How do I ethernet?

[Liulah]

I'm currently using wifi and I want to switch to ethernet (for obvious reasons) but I don't know how to go about doing that because I can't directly plug my computer into my router because it's in a different room and I don't have in-wall ethernet ports. Can you use a router extender and plug a cable into that? I just need some help on how to ethernet.

 

-Addressing the powerline option: I thought about trying powerline but my router isn't near an outlet, it's connected with an extension cable and in a NCIX video I saw Linus said that powerline had to be directly plugged into the outlet.

 

-Addressing wall routing and modifications: I am 15 and live with my parents and they don't want me making holes in my wall. Even if I did making a routing hole in my wall the room that my router is in is unfinished so it's just concrete walls.

[TheKDub]

Check out powerline, its basically just two wall outlets that you pair up, you plug an ethernet cable into one connected to your router, then plug an ethernet cable into the other connected to your computer and it does basically the same thing as ethernet except through the wiring of your house.

[Oshino Shinobu]

You could use power line. Sort of halfway between Wifi and Ethernet. 

[minimoose]

You could use power line. Sort of halfway between Wifi and Ethernet. 

Nah, unless he has Google Fiber it's just as good as ethernet

[Oshino Shinobu]

Nah, unless he has Google Fiber it's just as good as ethernet

Ah, fair enough. I thought the latency was a bit better on direct ethernet. 

[EChondo]

Be aware that powerline is all based on distance and the quality of the copper inside your walls at your location.

 

I was at a client's location for installation for Ethernet drops in some rooms, some rooms I couldn't do because of how low the roof was in the attic, so I suggested powerline as a temporary option.

 

The building was built back in the 1960's and the copper inside the walls could only utilize around half of his connection(topped out at about 20Mbs). We went to a newer building to test to see if the adapter was faulty, but nope. The new building(built in the 90's I believe) was showing speeds in the high 30's and low 40's, was measured at about the same distance.

 

It was better than what he was getting with wireless, but not by much. I would buy one powerline adapter too see how it works out in whatever areas of your location you want to use them in.

 

Also be aware that they have to be on the same circuit and I highly recommend NOT using them on surge protectors unless the adapter has three prongs(or whatever is your equivalent in your country). Surge protectors filter out higher frequencies which can cause erratic behavior.

 

Honestly, I'd recommend running your own ethernet if you live somewhere that isn't rent controlled(so you can make modifications to your home). If not, then see if your landlord and you can work out a deal to hire a contracting company to do it or if you don't think you have the ability to do it yourself, hire somebody.

 

If you run your own ethernet in the walls, be careful of firebreaks which you'll have to drill through unless your house was built in the 1970's or later(in the U.S. at least), then you'll only have to go over one stud because firebreaks aren't inbetween every stud anymore, only in the stud with the electric outlet.

[JoshK]

You could buy a 100 ft ethernet cable and run it in your basement crawlspace etc. and then plug it in... Thats what I did. 

[Guest]

I wouldn't use the powerline-solution personally, just buy a nice long ethernet-cable (they are really not that expensive, probably even cheaper than buying those power-adapters and 2 short ethernet-cables) and route it through the house. 

[CyanOG]

I used to have like a 500FT ethernet cable

[KemoKa]

My dad cut a hole in our ceiling for a circulation vent and I ran an ethernet port through that. works great.

But you probably don't want a super-long cable tripping up everyone in the house. Powerline will probably work for you. When Linus did it, I think he got like 100Mbps speeds or something, which is pretty nice seeing as it's going through the power lines of your house. Not gigabit, but it's better than glitchy Wifi.

[minimoose]

Ah, fair enough. I thought the latency was a bit better on direct ethernet. 

That may be true. 

[Liulah]

Check out powerline, its basically just two wall outlets that you pair up, you plug an ethernet cable into one connected to your router, then plug an ethernet cable into the other connected to your computer and it does basically the same thing as ethernet except through the wiring of your house.

I heard that powerline had to be plugged directly into an outlet and my router isn't near an outlet, it's connected with an extension cable.

[TheKDub]

I heard that powerline had to be plugged directly into an outlet and my router isn't near an outlet, it's connected with an extension cable.

Run a 2nd extension cable?

[Liulah]

You could buy a 100 ft ethernet cable and run it in your basement crawlspace etc. and then plug it in... Thats what I did. 

I don't have any sort of crawlspace

[skywake]

I'm curious about what you mean by "obvious reasons". What's your problem with wireless that you're trying to fix? Because if it's running fine and you have a decent router/AP then powerline won't be better. Powerline is great but it's mostly useful for extending your network beyond the usable range of your router. It's not faster or lower latency (re-check Linus' vid, the pings were higher on powerline than WiFi).

 

If you're having trouble with WiFi? Yeah, powerline can and probably will perform better. If it's running reasonably well? You're probably not going to get more from the switch and there's a good chance it'll be a performance downgrade. If your WiFi is running well and you want it to "be faster" either get a better AP/Adapter or run Ethernet. Only run powerline if your WiFi reception sucks.

[Nuluvius]

Just buy a suitable length of cat6 (or cat5e if you're going to be pedantic and say "oh but you don't really need cat6") and tack it to either the top of the walls or the skirting boards right at the bottom as far into the carpet as possible (given carpeted scenarios). Crimp the ends up yourself given that you're working with a custom length, this is trivial.

 

One should not have to adapt their IT to service their house. Their house should have to adapt to service their IT!

[Liulah]

I'm curious about what you mean by "obvious reasons". What's your problem with wireless that you're trying to fix? Because if it's running fine and you have a decent router/AP then powerline won't be better. Powerline is great but it's mostly useful for extending your network beyond the usable range of your router. It's not faster or lower latency (re-check Linus' vid, the pings were higher on powerline than WiFi).

 

If you're having trouble with WiFi? Yeah, powerline can and probably will perform better. If it's running reasonably well? You're probably not going to get more from the switch and there's a good chance it'll be a performance downgrade. If your WiFi is running well and you want it to "be faster" either get a better AP/Adapter or run Ethernet. Only run powerline if your WiFi reception sucks.

Wifi is slower and less reliable than ethernet

[capawesome9870]

I don't have any sort of crawlspace

i would grab a long Ethernet cable and staple the cable to the ceiling or base board.

 

try to get a cable that comes close to the color of the ceiling so you mom doesn't complain.

[skywake]

Wifi is slower and less reliable than ethernet

Did I say otherwise? I mean really. I'll summarise the post if it's that hard to follow.

 

- Ethernet is always king, no other solution performs better

- WiFi is the second best option when you're within range

- when your WiFi signal falls off powerline will perform better than WiFi

 

Powerline IS NOT *always* better than WiFi. Just because it's a "wired" connection doesn't mean it's faster. Just like for an internet comparison DSL is wired all the way but in certain conditions 4G will kill it for speed. Don't assume that just because one thing *sounds* like it should be better that it is. Benchmark it. If you benchmark it WiFi will beat powerline time after time on all metrics unless your wireless signal is shakey.