Home networking

[winjim]

Anybody good with home networks? We've just bought a new house with fancy wiring and I can't work it out...

Kitchen has a master socket with ADSL and phone. Fine, I plug the router in there. Lounge and bedroom have ethernet sockets. God only knows where all the wiring goes and there doesn't seem to be an ethernet socket anywhere near the master phone socket and therefore the router.

So how do you reckon I connect the router to the ethernet sockets? I want to get the internet to talk to my telly.

 

[irw]

Is there just one socket in each? Could they just be linked together id you can't find the other ends?

 

[martin540]

The Ethernet looking sockets in the other rooms may be for phone not network

 

[Broadside]

You need to find the common point they all go back to, there must be some sort of patching point. They can only be linked via a switch/hub/router, not just all wired together.

 

[Fnaar]

I'm excellent at home "not-working"

 

[winjim]

Is there just one socket in each? Could they just be linked together id you can't find the other ends?

It could just be a link from lounge to bedroom with nothing else. I certainly can't find any more sockets.

The Ethernet looking sockets in the other rooms may be for phone not network

They are network sockets, not phone.

 

[winjim]

You need to find the common point they all go back to, there must be some sort of patching point. They can only be linked via a switch/hub/router, not just all wired together.

This is where I'm drawing a blank. I would have thought it would be near the master phone socket but I can't find anything.

 

[irw]

You need to find the common point they all go back to, there must be some sort of patching point. They can only be linked via a switch/hub/router, not just all wired together.

Not so- the living room and bedroom link could be a straight or crossover link. Maybe there was a DVR or something smart like that in the living room the previous owners wanted to watch in the bedroom? Whereabouts are you Winjim? Maybe there's someone on here who's local and has some handy testing tools?

 

[Markymark]

You are assuming your router is your hub. It may not be. There maybe/was a hub/switch that everything plugs into including your router. It doesn't need to be near it and can be as far as a network cable can be long.

Have a look in cupboards etc for where the network cables may end up.

Failing that buy powerline adaptors.

 

[Broadside]

If there are only two Ethernet RJ45 sockets in the entire house it is possible they are just direct cabled together but it doesn’t make sense because one of them should be bear the master phone socket.

If there are more than two RJ45 ports then there has to be a meeting point where they can be patched or a switch installed.

Are there any false panels, somewhere under the stairs, above kitchen units or in the loft?

 

[bruce1530]

You need to get a screwdriver out and start following some cables....

 

[Tim Hall]

Can you ask the previous owner or the builder?

 

[Markymark]

Are you sure the master phone line is in the kitchen?

 

[winjim]

You are assuming your router is your hub. It may not be. There maybe/was a hub/switch that everything plugs into including your router. It doesn't need to be near it and can be as far as a network cable can be long.

Have a look in cupboards etc for where the network cables may end up.

Failing that buy powerline adaptors.

The previous owners left behind a BT openreach router and home hub so I'm guessing that was part of the setup. I don't think they would have run a cable from kitchen to lounge as that would have to go all the way from one end of the kitchen to the other then through the dining room. No point in building a tidy network if you're going to do that.

Are there any false panels, somewhere under the stairs, above kitchen units or in the loft?

None that I can find.

You need to get a screwdriver out and start following some cables....

And ripping out some walls?

Can you ask the previous owner or the builder?

They weren't the most helpful people when we were buying the house so probably not.

Are you sure the master phone line is in the kitchen?

Yes, that's the only phone socket and it's a double one. The kitchen is part of an extension; they had the whole house rewired when they built it.

 

[bruce1530]

And ripping out some walls?

Not necessarily. I’d be taking the faceplates off, and seeing whether the cables went up or down, to give you a clue as to which direction to look.

Then (I’m assuming you don’t have any proper network test equipment) I’d be getting a multimeter and an old bit of cat5 cable, and seeing if the longe and bedroom are directly connected.

And if you pop the master socket cover plate, you’ll be able to see if any additional extensions are wired in.

I’ve seen houses with ethernet distribution in cupboards under stairs, or loft/eaves spaces, or airing cupboards etc.