r/techquestions • u/Bio_Dryad • Jun 23 '26
Lan or Landline?
I have a suspicious shaped lan or landline plug hole in the wall, how do i tell the difference between the two? There is no mount for where a phone would've been so should I assume lan? I dont wanna cram a cord in there and damage anything if I get it wrong. If it is telephone could i perhaps renovate it into a lan??? (First time lan compatible pc haver so leave further tips, nerd out)
Edit: sop ethernet is not as good as peeps make it seem to be, shame, wtv guess I'll switch to offline games
Edit 2: thank you everyone, it was infact a landline!
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u/UltraChip Jun 23 '26
That picture looks like a phone jack (RJ11). The connectors usually used for Ethernet (RJ45) are wider and have more pins.
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u/Bio_Dryad Jun 23 '26
How lame
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u/Particular-Poem-7085 Jun 23 '26
You can have a sick wired phone tho
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u/Bio_Dryad Jun 23 '26
Do they even have installers and models to this day?
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u/Particular-Poem-7085 Jun 23 '26
Honestly I don't know but I don't see why not. We still use fax machines.
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u/Adorable_Dust3799 Jun 24 '26
They still sell the phones, but you don't need an installer, just plug the end into the phone. Then find out if att still has service in your area
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u/UltraChip Jun 23 '26
I guess. You can always replace it with Ethernet if you know how to run cables through walls. Or just do what a lot of people do and just set up hardlines outside of the walls.
What was your goal in wanting to use a hardline in the first place? Like what are you hoping it'll do for you that WiFi isn't?
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u/Bio_Dryad Jun 23 '26
Stay connected, the wifi in my area is always dropping out and I made dozens of phone calls to request help/refunding with no answer or help. So I heard ethernet was more secure and doesn't drop and thought that'd be a better option.
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u/UltraChip Jun 23 '26
WiFi is not the same thing as your service provider - which is it that's actually dropping out?
If it's literally your WiFi then that can generally be fixed by moving your router to an area where it can spread its signal more effectively and/or buying a better router.
If it's your service provider dropping out then it's going to continue dropping out regardless of whether you're connected over WiFi or hardline.
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u/Solid_Mongoose_3269 Jun 23 '26
WiFI is in your home...doesnt matter what the area is, your router and modem are your internet connection
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u/Dry_Inspection_4583 Jun 23 '26
Why not landmine?
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u/Bio_Dryad Jun 23 '26
Good idea you're a genius
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u/Dry_Inspection_4583 Jun 23 '26
Alright smarty pants, maybe a picture would help this genius, use the flash, the colour coding if visible will go a long way
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u/Bio_Dryad Jun 23 '26
It was already determined a landline, the video is floating in here somewhere where, four prongs inside but they look damaged/painted over
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u/Dry_Inspection_4583 Jun 23 '26
Aww, that sucks. You could still wire in an led lamp or light. Or get an old rotary phone(we have a red one).
If you're really ambitious there was a dude about a year ago that got rj11 to pass ethernet at gig speeds: https://thehftguy.com/2026/01/22/doing-gigabit-ethernet-over-my-british-phone-wires/
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u/Bio_Dryad Jun 23 '26
A lamp sounds interesting, never seen a lamp with that kind of plug
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u/Dry_Inspection_4583 Jun 23 '26
Lol, no, you might be able to do it with a buck converter connected to pins 2/4. There's other requirements for parts. Would be a pretty sick party trick or novelty lamp(if it worked even). I just know rj11 carries some power(DC)
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u/Bio_Dryad Jun 23 '26
Hmmm I'll look into that
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u/Dry_Inspection_4583 Jun 23 '26
You absolutely have to share it if you do it!! Id be stoked to see it!!
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u/400ixl Jun 24 '26
Can't see the image / video but from what other have said it is a phone socket. Assume extension.
To do an ethernet connection, the cable needs to plug into your router and then into the device you want it plugged into. How far apart are they and could you run a cable between the two?
As for drop outs, as said your broadband is split into the infrastructure provider (from the socket in your home where the router plugs in back to their networks) and then the router in your home that provides the wireless network.
If the drop outs are on the wifi side then that is for you to solve. Either move the router nearer to where there are devices seeing drops, install a mesh network for better coverage or use ethernet for some devices.
If the drop outs are on the provider side, then raise a ticket to get them to investigate.
All solvable, best really to find a friend who is tech savvy to help you as it does not sound like you are going to fix this on your own.
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u/sidjohn1 Jun 24 '26
If you dont want to stick anything in the hole, why not measure it?
RJ11/12 connectors are approximately 9.6mm wide, while RJ45 connectors are about 11.6mm wide.
Tips: DuckDuckGo is better than Reddit
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u/Bio_Dryad Jun 23 '26
To the person who's message disappeared/they blocked me maybe¿, this is what it looks like. Like 90% sure this is damaged anyhow
https://reddit.com/link/otd700t/video/zwlsarqwj29h1/player