topic Re: Ethernet / Network help in Tech Help - Software/Hardware etc

Ethernet / Network help

jjjamie — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 10:09:24 GMT

Hi all,

I've got a Plusnet Hub One in my living room connected to a OnePlus master socket (I think). It works fine.

In my office is an ethernet/phone socket. However when I plus in my Hub One in this room, I get Orange flashing light and a solid orange B on the Hub One.

Do I need to leave my Hub in the Living room and just plug my PC straight into the ethernet port? Do I need to call an electrician? I've checked and the socket is wired, however I don't know enough to know if it's wired correctly.

The building is 10 years old, I assume it was built with the socket in the office.

Thanks for any help

Jamie

Re: Ethernet / Network help

dvorak — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 10:32:12 GMT

Moderators Note

This topic has been moved from ADSL Broadband to Tech Help

Re: Ethernet / Network help

MisterW — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 13:01:30 GMT

@jjjamie some photos of the sockets may be useful

Re: Ethernet / Network help

jjjamie — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 18:43:33 GMT

@MisterW

Re: Ethernet / Network help

jjjamie — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 18:46:16 GMT

This is the sockets in the living room, the router works here.

Re: Ethernet / Network help

Thrall — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 18:53:02 GMT

It looks like the telephone socket in your office is an extension socket which isn’t wired up properly to the master socket if the router doesn’t work there. Personally I’d leave your router in your living room as fibre broadband works best from the master socket.

If you plug your PC into the ethernet port on the socket in the office, do you get a connection?

Re: Ethernet / Network help

jjjamie — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 19:03:27 GMT

@Thrall Thanks for your reply, I would absolutely prefer to leave the router in the living room so that suits me!

I've plugged my PC into the Cat 5e port, I'm not getting a connection

Re: Ethernet / Network help

MisterW — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 19:04:57 GMT

@jjjamie it looks like there are 2 ethernet sockets on the left hand panel in the living room. I would guess that these are wired point to point to other sockets. So presumably one is wired to the ethernet socket in the office and one to another socket somewhere else ?

Assuming I'm right, then you leave the router in the living room, you plug an ethernet(cat5/6) patch cable from a lan port on the router into one of the sockets on the lh panel. Then plug a patch cable from the socket in the office to your pc.

Trial and error should tell you which socket on the lh panel is connected to the office and which to the other socket somewhere ?

Re: Ethernet / Network help

jjjamie — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 19:15:21 GMT

@MisterW That would totally make sense as my bedroom has the same set of sockets (coax, ethernet and phone).

However not getting any connection on the PC in the office. Damn thought you had it!

Re: Ethernet / Network help

RobPN — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 19:37:30 GMT

@jjjamie

A Network Cable Tester can be very useful to check where Ethernet cables are connected to and can be picked up cheaply for under a tenner on Amazon, maybe under a fiver if you look on eBay!

Re: Ethernet / Network help

MisterW — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 06:14:31 GMT

However not getting any connection on the PC in the office. Damn thought you had it

In that case , as @RobPN says , its network tester time...

Re: Ethernet / Network help

Dan_the_Van — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 08:21:14 GMT

Hi @jjjamie

Some questions.

1) Do the phone sockets work anywhere in the house?

2) The phone socket you currently plug the Hub One into, is it on a outside wall and does the main phone line to the house enter the house behind it?. If you take the faceplate off the master phone socket has any extensions been wired?

3) Do you have a tv aerial distribution system, perhaps in an electrical cupboard.

The reason I ask I have worked on an installation where inside the cabinet which housed the tv distribution amplifier there was also a Ethernet and phone cable patch panel. There was also a Netgear 8 port switch, the switch distributed the ethernet to all the rooms in the house. In the property the main phone line came into the house to this cupboard

So the modem/router was house in this cupboard, one LAN port was connected to the Netgear switch crossover port.

Maybe you have something similar?

Dan

Re: Ethernet / Network help

RealAleMadrid — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 10:11:39 GMT

@jjjamie I tend to agree with @Dan_the_Van The phone socket in the lounge is connected but may not be the incoming phone line connection. The ethernet sockets will all run to some central location such as a cupboard and will be either unconnected cables or terminated in a patch panel. The incoming phone line and master socket may also be there, if it is the router could go in the cupboard and its ethernet sockets connected to the cables to the rooms so providing network connections. A network switch may be needed to provide additional ethernet connections depending on the requirements.

Re: Ethernet / Network help

7up — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 10:27:19 GMT

@Dan_the_Van wrote:

3) Do you have a tv aerial distribution system, perhaps in an electrical cupboard.

The reason I ask I have worked on an installation where inside the cabinet which housed the tv distribution amplifier there was also a Ethernet and phone cable patch panel. There was also a Netgear 8 port switch, the switch distributed the ethernet to all the rooms in the house. In the property the main phone line came into the house to this cupboard

So the modem/router was house in this cupboard, one LAN port was connected to the Netgear switch crossover port.

This was my thinking too - you can have all the ethernet sockets in the world all over the house but unless they're all individually connected to a switch somewhere, they won't do anything useful.

Re: Ethernet / Network help

jjjamie — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 18:27:03 GMT

@7up @Dan_the_Van

Could it be this?

Re: Ethernet / Network help

Dan_the_Van — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 19:06:24 GMT

Hi @jjjamie

It's not clear to me what it is.

Fancy taking the front cover off!? If its coax cable then for sure we know it not the wiring for the phone and network connections but the TV distribution amp. The other option is to turn the left switch off and see if you loose tv signal. This is assuming you use the tv aerial distribution panel as feature in you first pictures or in other parts of your house.

Can you see where the right on/off switch goes to?

Dan.

Re: Ethernet / Network help

Bogbody — Sat, 10 Apr 2021 07:56:36 GMT

That looks like some sort of power distribution system.
A network or ethernet switch would look like the link below.
To be honest I would expect the previous occupant would have taken it wirh them.
But .... any other cupboards? The network/ethernet sockets would be there as well.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TL-SG108S-Ethernet-Lifetime-Warranty/dp/B07HP6ZLSM/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=network+switch&qid=1618041347&sprefix=net&sr=8-4

Re: Ethernet / Network help

jjjamie — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 13:03:08 GMT

@Bogbody

Yes I thought it might be, it's connected to the temperature dial in the same room.

I haven't seen an ethernet switch anywhere. Do I need to buy a switch and install it next to the router, then feed into the ethernet sockets shown in this photo in this post?

There is no other patch panel as far as I can see. It's a small flat, 4 rooms, so I don't think I'm missing anything.

Re: Ethernet / Network help

Dan_the_Van — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 15:31:24 GMT

@jjjamie

You do not need a switch the Hub One has one built in, the yellow ports unless you've used them all.

You may be lucky and the RJ45 sockets are cabled to each other. Without knowing the cabling diagram for your flats its hard to predict. Have you considered using powerline adapters? These use your mains circuit to transport ethernet signals, some kits come with a WiFi extender as well. See TP-Link TL-WPA4220KIT (WiFi extender) and TP-Link TL-PA4010KIT

Dan.

Re: Ethernet / Network help

MisterW — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 15:35:46 GMT

You may be lucky and the RJ45 sockets are cabled to each other. With knowing the cabling diagram for your flats its hard to predict. Have you considered using powerline adapters?

From the OP's photos, there's definitely ethernet (4 pair twisted) cabling to the RJ45 socket, it's just a matter of finding where the wiring goes...