4 ms·

I'd recommend pulling the face-plate and checking the wiring. In my experience, builders use CAT5e for phone jacks (and for other low-voltage systems, like ala

I'd recommend pulling the face-plate and checking the wiring. In my experience, builders use CAT5e for phone jacks (and for other low-voltage systems, like alarms.

rootusrootus 5y ago
Oh I'm sure it's at least cat5, but phone jacks are usually wired in series (in my experience, at least), which puts a damper on what you can do with them for data.
- toast0 5y ago
  It's worth double checking, home running POTS to a central point or at least the demarc got pretty common by 2000 or so. Makes it easier to add lines and what not, for your fax machine or computer modem.
- Rychard 5y ago
  Yes, but they're usually terminated in an accessible panel located somewhere inside the house (I've mostly seem them in closets, look for a metal plate on the wall) Once inside, it's a relatively simple process to cut the CAT5 wires at the punchdown block, and re-terminate them with male/female ethernet connectors, and connect them up to a network switch. If you're lucky, the panel will have a power outlet inside. Lastly, connect one of the LAN ports from your ISP modem/router into the nearest ethernet jack and you should be able to use any other jack in the house for internet, assuming you terminated all the plugs in the panel into a proper switch.
  - rootusrootus 5y ago
    Sadly, in my case they definitely did it in series. I documented it during the build and kept the pictures of all my in-wall wiring. It doesn't even terminate inside the house except at the jacks, it runs from jack to jack all the way back to where the electrical meter is, and then out a hole in the side of the house to where it would presumably be connected by Centurylink if I bought landline service from them. One of my great blunders when this house was built was telling the electrician no when he offered to wire the house for ethernet for a few hundred bucks. He wasn't low voltage licensed, but he said he could still run the wire and just coil it up in boxes with blank plates for someone (me) to come along later and finish. I was in a rush that day and said no thanks, we're just going to use WiFi anyway. DOH. I still want to slap myself in the head almost 10 years later when I think of it. The closest I can get to having wired network in the house using existing wiring would be using the coax which is installed to the same plates in every room as the RJ11. That wire does come back to a common point, and only one of those runs gets used for anything. But the gear to convert coax to ethernet is mildly expensive for what it is, and I haven't pulled the trigger.
    - toast0 5y ago
      What you can do, which is a little meh, but still usable is reterminate your cat5 as two rj45 jacks. For rooms with nothing with ethernet, put a small patch cable; for rooms with wired devices, put a switch with a cable to both ports plus whatever devices. You should be able to run at least gigE on cat5, and shared 1gbps is probably better than what you get on wifi. I've heard good things about MoCA, but it certainly costs more than regular ethernet.

I'd recommend pulling the face-plate and checking the wiring. In my experience, builders use CAT5e for phone jacks (and for other low-voltage systems, like alarms.

rootusrootus 5y ago

Oh I'm sure it's at least cat5, but phone jacks are usually wired in series (in my experience, at least), which puts a damper on what you can do with them for data.

toast0 5y ago
It's worth double checking, home running POTS to a central point or at least the demarc got pretty common by 2000 or so. Makes it easier to add lines and what not, for your fax machine or computer modem.
Rychard 5y ago
Yes, but they're usually terminated in an accessible panel located somewhere inside the house (I've mostly seem them in closets, look for a metal plate on the wall) Once inside, it's a relatively simple process to cut the CAT5 wires at the punchdown block, and re-terminate them with male/female ethernet connectors, and connect them up to a network switch. If you're lucky, the panel will have a power outlet inside. Lastly, connect one of the LAN ports from your ISP modem/router into the nearest ethernet jack and you should be able to use any other jack in the house for internet, assuming you terminated all the plugs in the panel into a proper switch.
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  Sadly, in my case they definitely did it in series. I documented it during the build and kept the pictures of all my in-wall wiring. It doesn't even terminate inside the house except at the jacks, it runs from jack to jack all the way back to where the electrical meter is, and then out a hole in the side of the house to where it would presumably be connected by Centurylink if I bought landline service from them. One of my great blunders when this house was built was telling the electrician no when he offered to wire the house for ethernet for a few hundred bucks. He wasn't low voltage licensed, but he said he could still run the wire and just coil it up in boxes with blank plates for someone (me) to come along later and finish. I was in a rush that day and said no thanks, we're just going to use WiFi anyway. DOH. I still want to slap myself in the head almost 10 years later when I think of it. The closest I can get to having wired network in the house using existing wiring would be using the coax which is installed to the same plates in every room as the RJ11. That wire does come back to a common point, and only one of those runs gets used for anything. But the gear to convert coax to ethernet is mildly expensive for what it is, and I haven't pulled the trigger.
  - toast0 5y ago
    What you can do, which is a little meh, but still usable is reterminate your cat5 as two rj45 jacks. For rooms with nothing with ethernet, put a small patch cable; for rooms with wired devices, put a switch with a cable to both ports plus whatever devices. You should be able to run at least gigE on cat5, and shared 1gbps is probably better than what you get on wifi. I've heard good things about MoCA, but it certainly costs more than regular ethernet.