Is it true that it's not good to use extension cable with a router?

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Is it true that it's not good to use extension cable with a router?

danepak

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#207610 4-Jan-2017 21:30

Got a wireless router (Huawei HG659 from Spark) connected to the phone socket with a 10 meter extension cable. The reason for this is that it gives us the best WiFi coverage in the house. If its by the socket, the signal is weaker and gives us buffering (for the Android TV box) when streaming.
Today the WiFi suddenly died. I called the provider and was told that this was due to the extension cable was too long.
It's been running absolutely fine up until today, which made me question their advise on getting rid of the extension cable.
I did it though and WiFi is working fine now. But as expected, buffering when we're watching streams (there's only ADSL in this house).
My question is: Is it really true that it's not advisable to use a 10 meter extension cable? Or is it just this extension cable that I've currently got, which is faulty? I would really like to have the router where it was beforehand.

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#1698610 4-Jan-2017 21:34

Please note that it's worked perfectly fine up until yesterday with the extension cable (nearly 10 months)

Batman

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#1698611 4-Jan-2017 21:36

1. extension cable is not the cause of wifi dying (if it's true that the wifi did go kaput)

2. why is your router connected to the phone jack? is it ADSL/VDSL? (I thought Spark gave out this modem for UFB only?)

richms

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#1698616 4-Jan-2017 21:44

Extension cables are usually flat cable, so useless for noise rejection, and also are often the flexible stuff that is a foil wrapped around a piece of string, which makes noise as it is moved and the inductacnce changes since its wrapped in a spiral.

If you must extend it, do it with proper cat 5 cable.

Richard rich.ms

danepak

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#1698620 4-Jan-2017 22:13

joker97:

1. extension cable is not the cause of wifi dying (if it's true that the wifi did go kaput)

2. why is your router connected to the phone jack? is it ADSL/VDSL? (I thought Spark gave out this modem for UFB only?)

Yes, this is actually a modem which was supposed to be used for a UFB connection. They gave us two modems, when we got fibre, so we decided to give one of them to my mother in law (who has ADSL and is the one with the issue that I'm posting about). The modem is fine for ADSL too and works well.

danepak

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#1698622 4-Jan-2017 22:18

richms:

Extension cables are usually flat cable, so useless for noise rejection, and also are often the flexible stuff that is a foil wrapped around a piece of string, which makes noise as it is moved and the inductacnce changes since its wrapped in a spiral.

If you must extend it, do it with proper cat 5 cable.

This is the extension cable, which I'm currently using: https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/custom-telephone-extension-lead-10m-white/p/106725

Can I replace this with a CAT5 cable? If so, would you mind linking to one? Does this mean that I basically just plug one end into the phone socket and the other end will have the router cable plugged into it?

(Sorry, I'm a total newbie, hence the questions).

richms

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#1698625 4-Jan-2017 22:23

No you would have to attach a socket to one end of it and then connect it into the socket that you have.

Those crap cables are barely suitable for voice frequencies.

Richard rich.ms

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#1698629 4-Jan-2017 22:38

danepak:
joker97:

1. extension cable is not the cause of wifi dying (if it's true that the wifi did go kaput)

2. why is your router connected to the phone jack? is it ADSL/VDSL? (I thought Spark gave out this modem for UFB only?)

Yes, this is actually a modem which was supposed to be used for a UFB connection. They gave us two modems, when we got fibre, so we decided to give one of them to my mother in law (who has ADSL and is the one with the issue that I'm posting about). The modem is fine for ADSL too and works well.

Is your mother in law streaming 1080p? ;p

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danepak

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#1698633 4-Jan-2017 22:57

joker97:
danepak:

joker97:

1. extension cable is not the cause of wifi dying (if it's true that the wifi did go kaput)

2. why is your router connected to the phone jack? is it ADSL/VDSL? (I thought Spark gave out this modem for UFB only?)

Yes, this is actually a modem which was supposed to be used for a UFB connection. They gave us two modems, when we got fibre, so we decided to give one of them to my mother in law (who has ADSL and is the one with the issue that I'm posting about). The modem is fine for ADSL too and works well.

Is your mother in law streaming 1080p? ;p

We've been watching Netflix with no issues in HD.

danepak

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#1698634 4-Jan-2017 23:05

richms:

No you would have to attach a socket to one end of it and then connect it into the socket that you have.

Those crap cables are barely suitable for voice frequencies.

OK, so can I take both ends from the crappy cable and attach to the ends of the CAT5 cable?

danepak

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#1698641 4-Jan-2017 23:29

I read this somewhere on the net. Would that work?

get rj45 extenders
plug them on the end of the cat5 then plug short phone cables like 10cm or watever on the end of the rj45 extenders

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#1698643 4-Jan-2017 23:31

When they installed VDSL the Chorus guy crimped TWO/8 cat6 cable into the phone connector. sorry I don't know which 2.

danepak

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#1698724 5-Jan-2017 09:22

If I bought a 10m Cat5e Ethernet cable, plugged one end into the router and the other end into this thing: http://nz.element14.com/pro-signal/f-ax/adaptor-rj45-wired-cat5e-crossover/dp/1848077?mckv=s|pcrid|155921535509&CMP=KNC-GNZ-GEN-SKU-All&gclid=CJHC6JOoqdECFZCWvQoddVQINg&gross_price=true

And plugged this thing into the socket in the wall, would it work?

webwat

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#1699307 6-Jan-2017 12:33

danepak: If I bought a 10m Cat5e Ethernet cable, plugged one end into the router and the other end into this thing: http://nz.element14.com/pro-signal/f-ax/adaptor-rj45-wired-cat5e-crossover/dp/1848077?mckv=s|pcrid|155921535509&CMP=KNC-GNZ-GEN-SKU-All&gclid=CJHC6JOoqdECFZCWvQoddVQINg&gross_price=true

And plugged this thing into the socket in the wall, would it work?

Why are you thinking of plugging patch cables into converters that going to introduce more problems of their own? Did the ADSL installer not put a dedicated ADSL outlet in the spot you asked for?

The Cat5e cable would normally be hidden under the house or clipped to the walls and go directly back to a wired-in filter at the Chorus entry-point on the outside of the house. The cable goes to an outlet on the wall that you can plug a short modem cable into. Looping long extension phone cables or cat5e patch cables around the house just invites it to be damaged over time and hides any line problems that your ISP may have been trying to check on.

Time to find a new industry!

mdf

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#1699407 6-Jan-2017 14:24

If you're using a telephone extension cable, I'm guessing you've got a jackpoint with a BT jack (flat, with the catch on the side) and using an ADSL filter with an RJ11 (catch on top, much narrower than normal/RJ45 ethernet jacks) cable between the filter and the modem/router. So it's BT --> extension --> filter --> RJ11-RJ11.

If that's the case, I think you want something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/ms5/Metre-RJ11-Speed-BroadBand-Cable-Using-Twisted/B008IKVCJW. Basically a long RJ11-RJ11 cable using higher quality ethernet cable with twisted pairs (8 wires, distributed into 4 pairs, with each pair twisted together to reduce interference. Though you only actually need one pair). Put the filter straight into the jackpoint, then run the RJ11 cable from the filter to the modem/router.

My quick search couldn't find any available in NZ, but if you know a sparky with the crimping tools, you can probably get one made up. Otherwise someone on here might offer to help you out if you let us know where you are.

But what you probably need is a networking tech to come and sort it out properly, probably with a new jackpoint in a decent location and a master filter. You'll likely get better results and future proof yourself against any future technology upgrades.

jarledb

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#1699438 6-Jan-2017 15:51

Strange mdf, that links works if you copy paste it, but not clicking it. @freitasm is the affiliate linking doing something strange here?

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