Optimal router and wifi setup

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DB36

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#318571 30-Jan-2025 21:11

We have a fairly new house with Cat cabling to all major rooms, and Ethernet plugs

The ONT is located in a media cabinet in the garage, where the Cat cables all originate and head out around the house.

We have one Spark Router and because the cabinet is metal, we locate it in the home, using one of the wall outlets and basically “Ethernet” it back to the garage ONT.

This gets most of the house EXCEPT we find the TV is very slow to load and stream content.

Where the TV is located actually has a Cat cable behind it, but of course, with the router elsewhere, it just terminates in the media cabinet. ie I can’t just plug it into the ONT.

Are there any other suggestions how to use a mix of Ethernet devices in the home, but also use a Wifi router?

many thanks

froob

692 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#3337547 30-Jan-2025 21:33

Do you have two network outlets where you have your Spark Router located? If so, you could connect a second cable back to the media cabinet and then out to the TV (or back to an ethernet switch in the media cabinet, and out to the TV and other devices). This would be like the setup in the diagram below:

Guide: Installing Network Cabling in New Zealand Homes

Dynamic

3867 posts

Uber Geek

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Lifetime subscriber

#3337575 31-Jan-2025 07:21

@froob you taking the time to put this diagram together for the OP blows me away. Nice one! And a good plan if the OP has twin network outlets in the house where the router is located.

Alternative plan for the OP: Leave the Spark router by the ONT and accept it's Wi-Fi will be hopeless. Don't use it. Put two new Wi-Fi Access Points or Wi-Fi Mesh devices in the house to give great coverage, connecting these back to the router via the network outlets in the house. If the TV has a network cable connection, use this instead of the TV's Wi-Fi. Typically cable is much faster and more reliable than Wi-Fi.

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froob

692 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#3337603 31-Jan-2025 09:23

@Dynamic It's actually more a case of "here's one I prepared earlier"! That's a diagram from the guide I put together a couple of years back - linked in my sig.

Guide: Installing Network Cabling in New Zealand Homes

wellygary

8321 posts

Uber Geek

#3337606 31-Jan-2025 09:30

Dynamic:

Alternative plan for the OP: Leave the Spark router by the ONT and accept it's Wi-Fi will be hopeless. Don't use it. Put two new Wi-Fi Access Points or Wi-Fi Mesh devices in the house to give great coverage, connecting these back to the router via the network outlets in the house. If the TV has a network cable connection, use this instead of the TV's Wi-Fi. Typically cable is much faster and more reliable than Wi-Fi.

This, very bigly,

Unless you have the Spark Router at the patch panel your wiring is basically useless,

Bite the bullet, stick the Spark Router in the ONT cabinet and hardwire the TV back to it.... Then get a couple of Wireless APs and put the them on the end of a couple of the Wired outlets,

- Then sit back and enjoy both better streaming to the TV, and general wireless performance around the house...

ascroft

396 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3337609 31-Jan-2025 09:34

Can the Spark router (that you have ‘in the house’) be put by the TV using its outlet, and assuming it has a spare Ethernet port, connect that to the TV?

Not sure if that location would make your wifi better or worse for other devices.

common sense is not very common