Help with network connection problem needed

guzzbuzz

Hi, hoping some experts might be able to offer some help here please.

A friend of mine is trying to set up a wired network connection between his house and a room at the back of his garden.

He's run a cat5 cable from the house router (sky) underground to the building at the back. The building is approximately 150/200ft away.

So now there is a wired cat5 cable in the room, it works, it connects to a laptop and the internet speed is good (60mps)

However when he tries to connect the cable to one of these and then into the laptop (all with cat5 cables):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07HP6ZLSM?pf_rd_p=330fbd82-d4fe-42e5-9c16-d4b886747c64&pf_rd_r=H59ZQCM456KCPWEJS5XS

It does not work?!

We tested the box back in the house, plugged it into the sky router, then cat5 cable into box, then into laptop and it works fine. Internet is working.

So what could be the problem here do you think?

Any help or advice would be appreciated because im lost as to why it wont work! Thanks

Neil_Jones

Cat 5 cable is good for 328ft in length before it needs boosting.
What are you connecting to, you make it sound like you're connecting the garden cable to the laptop. Don't do that!

Easiest solution is to connect everything to the network switch and then connect a singe cable from the switch to the Sky router.

Heedtheadvice

According to the spec it should work up to 100m so it sounds like that should not be a limiting factor. You also do not need to choose between straight and a crossover cable as it has auto detect.
I note from the support pages there have been some issues with sky routers (fixed, updated firmware?) but maybe does not apply to your switch.


You do not mention if any lights show (they give some status indications) so why not note these and then get help from the experts, the manufacturer?
https://www.tp-link.com/uk/support/

guzzbuzz

Neil_Jones wrote: »

Cat 5 cable is good for 328ft in length before it needs boosting.
What are you connecting to, you make it sound like you're connecting the garden cable to the laptop. Don't do that!

Easiest solution is to connect everything to the network switch and then connect a singe cable from the switch to the Sky router.

Thanks mate

I personally think he's close to the 328 ft but he reckons its nowhere near.

Yes, we connected the garden cable to the laptop. The cable runs from the sky router in the house, right up to the room in the garden. It works, when its plugged directly into the laptop.

Why would you suggest not to do that?

How would connecting everything to the switch and then to the sky router help, the router is in the house? Sorry not sure i follow why that would work (maybe im missing something)

guzzbuzz

Heedtheadvice wrote: »

According to the spec it should work up to 100m so it sounds like that should not be a limiting factor. You also do not need to choose between straight and a crossover cable as it has auto detect.
I note from the support pages there have been some issues with sky routers (fixed, updated firmware?) but maybe does not apply to your switch.


You do not mention if any lights show (they give some status indications) so why not note these and then get help from the experts, the manufacturer?
https://www.tp-link.com/uk/support/

Thanks

Yes i read that on the box of the TP Link router too, as i said above i think he's close to that 100 metre distance but he seems to think its around 200ft max

When you say any lights, are you talking about on the sky router or on the TP-Link router? The TP-link router had a green light once plugged into the wall, i didn't notice anything else...



Do i need to change some settings on either router you think? I can't think how that would help though because the TP Link router works when its closer to the Sky box with no issues?!

Peter999_2

Have you tried forcing the connection to use 100mb instead of it using 1000mb? I vaguely remember installing a desktop at work many years ago where the cable length was very very long. It wouldn't connect at 100mb but would at 10mb. Could be worth trying to prove if it is a cable distance problem or not.

Neil_Jones

guzzbuzz wrote: »

Thanks mate

I personally think he's close to the 328 ft but he reckons its nowhere near.

Yes, we connected the garden cable to the laptop. The cable runs from the sky router in the house, right up to the room in the garden. It works, when its plugged directly into the laptop.

Why would you suggest not to do that?

How would connecting everything to the switch and then to the sky router help, the router is in the house? Sorry not sure i follow why that would work (maybe im missing something)

Something's not right here, you seem to be contradicting yourself and confusing everybody.

Where is the Sky router? Somewhere in the house presumably by the phone line?
Where is the switch located?
Presumably the laptop is in the house as well? Or is this the computer down the garden?
In the "shed" I presume there is only one computer there and that is on the cable that runs back into the house?

In an ideal setup you should have the computer in the "shed" (I know its not actually a shed but its something down the garden which allows for distinction) connected to an intermediate device (the switch) in the house that connects to the Sky router..

Actually your reply suggests to me the switch is down the garden. If that is the case then you need two network cables, the one you have now (buried) and another one from the computer to the switch, although if you only have one computer there you don't need the switch at all, you can just connect the computer to the buried cable.

Chino

Neil_Jones wrote: »

although if you only have one computer there you don't need the switch at all, you can just connect the computer to the buried cable.

Presumably the OP's friend plans to connect more than one device in the "room at the back of his garden".

Neil_Jones

Chino wrote: »

Presumably the OP's friend plans to connect more than one device in the "room at the back of his garden".

Well if that is the case once the current computer is working it would just be a case of connect another network cable to the switch and Bob's your uncle, because once it works on one it'll work on all of them. In theory.

Would still like to know what the cable run is though. I don't know if the current Sky routers are gigabit capable, not that it really matters if the OP has run Cat 5 cable which only supports 10/100 (though of course its far more likely to be Cat5e which is the more widely available variety and is Gigabit capable).

After all 328ft/100m may not be a lot if the cable is not running in a straight line and it has to bend round things, go up walls, under floors, etc. Could be easy to hit this "limit" without realising it.

Robisere

Is the Cat 5 cable your mate ran underground, an external or internal cable? I had a similar problem at a mate's house. The Cat 5 was an ordinary cable as used indoors, swapped it for an External Cat 6 cable and it worked. He just dug a trench (not deep) and ran the cable, through a plastic pipe. I'm thinking there was damp/condensation.

External cable, 75M should be plenty:
https://www.cablemonkey.co.uk/cat6a-cable/9588-external-cat6-utp-ldpe-rj45-patch-leads.html#/81-length-75m

Unless you have the tools and capability to buy correct length of raw cable, then fit the ends.

guzzbuzz

Peter999 wrote: »

Have you tried forcing the connection to use 100mb instead of it using 1000mb? I vaguely remember installing a desktop at work many years ago where the cable length was very very long. It wouldn't connect at 100mb but would at 10mb. Could be worth trying to prove if it is a cable distance problem or not.

No, havent tried to do that. How can you force the cable to run at a slower speed?