I've got AT&T internet with their wireless system. I don't think the coverage is great. One main box plus two extenders (see below).

The panel has lots of open ports. I'm only aware of one ethernet wall jack with two plug-ins in the whole house.
Looking at it I don't think they are hooked up.

So I've got 2 questions:

How do I set up to make the wireless as efficient as possible (reach the most area, and how far can the 5g really go? Right now I've got one extender upstairs and one down in the living room, running ethernet from the extender to the TV for it's internet connection).

And what do I plug where to get internet to the wall jack in the office? Which happens to be on the other side of the house from the downstairs wireless, but only about 20ish feet from the main router diagonal and below a floor and seems to be sluggish. Thus the desire to run a line from the wall plug to the officer computer. Obviously something needs to go from the main router to a hole in the box...but that's a lot of holes...

Well, if creating an "internet closet" and routing CAT cable throughout the house is out of the question...

You'll need something to test the current Ethernet cabling in the house (as I recall, the tester is at least two parts where, part A connects into one of the ports and part B connects into the others to verify a good signal is present)

If all good, the modem "should" be able to be connected into one of the ports and the Wi-Fi into another or; the modem to the Wi-Fi and then the Wi-Fi into one of the ports.

In the first situation; you can locate the Wi-Fi to a better/more centralized location which provides the best transmission of the signal.

In the "or" situation; where the known good ports are located, you can use these as your hardwired option.

I am sure there are others who are more technical about any caveats I missed (or if even logical/possible)

1-4 are the direct connection RJ45 wire ports for hard wired internet connection to a PC from the router, a simple PC network cable plugged into any of the 4 and then run to the PC does the job.

If you're going to run it to a jack, then to the office you'll need to have the proper cat5/cat6 cable run through the walls, and terminated on each end.

Plug a cable from 1-4 into the wall jack where you have the router, and then run a cable from the pc to the wall jack.

Or have ATT move the router to your office, then you can plug the PC directly into the router with a standard networking cable and the wifi satellites will still connect to the base router. This would be my suggestion, let ATT move it...

All-in-one modem/router/WiFi devices rarely work well, IME. Nor do WiFi repeaters.

I repeat this mantra so often, here and elsewhere, perhaps I should create a web page and just point people to it: Modems to modem, routers to route, Ethernet switches to switch, wireless Access Points for WiFi, and never the functions to combine. Added to that: Hardwire to multiple APs, for coverage, rather than WiFi repeaters.

Yes: It's much more expensive and much more trouble, but, if you truly want good performance and high reliability: That's how you get it.

As for what existing Ethernet cabling you may have: The Klein Tools VDV526-052 Cable Tester, LAN Scout Jr. Network Tester, about $60, works well without breaking the bank.

One of those pictures is the “Internet closet”. That’s my confusion, I’m very confident that there is cable ran from that panel to the office. Just trying to figure which one.

quote:

How do I set up to make the wireless as efficient as possible (reach the most area, and how far can the 5g really go? Right now I've got one extender upstairs and one down in the living room, running ethernet from the extender to the TV for it's internet connection).

Best way for whole house wifi is to get an Orbi Mesh system, this improved my wifi significantly over the dual band router signal. And you can add to the Orbi Mesh network if you need additional coverage, they even have an outdoor unit that connects to the main router.

Mesh networks run a backbone between the units on a different band than your devices, so the backbone communications doesn't slow down the network traffic coming to and from the devices/hub.

Orbi at Cotco of Course

As to the hardwire, you need to find out what port serves each room, if they are connected the rooms should be numbered if done properly, perhaps remove the cover in the office and see if the installer numbered the connection to match the port.

From there you need to be sure it's properly wired for networking.

Then run it into the hub.

If you are not skilled in home networks or do not want to do it yourself where do you go??

Do small computer shops do this sort of thing??

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
One of those pictures is the “Internet closet”. That’s my confusion, I’m very confident that there is cable ran from that panel to the office. Just trying to figure which one.

Sorry - on my work computer and cannot see pictures.

As a quick note, for $60, you're not getting a tester that tests to CAT5/ CAT6 performance. All you are getting is something that tells you if the cable is wired correctly. A "real" tester costs $5-10K. Having said that, if it is the correct hardware (cable, jacks), installed correctly and terminated correctly, you're probably good to go.

In my home, I got the eero wireless extenders. They seem to work well.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
1-4 are the direct connection RJ45 wire ports for hard wired internet connection to a PC from the router, a simple PC network cable plugged into any of the 4 and then run to the PC does the job.

If you're going to run it to a jack, then to the office you'll need to have the proper cat5/cat6 cable run through the walls, and terminated on each end.

Plug a cable from 1-4 into the wall jack where you have the router, and then run a cable from the pc to the wall jack.

Or have ATT move the router to your office, then you can plug the PC directly into the router with a standard networking cable and the wifi satellites will still connect to the base router. This would be my suggestion, let ATT move it...

There's a lot of holes in that wall thing. To plug a cable from 1-4. "Telephone out"? It's already got one plugged in to that but I don't know if that is the connection from the main panel to the router?

Or "Service in"?

My problem is I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Really I'm pretty content as I am, just would like to have the office plug working. The wireless question was more to see if I could be doing something better. The internet works everywhere in the house, but I sometimes question the upstairs 5g.


I just ran a line from Port 1 to the "service in" and then a line from the wall plug to my laptop and checked ethernet connection, but got nada.

I have the Orbi Mesh Network with the base and 2 satellites. I have coverage over about an acre square with a unit on each side of my house and one in an outside garage. I bought mine at Costco 3 years ago.

quote:

My problem is I have no idea what I'm talking about.

^^^^^^^^^
That has not stopped some Forum Members!

So, that Legrand box... from their website: "This telephone module distributes up to 4 incoming telephone lines (RJ45) to 10 locations."

I can't find an internal wiring diagram, but I suspect that all that does is split out the phone lines. It's designed for Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS), not networking. In other words, I'm guessing inside of it, it connects all the blue wires together, all the green wires together, etc. This is NOT the way a real network patch panel would work.

https://www.legrand.us/onq/str...-modules/tm1045.aspx

You're better off using an Orbi or eero or similar wireless extender system. The hard-wired solution would most likely involve running new cable.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
If you are not skilled in home networks or do not want to do it yourself where do you go??

Do small computer shops do this sort of thing??

There are service providers that do this sort of thing, but their rates are going to be more than most homeowners want to pay. You may be able to get your "Internet provider" to dispatch a technician to give you the connectivity you want, but they are not usually excited about doing more than the absolute minimum.

WRT to tracing which jack in the "phone closet" goes to which jack in other areas of the home, you can either use trial and error (liven up one of the jacks, and see which one on the other end gets lit too, by noting the little lights on the ethernet jacks on your laptop etc.), or buy a cable tracer/tester of either the "fox and hounds" type, or the "wiring validation" type. The former is a simple tone generator that is attached to one wire end or jack, and a probe that will sound a tone when it touches or gets near the connected wire (ie. at the other end). The latter will show that jacks are wired correctly, they usually have multiple "remotes" where the main sensor will show a letter or number that corresponds to one of the remotes when connected to the matching port.

I never install a distributed cabling plant without noting "jack numbers" on the wall plates or some other location near the drop. In fact, I don't know of anyone who doesn't do this, so maybe you are just not looking close enough, or maybe somebody came along and replaced the wall plates.

One other thing, that Legrand patch panel looks like it was made for RJ-11 phone connectors (4 signal wires) and not RJ-45 100baseT Ethernet connectors. If so, it is not suitable (and likely not the cabling behind it either) for network wiring. It certainly is questionable enough that I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time trying to "make it work" to save the cost of pulling new cable and/or wiring in a new patch panel.

This appears to be the inbound internet modem.

ONT is Optical Network Terminal, that cable plugged in should be from the wall (ATT) inbound optical.

Since nothing is plugged in, then it's the wireless base for ATT Wifi for the home.

The yellow ports are Network device hard ports, you can run a network cable from any network card in a device like a desktop or laptop to any of those 4 ports and you'll have high speed internet connectivity via hardwire.

The info on the patch panel being a phone panel looks to be correct.

YOur options are to have a home network person, who probably also does audio work for surround sound systems, wire up a hard wired connection to your office back to the ARRIS router in the picture, or a patch panel wired for networking,

Or,

have ATT move that device to your office, it won't bother your current wifi setup unless your office is in a cement block hole in the basement,

or

Hook up a Mesh Wifi router, it will plug into that router/modem above, slots 1-4 and give you the best wifi coverage.

By “phone” you guys mean like a VIOP setup?

Is there a way for me to test the quality of the wireless connection in different points in the house? Short of trying to watch YouTube in the corners?

quote:

There are service providers that do this sort of thing, but their rates are going to be more than most homeowners want to pay. You may be able to get your "Internet provider" to dispatch a technician to give you the connectivity you want, but they are not usually excited about doing more than the absolute minimum.

^^^^^^^^^^^
My time is more important than money. I had a private shop set up my new office desktop the way I wanted. It cost me about 6 hundred bucks but no data was lost and all crapware was eliminated. He even helped with some other issues. I can just give him a call. Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
By “phone” you guys mean like a VIOP setup?

Is there a way for me to test the quality of the wireless connection in different points in the house? Short of trying to watch YouTube in the corners?

No, a VOIP uses an Internet/Network connection (Voice over Internet Protocol).

That's just plain old telephone. Like, press 10 digits and wait for the phone to ring.

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
By “phone” you guys mean like a VIOP setup?

Is there a way for me to test the quality of the wireless connection in different points in the house? Short of trying to watch YouTube in the corners?

Download "WifiAnalyzer" app from whatever app store you are using.

You can measure relative signal strength by walking with your phone to various parts of the house.

It will also show how crowded each channel is by showing all the different WiFi networks sitting in each channel.

Honestly, looking at what you have, I would look at your plan and see how much you are paying each month to rent the hardware from ATT. My guess is the modem and router is costing you upwards of $10-15 a month.

I would just buy my own DOCSIS 3 modem for like $100, and buy a 2 or 3 node Mesh router like the Google Wifi, or Orbi, and just be happy that you are getting state of the art tech good for a couple of years. Offset the purchase cost of your own equipment by returning the rental equipment.

Wifi Range Extenders are pretty much garbage. You put the range extender at the edge of the usable signal, and the extender just repeats that crappy signal out a little further (with marginal effect). The speed is cut down severely, as the CPU in the little extender isn't ever going to be as fast as the main unit, and then it has to pass the signals back and forth on the same channel, effectively cutting the speed of what is already a crappy signal in half.

A good mesh system will have a dedicated "back haul channel" so that the mesh access points communicate with each other on a separate channel than it uses to communicate with your end use devices. Each node will have its own powerful CPU to do all its own necessary routing at the fastest speeds, and each node will have its own powerful signal.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
All-in-one modem/router/WiFi devices rarely work well, IME. Nor do WiFi repeaters.

I repeat this mantra so often, here and elsewhere, perhaps I should create a web page and just point people to it: Modems to modem, routers to route, Ethernet switches to switch, wireless Access Points for WiFi, and never the functions to combine. Added to that: Hardwire to multiple APs, for coverage, rather than WiFi repeaters.

Yes: It's much more expensive and much more trouble, but, if you truly want good performance and high reliability: That's how you get it.

As for what existing Ethernet cabling you may have: The Klein Tools VDV526-052 Cable Tester, LAN Scout Jr. Network Tester, about $60, works well without breaking the bank.

I can attest to this being the best solution. I live in a dense RF environment. I can detect 40+ competing Wi-Fi networks from most of the rooms in my house.

My previous Netgear mesh system was not stable. My IoT devices regularly lost their connections, and video calls and streams were regularly bandwidth-challenged.

So I bit the bullet and upgraded to Enterprise Class Wi-Fi. We pulled Cat-6 cable in my attic and installed a dedicated gigabit router/firewall, HP PoE and standard switches, and 3 Aruba AP-515 Access Points in my ceilings.

The difference is like night and day. My entire house, garden, garage, etc. is blanketed in totally reliable Wi-Fi coverage. The Aruba APs dynamically steer each client to the optimal AP even as I move the clients throughout the house. The APs also analyze the RF environment and change channels to provide the best possible performance. It's pretty awesome.

But as ensigmatic noted, it wasn't cheap. Hardware and installation was about $7k. But it's been a worthwhile investment now that I am working from home and my son is taking a bunch of Zoom classes. We are online all the time and our connections are completely solid 24/7.