I recently moved into an apartment that uses Verizon internet, and I transferred my service online seamlessly. Initially, I connected my router to one of the Ethernet wall ports to set up Wi-Fi, which worked fine. However, I want to utilize the Ethernet wall ports in each room to connect various devices and enable LAN play for gaming across multiple TVs.
Upon inspecting the cable cabinet, I found a modem connected to a switch with an Ethernet cable. So, I plugged another Ethernet cable into a different wall port to connect to my PC, but it didn't work. After some research, I realized I needed to connect the modem to the WAN port on my router and then link the LAN port on the router to the switch.
Despite this setup providing internet to my router and Wi-Fi, none of the wall ports seem to allow Ethernet connections. Each wall port is CAT6 rated and the cables are CAT5E, which should work together based on backward compatibility. I've tried switching cables around and connecting to different ports, but nothing seems to change. Can anyone provide insight into what might be going wrong with this configuration?
2 Answers
Make sure the cables going into your wall outlets are terminated correctly in the cable cabinet. If they aren't hooked up properly there, it can lead to connectivity problems at the wall ports. You could also share a photo of the cable cabinet for better advice. Just something to confirm while troubleshooting!
It sounds like you've set things up correctly, but a couple of things could be causing the issue. First, have you considered rebooting the ONT (your modem)? Sometimes after changing devices, it’s necessary to reset the ONT to re-establish the connection. If it’s a really old model, it might require releasing the DHCP lease too. Also, check if your switches are managed or not; if they're managed, you might need to factory reset them to get them working properly. Lastly, ensure your cable types are all compatible and check the link lights as well—if there’s no light, it could indicate a cabling issue or that your equipment might not support Auto MDI-X.
Good point about the ONT. I had a similar issue where I had to reboot it multiple times when changing my network setup. Also, your suggestion regarding checking the switches is spot on. Sometimes they can be tricky!