I recently moved into a studio apartment where the building provides internet through a wall-mounted Ethernet jack. There is no coaxial connection. I own a Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 cable modem/router and want to know whether I need an Ethernet-to-coax adapter to use it for Wi‑Fi, or whether there is a better way to connect my devices.
3 Answers
You don't need a modem for an Ethernet-based apartment internet connection. Try plugging a laptop directly into the wall jack first to confirm that it provides internet access. If it works, connect the cable from the wall to the router's WAN/Internet port—assuming your model supports Ethernet WAN—and configure the router as needed. Since the apartment supplies the service, you may need to follow its login or device-registration instructions.
An Ethernet-to-coax adapter generally won't work here. Cable modems expect a DOCSIS signal over coax, while the apartment's jack carries normal Ethernet. Your Nighthawk cable modem/router may not be suitable as the primary router unless it has an Ethernet WAN option. If it does, connect the wall jack to that port; otherwise, use a regular Wi‑Fi router or wireless access point instead.
The simplest setup is to buy or use a standard Wi‑Fi router and connect the apartment's Ethernet jack to its WAN/Internet port. If you only need one wired device, connect it directly to the wall. For several wired devices, add an Ethernet switch. If you want to reuse the Nighthawk, place it in access-point or bridge mode and disable its routing and DHCP functions, but that depends on the exact model and available settings.
The internet service is included and provided by the apartment complex, so I’ll check whether the wall jack works directly first.