New builds and ethernet sockets (prewired ethernet)!!!!

[Tasmania]

We live in a new build flat. Instead of phone sockets, we have ethernet sockets everywhere (in each bedroom, there's one; in the living room, we have two!). The ONLY phone socket is in a tiny cupboard within a larger cupboard that also houses the boiler. This may sound an inconvenient place to put a phone socket into - there are also no electrical sockets nearby - but it is surrounded by big cables and an ethernet panel (?!).

At the moment, as we really do not know how these ethernet sockets work, we just run an extension lead all the way from another room across the hallway to said tiny cupboard within a cupboard to plug the BT home hub to both a phone socket and an electrical one.

However, this is becoming a major trip hazard, and we have to face the fact that we can't fend off technology forever. Does anyone know how to get the individual ethernet connections in each room to work? I read stuff about ethernet switches/modems, etc. How do these switches/modems work without an electrical socket?!? Do I now have to buy a new phone (a VOIP one), considering there are no practical phone sockets around the house???

Aaargh!!!

[niceguy2]

The idea is that your BT home hub has several ethernet ports (usually 4). You plug an ethernet cable into them and then into the ethernet panel in your cupboard. The panel should be labelled and this should correspond to sockets in the various rooms. Once connected, you can connect an ethernet cable to the socket in the room to your computer and it should work.

As for why there's no power in the cupboard I don't know. The router (and any further switches) will definitely need power. Are you sure it's not hidden by a pile of cables or uses a different type of plug??

Personally I'd love ethernet in my house. So much easier and faster than wifi. Not as convenient I guess but I'm a big power user. I guess most people are happy with wifi

[throckenholt]

The ethernet sockets are also used as phone sockets. In your cupboard should be an incoming phone line with a splitter attached which allows both internet and phone connection. You probably need to check if every socket is live of just some depending on which are plugged into the switch in the cupboard.

Can you go back to the builders for an explanation of how to use the sockets for ethernet and phones ?

[Tasmania]

throckenholt - We are renting. The agents have no clue. The landlords seem to have bought something they don't understand, and the builders are far away from this now (it's a year old).

I will try to add a picture of said cupboard... not sure it will work.

[IMG]i43.tinypic.com/dea1s2.jpg[/IMG]

[Tasmania]

Aaaargh! Can't add it, but here's the link: tinypic.com/r/dea1s2/5

[Tasmania]

P.S.: The tiny white box / filter is currently connected to the BT home hub.

[nannynick]

That looks like a 12 port patch panel from Excel Networking (link to PDF)

about what a patch panel does.

[nannynick]

Not sure how you would do phone, think [http://www.bttorj45.com/BTtoRJ45kitRJ45V1S.html BT to RJ45 patch kit]].

At a guess, each room of the house is wired into the back of the Patch Panel. Are the ports named, or are the cables behind it tagged with anything to say where they go?

With the BT home hub, I think the setup would be:

Use the home hub as the router, site it in the cupboard, best position you can to get WiFi coverage throughout the flat. Experiment with it's location height wise within the cupboard.

For wired Ethernet, such as to a smart TV, connect a LAN port from the hub, to the Patch Panel port appropriate to the room the TV is in.
Then connect the TV to the port in the room.

HomeHub-PatchPanel-HiddenCable-PortInRoom-TV

Hope that makes sense.

For phone line, I think it would be similar

RJ45toBT Patch lead goes from the port on the patch panel, to the BT filter connector for phone (the phone sized socket on the white box).
Then in the room that PatchPanel port goes to, RJ45-BT connector, which makes the connection back into a phone socket.

[nannynick]

BT to RJ45 patch kit - clickable this time with luck

[nannynick]

No power in the cupboard did you say... hmm,

RJ11 to RJ45 x2 Kit
I wonder if that would do it.
Looks promising...

I would guess:
ADSL filter into master socket
RJ45-RJ11 Patch Lead from PatchPanel port to the ADSL port on the filter.
At the room that patch panel port goes to you would have RJ45-RJ11 Converter.
For the phones, you would use the BT Double Adaptor in the ADSL filter. Then connect two BT-RJ45 Patch Leads, to two ports on the patch panel.
Then in the corresponding rooms, you would use RJ45-BT converter to convert the signal back into a phone connection.

More info on RunIT's support forum. Perhaps get a friend who knows something about networking to help out.

I wonder what that black cable is in your cupboard. Coax possibly, maybe from a communal satellite dish.

Any chance of a picture of a faceplate - the thing in the room. What ports does it have - just RJ45 or other things as well, like TV, SAT, Phone?

[Tasmania]

nannynick Thanks for all this.

The problem is we have no electric socket in the cupboard - and we need one to get a home hub working!!! I have been saying this to the estate agent again and again, but he is convinced the ethernet ports should 'just' work .

[Tasmania]

nannynick

I am really impressed by the knowledge on this forum. Best and closest advise I have been given so far. I'll look into that kit.

For now though, here's the pic of the faceplate. It has two Sat sockets a radio one and a TV one. He covered port next to it is the ethernet port. There are no phone sockets anywhere apart from the one in that cupboard...

tinypic.com/r/21myo43/5

[throckenholt]

It is odd that you don't have an electrical socket in that little room. We have a similar setup exept instead of the patch panel we have a couple of ethernet switches, one of which has a wireless router plugged into it.

We also have a master phone plugged into the phone bit of the splitter. Then there are a couple of other subordinate phones scattered around the house (similarthese. However, both the phone master and the network switches need to plug into the mains power.

I did intend to connect the phone over the ethernet but never got round to getting the right connectors :)

[nannynick]

The faceplate on the right is the Ethernet port. Only one of them alas. May be worth unscrewing the plate and seeing how many cables are behind it. It may also reveal a tag on the cable so you can identify where it goes - though would expect cable in the cupboard to have a tag on as well so you can find the other end.

So if there is just the one cable, then you can use:

BT to RJ45 Patch Cable - this goes from the BT Socket to the Patch Panel.

RJ45 to ADSL - This converts it back again, to give you a phone socket and an ADSL socket.

You then connect the HomeHub into the ADSL socket and connect your phone. You now have phone and internet, plus TV links and power, all at that bank of faceplates.

Any other Ethernet faceplate you have (such as in another room) will not function, as the internal wiring is just being used to carry the BT phone signal.

In a small flat that may be fine, as other devices can connect to the homehub via WiFi.

[nannynick]

What do you want to achieve? Is it just repositioning the homehub, or do you want Ethernet connectivity in each room?


Looking at your first picture, inside the cupboard. The grey cables are marked in pen with where they go do. One can be seen saying Bed 1.

On the patch panel above the ports, there is a white rectangle, on ports 1 to 4, there is writing on them. Port 1 seems to say TV/Lounge, can't make out Port2, Port3 I think is Bed 1 and Port4 is Bed 2.
So you should be able to identify where to plug things in.
Such as BT-RJ45 patch cable, from BT socket to Port1, which should then make the RJ45-ADSL filter work when plugged into the Ethernet port in the lounge (which I think is the faceplate bank you have taken a picture).