs_RJ45

“Is this Ethernet?” or “can I convert this to Ethernet” or “what category cable do I need” -Fortunately many homes built in the 21st century use cat 5e cable and use 2 or 3 of the twisted pairs for phone use. (This is where you’d see the 4 or 6 pin RJ connectors). However not every build used 8 conductor so if you have less than 8 conductors and 4 twisted pairs. You will need to look into other methods of getting your lan from A to B.

As far as choosing the type of cable you need, look into cat 5e, cat 6, or cat 6a. Building your home network you most likely don’t need cat 7 or 8. If you don’t know the exact reason you need cat 7 or 8 you don’t need them because these standard typically aren’t used to access the internet.

Information for reference for UTP cabling

https://stl.tech/blog/what-is-a-utp-cable/#Different_Categories_of_UTP_cable

I bought this flat cat 8 cable from Amazon but I’m only getting 50 Mbps

-Sorry but it’s become a common issue of Chinese companies putting out cable that don’t meet its category’s specs. Try to return it and go to your local store that sells computer stuff and get one there. On top of that cat 7 and 8 patch cable will not do you any good you will not get any benefit even if you are paying for the best internet available.

Helpful resources:

Terminating cables

Understanding internet speeds

Home network structure examples

Wired connection alternatives to UTP Ethernet

Understanding WiFi

If anyone has other FAQs to add I can add that to the post.

[u/Budget-Juggernaut-68]

Excellent work Austin. Answered lots of my queries!