Help with router in dorm room!

[saladcrack]

So I am looking at getting this router (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01JYT38N8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE) for my dorm room.  Why?  Because the stability of the provided wifi at my university is horrible, my iPhone and iPad can barely stay connected for 10 minutes straight and thank god my computer is wired.  So I don't know what kind of connection the port in my dorm room is because I've seen they have phone line routers and ethernet routers and I was wondering if I can tell the difference some way through my computer.  When I got here I just unplugged the cable from a phone that was sitting in my room (put the phone away) and just plugged it right into the ethernet port on my mobo and all was fine.  Now does that mean the connection is ethernet, not phone line?  Is there a difference?  Sorry if I sound really dumb I just don't want to buy the wrong thing. Any help would be appreciated thank you!

 

EDIT:  I just went into the details of my network connection and under description it says "Intel(R) Ethernet Connection (2) I219-V" so that means it's ethernet and I will be fine getting the router I linked above???
 

[Lurick]

Ethernet is RJ-45 and is bulkier, phone lines are RJ11 and very small and thin. Phones do operate over RJ45 Ethernet so that's probably what the phone was.

[saladcrack]

1 minute ago, Lurick said:

Ethernet is RJ-45 and is bulkier, phone lines are RJ11 and very small and thin. Phones do operate over RJ45 Ethernet so that's probably what the phone was.

Well the cable feels thin but it feels like the ethernet cables at my house in the US and my connection description says " Intel(R) Ethernet Connection (2) I219-V " so I guess that means it is ethernet?

[PsychoGamingLemom]

Normally Unis give you an Ethernet connections with Internet already, so the best way for you would be to bridge mode a Router or get a Switch and WAP.

[2FA]

It was most likely a VoIP phone which uses ethernet. It should work perfectly with your router.

[saladcrack]

Just now, PsychoGamingLemom said:

Normally Unis give you an Ethernet connections with Internet already, so the best way for you would be to bridge mode a Router or get a Switch and WAP.

So the router I linked is good for that?

[saladcrack]

Just now, DeadEyePsycho said:

It was most likely a VoIP phone which uses ethernet. It should work perfectly with your router.

Ok awesome I was just nervous cause I've never done any networking before. Thanks!

[Lurick]

Just now, Gamessys said:

Well the cable feels thin but it feels like the ethernet cables at my house in the US and my connection description says " Intel(R) Ethernet Connection (2) I219-V " so I guess that means it is ethernet?

Well the link wouldn't even come up if it wasn't an RJ-45 cable, motherboards don't have RJ-11 ports. If it was the wrong cable type you either wouldn't be able to fit it in or it would fit and just fall right out.

 

The problem I see with the setup is if they limit the number of devices that can be on a single port. If you go over the limit the port can automatically shut down, I doubt they have it but just incase you get the router, plug it in, and no devices connect or connection drops suddenly.

[PsychoGamingLemom]

1 minute ago, Gamessys said:

So the router I linked is good for that?

Yes looks it, due to WAN port I'm sure it can be setup that way.

[saladcrack]

Just now, Lurick said:

Well the link wouldn't even come up if it wasn't an RJ-45 cable, motherboards don't have RJ-11 ports. If it was the wrong cable type you either wouldn't be able to fit it in or it would fit and just fall right out.

 

The problem I see with the setup is if they limit the number of devices that can be on a single port. If you go over the limit the port can automatically shut down, I doubt they have it but just incase you get the router, plug it in, and no devices connect or connection drops suddenly.

 

Ok, so when I get the router and nothing works I'm screwed basically.  Cool thanks for the info.

[saladcrack]

1 minute ago, PsychoGamingLemom said:

Yes looks it, due to WAN port I'm sure it can be setup that way.

What does a WAN port do exactly?

[KenjiUmino]

Most routers without internal modem have a WAN and one or more LAN ports

 

WAN = Wide Area Network (Thats where you plug the modem in, or in your case the cable comming from the wall socket)

 

LAN = Local Area Network (where you plug your computers in)

[saladcrack]

Just now, KenjiUmino said:

Most routers without internal modem have a WAN and one or more LAN ports

 

WAN = Wide Area Network (Thats where you plug the modem in, or in your case the cable comming from the wall socket)

 

LAN = Local Area Network (where you plug your computers in)

 

Oh ok so I plug the ethernet into the wall into the WAN port so I can have it send out wifi and then plug my computer into one of the LAN ports so my computer can use the wired connection?

[Lurick]

25 minutes ago, Gamessys said:

Oh ok so I plug the ethernet into the wall into the WAN port so I can have it send out wifi and then plug my computer into one of the LAN ports so my computer can use the wired connection?

No, if you plug in the ethernet into the WAN it will try to do NAT and other things which will just cause problems. Plug it into a LAN port

[saladcrack]

10 minutes ago, Lurick said:

No, if you plug in the ethernet into the WAN it will try to do NAT and other things which will just cause problems. Plug it into a LAN port

If I do that my router will still send out a wifi signal and put ethernet through to my computer right?

[Lurick]

7 minutes ago, Gamessys said:

If I do that my router will still send out a wifi signal and put ethernet through to my computer right?

Yes

[corrado33]

Just for the record, most universities ban you from attaching a router to your ethernet port. It can mess with DHCP and other things. 

[KenjiUmino]

1 hour ago, corrado33 said:

Just for the record, most universities ban you from attaching a router to your ethernet port. It can mess with DHCP and other things. 

thats why i thought the WAN port is the way to go - sorry if i pointed in the wrong direction here - sure it will get you dual NAT but it won't introduce a second DHCP to the university network wich will cause trouble - and the uni network will only see ONE device connected - if the WAN port is not the right way then disable DHCP on the router and only use the LAN ports

[Emmien]

5 hours ago, Lurick said:

No, if you plug in the ethernet into the WAN it will try to do NAT and other things which will just cause problems. Plug it into a LAN port

No. Connect the wall port to the WAN port. This is the wide area network, or the outside world, it internet connection.

 

You connect your PC to the LAN ports, and WiFi is also on the LAN side.

[KenjiUmino]

5 hours ago, Lurick said:

No, if you plug in the ethernet into the WAN it will try to do NAT and other things which will just cause problems. Plug it into a LAN port

 

4 minutes ago, Emmien said:

No. Connect the wall port to the WAN port. This is the wide area network, or the outside world, it internet connection.

 

You connect your PC to the LAN ports, and WiFi is also on the LAN side.

????

[System Error Message]

Some phones use ethernet such as for VOIP. Getting a router will help but if they block NAT than you will need to turn off the DHCP server and plug everything into the LAN side. If it plugs into your desktop it is ethernet rj45 and you can run ethernet over rj11 too at 100Mb/s if the cable has 4 pairs.

 

When staying at student accommodation the ISP was a student one (not part of university) and they used mac for authentication, blocked NAT and limited the number of devices. Good security measure considering how many ill configured routers there are. I used my mikrotik router and managed to get over all their restrictions which is something that no tp link router is capable off.

 

Finding out what restrictions you have first is important. Its preferable to connect the WAN bit even if there will be double NAT otherwise disable DHCP and connect to LAN. If you dont disable DHCP your ethernet port is likely to be blocked.