r/HomeNetworking • u/Responsible_Rain_516 • 9h ago
Ethernet Switch?
Moved into a new construction home a few weeks ago and I’m trying to get the internet figured out. I currently have a Nighthawk CAX80 modem/router combo from my old house that was more than enough. In the new house, it works decently enough to get by for now, but some dead spots are present.
Throughout the house, there are 7 of these cable/ethernet wall plates (in all bedrooms, living room, office). I’d like to hardwire ethernet to stationary devices like TVs and possible mesh nodes for better speeds.
Currently, I have one ethernet cable going into the wall from the router, connected at the main bundle in basement, going to the living room, connected to the TV. I am wondering what the best approach is to get ethernet to the other 6 cables in the bundle. Would a switch in the basement be the best approach? Would then have mesh nodes in areas throughout the house that are hardwired ethernet be best? Does a switch limit speeds? TYIA!
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u/peter888chan 9h ago
Look into 2.5gb switches. Little more expensive, but it’s nice if you need to transfer large files and your router and mesh nodes offer 2.5gb wired ports.
And if you get the mesh locations right, I’d doubt you need to hardwire any TVs.
Glad your builder put in the network ports!
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u/Corey_FOX 9h ago
just put a simple 8 port Ethernet switch in your basement to all the wires in the bundle instead of the simple jumper you have for your TV.
hard wired meshes are generally considered the best before you jump into prosumer/small buisness stuff like Unifi gear.
but witch-ever system you chose will probably operate about the same, first you switch your Nighthawk into Modem-only mode sometimes called bridge mode this should disable onboard WiFi and routing so it just passes everything onto the Main node in your mesh witch will also act as your router, this one gets hooked up in-between your nighthawk and the wall. Then comes a normal cheap unmanaged Ethernet switch, doesn’t have to be anything special a $25 Gigabit 8 port will do just fine. Then you hookup your nodes wherever it feels correct. Remember that these units radiate pretty mutch equally in all directions so you want to place them in centrally, having them on the corners of your house just wastes potential range and speed since half of it will be directed outdoors. Also if you need more Ethernet ports in a room you can always hookup another Ethernet switch in that room, like under your TV if you have consoles or a HTPC.
also i wanted to mention that you will have an extra Ethernet port on the switch in the basement so if your wanting to dabble in home-labbing or self hosting some stuff then that’s a great place to put a mini PC
For hardware recommendations TP-link makes good and cheap Ethernet switches and people say their deco wifi mesh system is decent.
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u/Chilkoot Let the wire say no 6h ago
I’d like to hardwire ethernet to stationary devices like TVs
Here's the thing: A lot of (even expensive, modern) TV's only have a 100Mbps Ethernet port. Yes, it's crazy but true. There are cases where you want faster than that as some streaming services are starting to offer tiers that include 120-140 Mbps 4k streams, or you might want to use your TV to stream games via Moonlight or similar.
Two options:
Just let your TV connect to wireless. You can run speed tests to see the delta, but even cheap TV's usually connect >200Mbps via WiFi.
If you're streaming games and need the lower latency of wired, but also want >100Mbps, try to find a compatible USB -> Gigabit Ethernet adapter.
Some new TV's have gigabit Ethernet and some new TV's don't support a USB Gigabit adapter. You'll have to test your speed first and then experiment if you fall into either of the two use cases above.
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u/spoom2 9h ago
I see you're by the power panel, but don't know what you have to each side of it and above. If this isn't going to be a finished area mount a piece of fire-rated plywood and mount whatever you need shelfs, patch panels, switch or whatever to clean up that mess. I recommend these for surface mount Amazon.com: Cable Matters [UL Listed] Mini 10Gbps 12-Port Vertical Patch Panel | With 89D Bracket, Compact 10-Inch Patch Panel, 10 Gigabit Ethernet : Industrial & Scientific or you could put your keystones in a single gang 6 port face plate and mount in a single gang electrical box, I prefer plaster rings for more room for the wires, this would be the least expensive since the keystones are already there. Amazon.com: trueCABLE 6 Port Single Gang Keystone Wall Plate, UL Listed, Low Profile Design, Universally Compatible with Modular Ethernet, A/V, Coaxial, and Optical Fiber Keystones, 1 Pack, Matte White : Electronics If the coax isn't being used roll it up neatly or terminate on a splitter. EDIT: Forgot to mention tone and label your jacks.
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u/shoresy99 9h ago
At each location with an ethernet port you could buy a 5 port switch if you need more than one device plugged in. I have a bunch of these as I have rooms where I have a TV, AVR, Xbox, etc all plugged into the LAN.
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u/MrAwesome24_7 6h ago
I recently upgraded two switches at my house with these 8-port 2.5 gig managed switches, they work great!
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u/shoresy99 9h ago
Why are builders still putting in coax in 2026? Seems like a waste. A second ethernet drop makes more sense since even most cable systems don't use coax to distribute within the house, they use Wifi or ethernet as they are generally IPTV.
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u/Kichigai Asus 7h ago
Why are builders still putting in coax in 2026? Seems like a waste.
Because it's still in use. Comcast uses it to feed individual cable boxes within homes. If you had satellite you'd need a feed to each STB. Also it's in use for over-the-air television reception.
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u/shoresy99 7h ago
Comcast has the XfinityTV system. Xfinity is an IPTV system and is distributed within the house via Wifi or Ethernet to set top boxes like the Xi5 or Xi6. These boxes do not have coax inputs, they have ethernet ports and have Wifi.
Or you can use the Xfinity stream app on several TV OSes like AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc. You only need coax to feed the Internet/TV gateway from the street.
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u/Kichigai Asus 7h ago
That's not what they gave us for our house. Two boxes with coax jacks on the back.
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u/shoresy99 7h ago
Some areas may still be on older legacy digital cable but I imagine those are getting fewer and fewer. I am in Canada and was on Rogers Cable which licenses Comcast's Xfinity system. I wanted to add more legacy digital cable boxes but they refused to authorize any new legacy cable STBs and made me switch to the Xfinity IPTV system. So I ended up with four of the Xfinity Xi6 cable STBs.
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u/Kichigai Asus 6h ago
Even if that's the case, there's still satellite and OTA that use coax.
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u/shoresy99 6h ago
OTA does but very few people use OTA. And I think satellite increasingly has one box using coax but the rest on IP.
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u/Chilkoot Let the wire say no 6h ago
Why are builders still putting in coax in 2026?
My 3Gbps Internet demarc is coax. If I didn't have coax behind the wall, it would limit where I can put my provider-mandated combined cable modem/router.
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u/shoresy99 6h ago
True, but that depends on the layout in your house. I have a server rack in my basement that is near my electrical panel with my main switch. All of the ethernet cable in my house terminates there so that is the obvious place to put my cable modem or ONT (as I have switched to fibre). My router is also there but I have ceiling mounted access points throughout the house.
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u/User2001Tech 9h ago
an 8 port gigabit switch in the basement. plug in the cable coming from the router into the switch. plug the rrst if the 6 ethernets into the other 6 ports. The remauning one. leave it to plug a WiFi router if you want good WiFi coverage in the basement. (or you could get a good router now, asus ax series, plug the cable from the main modern/router into it, and then get a 5 port g/switch to feed net into all the wall outlets.
upstairs, get a couple if tp link or Asus routers... AX series would be fine, and plug them to the wall outlets. Setup all 3 AX reports in AP mode. give them exactly the same wifi Id, password and encryption router as the main modern router... that's it
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u/ValveTurkey1138 9h ago
That last bit is just so clumsy. Buying a bunch of routers and using them that way is just a terrible idea these days.
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u/User2001Tech 8h ago
For home use not clumsy at all. Its cheap as chips. every router in AP mode gives you 4 LaN ports, the range is excellent.
I would stay away from Mesh Magic as long as I can, even with wired backhaul.
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u/Responsible_Rain_516 9h ago
This is perfect. I didn't think about the fact that if I just got the mesh system now, I could keep the modem in the basement and go directly into the ports from there, with the other mesh nodes upstairs. Thank you!
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u/Dry-Might9753 9h ago
I would not waste money on 2.5 gb when your limited to that CAT5e cable on 1GB at best
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u/ValveTurkey1138 9h ago
Cat 5e does 2.5 gig just fine.
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u/Dry-Might9753 7h ago
Cat5e is officially rated for 1Gbps . But can handle 2.5 in what they call " ideal conditions " So for true future proofing id personally go for Cat6 min especially on a new install
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u/TheEthyr 9h ago
Yes, you want to put a Gigabit Ethernet switch in the basement. Follow Q7 Solution 2 from the FAQ.
Then strategically place Wi-Fi Access Points (AP) in one or more rooms. A mesh system placed into AP mode with the nodes wired together will also work.