Need Help Planning Home Network Setup

[corradojeff]

Hello, I would appreciate any help this great community could provide.

I have Optik TV and Internet 300 in a three-level townhouse (Garage and office on ground level, living space on middle level and bedrooms on third level).

To make a long story short, the install tech did not do a great job installing my services. He even drilled a hole through my wall, at chest height, that I didn't need. The original setup had the ONT > T3200M using built-in MoCA connection to living room coax > MoCA receiver in living room > Ethernet Switch > Optik TV/Google wifi. It ran awfully slow (sub 30Mbps) and dropped the network connection all the time. The comm panel in the garage shares a wall with my office and the hole was drilled to feed the office with ethernet directly from T3200M.

The setup I describe below is what I arranged myself (No chest height hole needed).

ONT > MoCA to living room coax > MoCA in the living room > T3200M > Optik/Google wifi

I have the ONT in my communication panel in the garage. I hooked up the MoCA adaptor to the ONT in the communications panel and connected it to my living room coax line. I hooked up the second MoCA at my living room coax wall plate and ran its ethernet to the T3200M. Optik TV and google wifi are hooked up on LAN1 and LAN2 of the T3200M. The T3200M is on bridge mode and my google wifi is handling DHCP. I have satellite google wifi points on the first and third levels. For the most part, everything is working very well this way. My only issue is my satellite (wireless mesh) google wifi points don't get a very strong signal. They work but the connection is medium to low and it is causing media streaming issues.

What I would like to do is use MoCA to add another ethernet point upstairs on the third level. What is the best way to do this? (I cannot run ethernet from the 2nd to the 3rd level.)

Thank you for any advice you can provide!

[Nighthawk]

Is your townhouse pre-wired for ethernet? If yes, do the ethernet connections converge in that communication panel in the garage?

[corradojeff]

Hi,

Unfortunately no ethernet wiring and no access to run it. Coax is my best option. That or spend more money on more mesh they may or may not solve my problem.

[xray]

I assume you already have a coax Jack upstairs. I'm guessing it terminates in your garage panel. If that's the case then you will need to run a new coax from the T3200M in the living room back to the garage to connect to it. Not ideal.

Consider using a powerline adapter instead. No wiring required.

[corradojeff]

Thanks for the reply. I have tried powerline adaptors and they are ok if not a little unreliable and slow.

Is it possible to go ONT > MoCA adaptor > coax splitter? Then use the second MoCA adaptor in the liver room with a switch and the T3200m upstairs in bridge mode?

[xray]

No that won't work. The ONT is not a router so you can't hang multiple devices off it with a switch.

[corradojeff]

What about ONT > Google wifi > MoCA adaptor > coax splitter. 1 run goes to the living room and the other MoCA adaptor. Then the other run to my third floor to the T3200M in bridge mode?

[Nighthawk]

You won't be able to run Optik through the Google Wifi. The T3200 would have to be first and the Optik TV boxes connected to it.

[corradojeff]

Dang.

What if I got ONT > T3200M coax > coax splitter to living room and top floor. Then in the living room use MoCA > Switch > Optik/Google Wifi. Then I would use another MoCA on the top floor?

[xray]

That would work. However, do you want the router in the garage where it's cold in the winter and hot in the summer and potentially not as secure?

Ideally you could run Ethernet from the ONT to your living room through the common wall, put the T3200M there and connect back to the garage via existing coax jack. Then split the coax in your comm panel and connect to wherever you need.

[corradojeff · Accepted solution]

Ok, so I broke down and set up the network the way I originally wanted to do it:

On my first level, in the garage communication panel, I have the ONT > T3200M > Google wifi (main access point) > MoCA adaptor > Coax Splitter (1in 2 out)

I have a Google wifi in the office on the other side of the wall from the garage in wireless mesh mode so that I don't have to drill through the wall to the office.

I have a MoCA adaptor on the second (main) level and another one on the top (third) level. On both of these, I attached a Google wifi (wired mode).

My internet network is excellent now and I have over 300/300 everwhere in the townhouse. The only issue, of course, is that I can no longer run the Optik TV on my second (main) level and the ethernet comes through the Google network. This is ok for now since I only use Optik to watch sports and well...sports isn't on right now.

If I want Optik back, is my only option to put the Optik TV receiver in the communications panel and get a wireless box from Telus to install on my main level?

Thanks for everyone's help!

[corradojeff]

To be clear, the above setup is using 4 Google wifi devices and 3 MoCA adaptors. it is NOT the cheapest option but it is the best option for me.

[Albert12]

I assume you already have a coax Jack upstairs