Internet wire from wall to to modem

Rybo89 · 11 Sep 2015 at 13:26

Are all RJ11 cables the same? Was just abouts to grab one off ebay until i found a listing saying "for the use of upto 16mb broadband".

this is going from a BT broadband socket to a BT home hub, i have 100mb so not sure what cable i need? I thought they was all the same?

I need a 15ft cable, will any RJ11 cable work? CHeers

bledd · 11 Sep 2015 at 13:29

Shorter the better. Move your router so it's next to the BT port.

I've heard of others using Cisco RJ11 leads for optimal performance, but that sounds a bit suspect..

Rybo89 · 11 Sep 2015 at 13:39

Would i be better off getting a 15m ethernet cable instead then?

Just wanting the xbox to be plugged into the router so i stand a better chance of streaming games in high quality around my house. I was planning on moving the router nearer to the xbox as the rj11 wire is quite thin so i can disguise it away from sight where as the ethernet cables seem to be right chunky wires.

thenewoc · 11 Sep 2015 at 13:47

Rybo89 said:
Would i be better off getting a 15m ethernet cable instead then?

Just wanting the xbox to be plugged into the router so i stand a better chance of streaming games in high quality around my house. I was planning on moving the router nearer to the xbox as the rj11 wire is quite thin so i can disguise it away from sight where as the ethernet cables seem to be right chunky wires.

I'd say yes. If you move the modem/router closer to the BT socket then it's getting the strongest incoming signal possible and is then re transmitting it over one of its' switch ports and through your Ethernet cable.

You can get better RJ11 cables too which are made from better quality cable, a guy on the bay makes them up with an RJ11 and RJ45 on them so they fit the broadband filtered faceplate with the RJ45 and the RJ11 into the modem/router. Nice short cable from the BT socket to the modem/router is what you want.

Jez · 11 Sep 2015 at 13:52

bledd. said:
Shorter the better. Move your router so it's next to the BT port.

I've heard of others using Cisco RJ11 leads for optimal performance, but that sounds a bit suspect..

I use a 0.5m Cisco RJ11 lead with my home router. While the actual cable conductors are probably exactly the same its best to minimise the length, and also the cable is extremely thick (read: very heavily shielded).

I get full 80/20 at 550m from my fully populated (out of capacity) cab so i cant be doing much wrong

Ornatus · 11 Sep 2015 at 14:13

Hmm, my Infinity activation is on the 17th and bought a 15 mtr flat black cat6 cable for like a tenner from the jungle

Rybo89 · 11 Sep 2015 at 15:37

Thanks guys, my router is already next to the BT socket, i was planning on moving it nearer to the xbox. Didn't know it would make my connection worse if i was to lengthen the RJ11 cable.

Ill grab a ethernet cable instead. My next question was going to be 'What cat cable should i get" but going by the above comment i guess i best be getting a cat6 cable.

Jez · 11 Sep 2015 at 15:38

Any ethernet cable will suffice for such a short distance

meandu229 · 11 Sep 2015 at 15:41

Rybo89 said:
Thanks guys, my router is already next to the BT socket, i was planning on moving it nearer to the xbox. Didn't know it would make my connection worse if i was to lengthen the RJ11 cable.

Ill grab a ethernet cable instead. My next question was going to be 'What cat cable should i get" but going by the above comment i guess i best be getting a cat6 cable.

Basically anything cat5 + for what you want, watch out for cat6 though its thicker and hard to route round walls and corners.

Jez · 11 Sep 2015 at 15:43

Oh yeah, dont go for cat6, there is zero point for a 15m run and they are needlessly thicker cables.

Try and just get a thin as possible cat5 or above cable. Non "E" cat5 is actually quite thin.

thenewoc · 11 Sep 2015 at 15:54

I'd go for Cat5e or above personally as anything less isn't rated for Gigabit performance. I know your present internet isn't quicker than 100Mbps but there are services such as Virgin that could be impeded by a 100Mbps cable. If you only want to purchase it once get a decent cable, the price difference between cat5 and cat5e stranded ethernet cable is probably negligible.

bledd · 11 Sep 2015 at 15:57

Jez said:
I use a 0.5m Cisco RJ11 lead with my home router. While the actual cable conductors are probably exactly the same its best to minimise the length, and also the cable is extremely thick (read: very heavily shielded).

I get full 80/20 at 550m from my fully populated (out of capacity) cab so i cant be doing much wrong

Fair enough, I've got a Tandy/ADSL nation 0.5 m cable

Jez · 11 Sep 2015 at 20:10

It's only a cable but the Cisco cable is designed for noisy environments, better shielding can never hurt a dsl circuit

One other thing i did which improved sync speeds at my big ol' house was to rip out all of the BT cabling right back to the external dp at the end of the drop cable from the pole outside. I then soldered (rather than crimped) to the drop cable with cat6 for the run to a replacement vdsl faceplate.

Improved my sync no end as the BT cabling was ancient with loads of joints and bridge taps to go to other areas of the house. Definitely something to consider doing on an old house.