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Using network sockets in different parts of house (probably basic question)

Vgjfelix
Helpful Neighbour

Hi all,

 

Just moved into a new place and signed up with Telus and a bit of noob when it comes to wired networks. Essentially this is what I want to do:

Use multiple network sockets in the house (there is one in each room) to connect to devices (each, Telus PVR in the lounge, desktop computer in office etc).

 

I assume it would be as simple as plugging the main Telus modem into the network socket in a dedicated room but that doesn't seem to work (orange light). I have looked at the splitter in the connection box but not sure what to do there so simple questions:

1. I assume I would need a physical modem for each network socket?

2. What would be the reason the modem currently only seems to work from one wired socket in the main room.

 

I'm sure there will be questions and happy to answer them and appreciate any responses in advance.

Regards,

 

VGJFelix

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

NFtoBC
Community Power User
Community Power User

@Nighthawk  I thought the T3200M was a LAN device, and the Alcatel connected to the WAN.......

 

Anyway, here's a picture for @Vgjfelix, shamelessly stolen from Lifewire. There may be a need to add a few switches between the wall and other connected devices.

hybrid-diagram-1-58073d2f3df78cbc28f5bc5f.jpg

NFtoBC
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12 REPLIES 12

Nighthawk
Community Power User
Community Power User

You only need one modem but where it's located is important. If you're trying different phone jacks, the modem will only work on one specific one that has been isolated from the rest. That's usually the phone jack the tech installs the modem at. An orange light, if on the physical network port on the back of the modem is not a bad thing. The color usually denotes the speed of the connection. (100mbit vs 1000mbit)

 

A few questions to better understand your setup:

  1. Usually when the TV install takes place the installer ensures things are working. Did that happen when you moved to your new place?
  2. Was your modem installed in the same location as the panel where all the network lines meet? If no, not necessarily a big issue.
  3. How many ports are in your panel? (How many connections to the various rooms in total)

 


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Thanks for replying. Sorry for my naive answers...

 

1. Yes, they ensured things are working and they do from this one location/socket. I guess I was a bit naive to assume I could just cart the modem around the apartment things all the sockets did the same thing.

2. I'm sorry I don't understand this question. The communication box in the apartment has a telus box, what looks to be an Alcaltel splitter modem of some sort and cables to various things (would a picture of that help?). The Telus modem itself is a T3200M
3. I think the answer to that is 4 but not 100% sure.

What I've quickly realised is that the wifi is patchy. I get upload/download speeds that range from 0.5 mbps to 30 mbps - need to test changing channels but it's not great. If I plug a device directly into the modern I can get upto 170mbps so I really want that wired connection in my office.


Regards,

 

Rob

Nighthawk
Community Power User
Community Power User

Any answers are good. Helps us get a better idea to help you out. 🙂

 

So you have a fibre connection. The fibre terminal is likely the Alcatel box. That one cannot be moved around. The T3200 is acting only as a router in this instance and could be but it really depends on how your place is wired up. It will not be using phone jacks at all. Pictures could be helpful as the wiring setup or panel can vary between manufacturers / home builders.

 

Wifi in apartment buildings will have some challenges. With all the other routers and devices nearby there will be additional interference to deal with. Changing the wireless settings on the T3200 can help. You'll find that under T3200 > Wireless Settings > Advanced Settings. Re-scanning for a clearer channel can help. Hardwired connections are ideal though not always possible.


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20180604_132159.jpg

Vgjfelix
Helpful Neighbour

I tried simply pluggin network cables into the LAN ports of the Alcatel modem and the number LAN ports above thinking they corresponded to different rooms but that didn't seem to be the case - but I was guessing at that point before I posted on here.

Nighthawk
Community Power User
Community Power User

The picture helps a lot. The Alcatel ONT only has 1 active port. You can see the data connections in your house in the top right of the photo. Each of those lines corresponds to a room. The T3200 is going to be on the one line that's connected. To get all the rooms working, you'd likely need the T3200 at or near that panel between the Alcatel ONT and the four network connections on the panel. That would allow all the devices in the home to be on the same network. You'd have to get a handful of shorter ethernet cables to connect things but those are cheap.

 

Here's my panel. I don't have fibre so I have 2 splitters you won't have. I have my own little router in there as well but it's only for my computers (2 white lines from router to panel). The one Optik TV box I have is still directly connected to the T3200 (yellow line to the panel). I have all the old modems as the techs left them here when upgrading. 🙂

 

SmartPanel.jpg

 


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Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure I follow exactly this sentence 

 

"To get all the rooms working, you'd likely need the T3200 at or near that panel between the Alcatel ONT and the four network connections on the panel. That would allow all the devices in the home to be on the same network."

Are you saying I need to plug the t3200m modem directly into the alcatel modem and then wire network cables from each of the alactel LAN ports to the number ports in the top right of the picture? And then I can directly wire network cables from each of the sockets into devices, or I would need modems there too?

 

You have been super helpful. I'm starting from zero knowledge on this so need the dots connecting 🙂

NFtoBC
Community Power User
Community Power User

@Vgjfelix wrote:

Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure I follow exactly this sentence 

 

"To get all the rooms working, you'd likely need the T3200 at or near that panel between the Alcatel ONT and the four network connections on the panel. That would allow all the devices in the home to be on the same network."

Are you saying I need to plug the t3200m modem directly into the alcatel modem and then wire network cables from each of the alactel LAN ports to the number ports in the top right of the picture? And then I can directly wire network cables from each of the sockets into devices, or I would need modems there too?

 

You have been super helpful. I'm starting from zero knowledge on this so need the dots connecting 🙂


Close!

 

The wiring would be:

Alcatel > LAN port on T3200M > Other LAN ports on T3200M to each room > connector in each room to a switch or direct to device.

 

Depending on the number of devices you have, you may also need additional switches to connect more devices to your network. Switches are cheap.

Also, depending the location of the panel, you may want to add a wireless Access Point to improve Wi-Fi signal strength.

 

NFtoBC
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Nighthawk
Community Power User
Community Power User

@NFtoBC wrote: 

The wiring would be:

Alcatel > LAN port on T3200M > Other LAN ports on T3200M to each room > connector in each room to a switch or direct to device.

 


Tiny correction. Alcatel > WAN port on T3200M > ...

🙂

 

@Vgjfelix I have switches (ethernet port splitters basically) on the room ends of all my connections so I can connect more than one device physically. A simple 5 port switch is usually pretty cheap.


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NFtoBC
Community Power User
Community Power User

@Nighthawk  I thought the T3200M was a LAN device, and the Alcatel connected to the WAN.......

 

Anyway, here's a picture for @Vgjfelix, shamelessly stolen from Lifewire. There may be a need to add a few switches between the wall and other connected devices.

hybrid-diagram-1-58073d2f3df78cbc28f5bc5f.jpg

NFtoBC
If you find a post useful, please give the author a "Kudo"

Nighthawk
Community Power User
Community Power User

It is a LAN device but you'd need Alcatel port 1 to WAN on T3200 so that the LAN ports run normally with 192.168.1.x IPs. If it was all on LAN there would be a DHCP conflict. 🙂


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Vgjfelix
Helpful Neighbour

Just wanted to say a huge thank you for your help. Your solution worked perfectly and after a trip to value village for cheap network cables my apartment is now fully wired up to 150mbps download/upload!