ELI5: Adding an Ethernet connection for WFH
March 22, 2021 1:08 PM Subscribe
I want to be able to connect my work laptop to the internet with an Ethernet cable instead of WiFi. What exactly do I need to do?
My internet provider is AT&T. I think the connection is DSL (through an adapter than plugs into a phone jack). I have one modem (?) in the living room that does WiFi and has Ethernet ports.
I need a wired Ethernet connection in the bedroom (20 feet away). I do not want to run a long Ethernet cable from the modem to the bedroom. What do I need to do?
Do I set up a router(?) in the bedroom? Does that second device connect to the modem via WiFi or does it need a wired connection?
There is another phone jack in the bedroom if that matters.
I rent and do not have the option of running cables and cords under the floor. I do not want long cords on the floor as trip hazards, either.
Links to recommended devices to buy are appreciated. Thank you!
My internet provider is AT&T. I think the connection is DSL (through an adapter than plugs into a phone jack). I have one modem (?) in the living room that does WiFi and has Ethernet ports.
I need a wired Ethernet connection in the bedroom (20 feet away). I do not want to run a long Ethernet cable from the modem to the bedroom. What do I need to do?
Do I set up a router(?) in the bedroom? Does that second device connect to the modem via WiFi or does it need a wired connection?
There is another phone jack in the bedroom if that matters.
I rent and do not have the option of running cables and cords under the floor. I do not want long cords on the floor as trip hazards, either.
Links to recommended devices to buy are appreciated. Thank you!
If you don't want to run wires (even a wifi router has to be plugged into the modem), you'll need to contact AT&T and have them set up a wired access point through the bedroom phone jack.
posted by ananci at 1:18 PM on March 22, 2021
posted by ananci at 1:18 PM on March 22, 2021
If you can't run cables, use the ones you have: plus in a thing called a PowerLine Ethernet Adapter in each room, and let the signals travel over the electrical wires that are already in the walls.
Several companies make them, and they don't cost too much.
Then there would be a wire from a router's port to the PowerLine device, and in your office you would have a second PowerLine device with a cable to your laptop.
(Jinx, ToddBurson!)
posted by wenestvedt at 1:18 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
Several companies make them, and they don't cost too much.
Then there would be a wire from a router's port to the PowerLine device, and in your office you would have a second PowerLine device with a cable to your laptop.
(Jinx, ToddBurson!)
posted by wenestvedt at 1:18 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
I do not want to run a long Ethernet cable from the modem to the bedroom. What do I need to do?
You need to run a long Ethernet cable from the modem to the bedroom.
You can tack it against the wall to get it floor-adjacent and out the way. But anything else - powerline, second router, etc. - isn't going to give you the speed/bandwidth you want, and wouldn't be worth the effort.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 1:19 PM on March 22, 2021 [13 favorites]
You need to run a long Ethernet cable from the modem to the bedroom.
You can tack it against the wall to get it floor-adjacent and out the way. But anything else - powerline, second router, etc. - isn't going to give you the speed/bandwidth you want, and wouldn't be worth the effort.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 1:19 PM on March 22, 2021 [13 favorites]
If the phone jack in the bedroom works, you should be able to just unplug the DSL adapter (which probably has a special cable with a filter on it) from where it is now and move it into the bedroom where you need the ethernet.
The other option is a wifi extender with an ethernet port -- if your AT&T system has wifi, you set up the wifi extender in the room and plug in ethernet to it. This doesn't eliminate the instability of wifi, but it does allow you to use a non-wireless device with wifi.
posted by AzraelBrown at 1:19 PM on March 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
The other option is a wifi extender with an ethernet port -- if your AT&T system has wifi, you set up the wifi extender in the room and plug in ethernet to it. This doesn't eliminate the instability of wifi, but it does allow you to use a non-wireless device with wifi.
posted by AzraelBrown at 1:19 PM on March 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
Dumb question: if there's a phone jack in the bedroom, can you move your router there?
(I forgot everything I knew about DSL a few years ago, but I feel like there were dongles you could get for any phone jack to offer Internet, as long as you ran the main phone line into the router "farthest upstream.")
posted by wenestvedt at 1:21 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
(I forgot everything I knew about DSL a few years ago, but I feel like there were dongles you could get for any phone jack to offer Internet, as long as you ran the main phone line into the router "farthest upstream.")
posted by wenestvedt at 1:21 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
Try plugging the modem into the phone jack in the bedroom. If it doesn't work on that phone jack (it should, but stranger things have happened), then you're going to need a long cable tacked along the baseboards.
posted by fedward at 1:28 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by fedward at 1:28 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
I had to do this for my WFH set up and I bought an PowerLine Ethernet Adapter as noted above. I have not experienced any issues with speed. Mine is a D-Link. It cost me about $80 from a local store; may be cheaper on line or in the US if that's where you are.
This is going to be way more convenient than tacking a cable along the baseboards. I wasn't willing to deal with that nuisance and ugliness.
**I'm connecting from about 20 feet away from the actual modem, in the same room (very long living room. My other option was going to be a 50 cable going around the entire perimeter so as not to cross the doorways). Over X-mas holidays when the whole family was home I moved to a room on the second floor and had some intermittency issues. I don't know why. I didn't bother to try to resolve them; I just moved myself back downstairs.
So, maybe make sure yours is returnable just in case you do experience some problems.
posted by kitcat at 1:34 PM on March 22, 2021
This is going to be way more convenient than tacking a cable along the baseboards. I wasn't willing to deal with that nuisance and ugliness.
**I'm connecting from about 20 feet away from the actual modem, in the same room (very long living room. My other option was going to be a 50 cable going around the entire perimeter so as not to cross the doorways). Over X-mas holidays when the whole family was home I moved to a room on the second floor and had some intermittency issues. I don't know why. I didn't bother to try to resolve them; I just moved myself back downstairs.
So, maybe make sure yours is returnable just in case you do experience some problems.
posted by kitcat at 1:34 PM on March 22, 2021
What problem are you trying to solve with a wired connection and have you verified that a wired connection actually will solve those problems (by, for example, temporarily moving your computer to a place where you can get a wired connection)?
There are a bunch of reasons why you might want to switch to wired, but none of them are clear-cut wins.
1) Better speed. Except, have you checked the speed of your internet connection? DSL can be very slow. A friend of mine was trying to upgrade her router to get better Zoom performance, but it turned out the solution was dumping AT&T and getting Comcast.
2) Secure from eavesdropping. You are probably being overly paranoid.
3) Computer doesn't have WiFi. Okay, you've got me there.
4) House was built out of steel and foot thick concrete walls and you work in a Faraday cage and there's no signal.
5) Router is crap. Can you upgrade the router?
FWIW, I've used a powerline adapter and it worked well. I never ran a speed test on it, but it was showing Netflix in high quality on my TV without any issues at all. Now I've dropped that and use WiFi over about 40 feet and it works like a champ because I upgraded my router to be Mega Beefy.
Knowing nothing else, I'd try a powerline adapter.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 1:42 PM on March 22, 2021 [7 favorites]
There are a bunch of reasons why you might want to switch to wired, but none of them are clear-cut wins.
1) Better speed. Except, have you checked the speed of your internet connection? DSL can be very slow. A friend of mine was trying to upgrade her router to get better Zoom performance, but it turned out the solution was dumping AT&T and getting Comcast.
2) Secure from eavesdropping. You are probably being overly paranoid.
3) Computer doesn't have WiFi. Okay, you've got me there.
4) House was built out of steel and foot thick concrete walls and you work in a Faraday cage and there's no signal.
5) Router is crap. Can you upgrade the router?
FWIW, I've used a powerline adapter and it worked well. I never ran a speed test on it, but it was showing Netflix in high quality on my TV without any issues at all. Now I've dropped that and use WiFi over about 40 feet and it works like a champ because I upgraded my router to be Mega Beefy.
Knowing nothing else, I'd try a powerline adapter.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 1:42 PM on March 22, 2021 [7 favorites]
Sorry, you said ELI5 so let me help a bit more. I have this PowerLine adapter.
It comes with two white adapters (plug-ins). And two yellow ethernet cables. You plug the first white adapter into an outlet near your router. Then connect the first yellow ethernet cord from that adapter (plug in) to your home router. Step 2 - You take the other white adapter over to your work station and plug it in. You connect the second yellow ethernet cord from that, to your docking station, or router, or computer (whichever thing needs the internet).
Re above: Reason to switch to wired in my case was because my work equipment required it.
posted by kitcat at 1:43 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
It comes with two white adapters (plug-ins). And two yellow ethernet cables. You plug the first white adapter into an outlet near your router. Then connect the first yellow ethernet cord from that adapter (plug in) to your home router. Step 2 - You take the other white adapter over to your work station and plug it in. You connect the second yellow ethernet cord from that, to your docking station, or router, or computer (whichever thing needs the internet).
Re above: Reason to switch to wired in my case was because my work equipment required it.
posted by kitcat at 1:43 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
I've been using powerline ethernet for a while. A few notes:
As for hardware, I'd just go with The Wirecutter's recommendation. The speed will depend on a bunch of stuff about your building and wiring, but generally I would expect it to be faster than DSL. You will get a faster connection if both adapters are on the same electrical circuit, but this isn't something you probably have much control over.
You can just plug it in and use it, but if you do that anyone else can just plug a powerline ethernet adapter into your network and also use your network. Powerline ethernet adapters all have special tools you can use to connect to the adapter and turn on encryption and set a password. I recommend doing this. I live in a multi-unit building and had some weird and hard to troubleshoot problems when me and my neighbors both had set up powerline ethernet networks (presumably because both have the same long apartment with dense lath and plaster walls that make WiFi crummy). Stuff would sort of work but it was a crapshoot which router would be the first one to talk to my devices so it had some weird behavior / reliability implications, plus is also bad from a security point of view. So do set up encryption and a password.
posted by aubilenon at 1:48 PM on March 22, 2021
As for hardware, I'd just go with The Wirecutter's recommendation. The speed will depend on a bunch of stuff about your building and wiring, but generally I would expect it to be faster than DSL. You will get a faster connection if both adapters are on the same electrical circuit, but this isn't something you probably have much control over.
You can just plug it in and use it, but if you do that anyone else can just plug a powerline ethernet adapter into your network and also use your network. Powerline ethernet adapters all have special tools you can use to connect to the adapter and turn on encryption and set a password. I recommend doing this. I live in a multi-unit building and had some weird and hard to troubleshoot problems when me and my neighbors both had set up powerline ethernet networks (presumably because both have the same long apartment with dense lath and plaster walls that make WiFi crummy). Stuff would sort of work but it was a crapshoot which router would be the first one to talk to my devices so it had some weird behavior / reliability implications, plus is also bad from a security point of view. So do set up encryption and a password.
posted by aubilenon at 1:48 PM on March 22, 2021
You need to run a long Ethernet cable from the modem to the bedroom.
Yeah, seconding this. OP hasn't really explained why they think they need a wired cable, but there's no other solution that's as good as a wired connection. Using a wifi bridge to physical ethernet means you're just back to using wifi.
If you can relocate the gateway box from the living room to the bedroom phone jack you'll be set, but there's no guarantee the bedroom phone jack is wired properly to support that.
posted by GuyZero at 2:15 PM on March 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
Yeah, seconding this. OP hasn't really explained why they think they need a wired cable, but there's no other solution that's as good as a wired connection. Using a wifi bridge to physical ethernet means you're just back to using wifi.
If you can relocate the gateway box from the living room to the bedroom phone jack you'll be set, but there's no guarantee the bedroom phone jack is wired properly to support that.
posted by GuyZero at 2:15 PM on March 22, 2021 [2 favorites]
I rent and do not have the option of running cables and cords under the floor. I do not want long cords on the floor as trip hazards, either.
Get a long cable. Then either just staple it to the baseboard/above the baseboard or get that stick-on plastic conduit (sorry, "raceway") to cover it up.
I had to break down and run a bunch of long ethernet cables around my TV room to get a proper wired connection to my work computer and I ended up a) running most of it behind bookshelves and b) getting it past a door by putting a plastic raceway above the door in the corner with the ceiling. No trip hazard and it's a lot less ugly than I anticipated.
posted by GuyZero at 2:54 PM on March 22, 2021
Get a long cable. Then either just staple it to the baseboard/above the baseboard or get that stick-on plastic conduit (sorry, "raceway") to cover it up.
I had to break down and run a bunch of long ethernet cables around my TV room to get a proper wired connection to my work computer and I ended up a) running most of it behind bookshelves and b) getting it past a door by putting a plastic raceway above the door in the corner with the ceiling. No trip hazard and it's a lot less ugly than I anticipated.
posted by GuyZero at 2:54 PM on March 22, 2021
If the phone jack is alive, you can move your router there by just moving it and plugging it in. Otherwise your options are to get someone to reactivate that phone jack (which may be very simple but requires a bit of knowledge about where the other end of the wire in the wall is), or run an ethernet cable from where the router currently is.
posted by fritley at 4:06 PM on March 22, 2021
posted by fritley at 4:06 PM on March 22, 2021
It really would help to know what problem you're trying to solve. If the laptop supports WiFi, a remotely decent WiFi connection should vastly exceed the performance of any DSL connection. If the underlying DSL connection is horribly slow by modern internet standards, an ethernet connection isn't going to help with that. If there's another goal you're trying to achieve by using an ethernet connection, that could change the best way to do this.
Long ethernet cables aren't super expensive, so it may help to try out a 20' cable temporarily so see if it solves your problem before you invest in other equipment (such as powerline networking gear or cable management solutions to keep it from being a tripping hazard).
posted by zachlipton at 4:15 PM on March 22, 2021 [5 favorites]
Long ethernet cables aren't super expensive, so it may help to try out a 20' cable temporarily so see if it solves your problem before you invest in other equipment (such as powerline networking gear or cable management solutions to keep it from being a tripping hazard).
posted by zachlipton at 4:15 PM on March 22, 2021 [5 favorites]
Apartment building WiFi is never very good. A long Ethernet cable will confirm your use case here -- but yeah, DSL can never deliver super high speed. But sometimes it's the only broadband available. (We had it for several years.)
posted by wenestvedt at 4:23 PM on March 22, 2021
posted by wenestvedt at 4:23 PM on March 22, 2021
Ditto powerline adapter. The only real caveat is some homes have some segments of the house on a different circuit, so to speak, and thus the signals from powerline network don't survive the line conditioning filters between the two circuits. But that's pretty rare. I've seen it once at my friend's place... Upstairs and downstairs are on separate circuits, so powerline doesn't work for him.
posted by kschang at 5:26 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by kschang at 5:26 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
Nthing that thing number 1 to check is the speed of your DSL. You can test this empirically by temporarily connecting your laptop to the AT&T modem's ethernet ports and running a speed test. Then run the speed test again via WiFi. If the numbers you get are within the same ballpark, it's your internet plan you'll need to upgrade, not your connection to the modem.
posted by Aleyn at 7:29 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Aleyn at 7:29 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]
Agree with the above poster who said to make sure the Powerline Adapter is returnable. I had it working really well at a house, then moved to a smaller (but older) house. Damn thing didn't work *at all* at the newer place. Good luck!
posted by getawaysticks at 8:33 PM on March 22, 2021
posted by getawaysticks at 8:33 PM on March 22, 2021
Are you aware of flat cat 6 cable? It's only about 7mm wide and 1mm thick so you can run it along a skirting board in way that's very close to invisible, plus it's ridiculously cheap.
posted by flabdablet at 12:59 AM on March 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 12:59 AM on March 23, 2021 [3 favorites]
Also:
I want to be able to connect my work laptop to the internet with an Ethernet cable instead of WiFi.
ELI5: why?
posted by flabdablet at 1:00 AM on March 23, 2021
I want to be able to connect my work laptop to the internet with an Ethernet cable instead of WiFi.
ELI5: why?
posted by flabdablet at 1:00 AM on March 23, 2021
If you can relocate the gateway box from the living room to the bedroom phone jack you'll be set, but there's no guarantee the bedroom phone jack is wired properly to support that.
An added complication is that the router may work fine in both locations but be notably slower when connected to the extension in your bedroom. This happens if the internal phone wiring is of poor quality. The DSL connection usually works best when your router is connected to the master phone socket. You can run a quick comparison test between the 2 locations to rule this out.
posted by rongorongo at 8:50 AM on March 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
An added complication is that the router may work fine in both locations but be notably slower when connected to the extension in your bedroom. This happens if the internal phone wiring is of poor quality. The DSL connection usually works best when your router is connected to the master phone socket. You can run a quick comparison test between the 2 locations to rule this out.
posted by rongorongo at 8:50 AM on March 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
The DSL connection usually works best when your router is connected to the master phone socket.
Usually works better still when the master phone socket is the only one with wires connected to it.
posted by flabdablet at 9:39 AM on March 23, 2021
Usually works better still when the master phone socket is the only one with wires connected to it.
posted by flabdablet at 9:39 AM on March 23, 2021
Response by poster: New job, new work laptop. Will not stay connected to WiFi but works fine with Ethernet cable. Yes, I know this is their problem to solve, etc. Work IT is not being responsive and I am frustrated and just want to be able to get some work done at my preferred WFH work station. Thank you all for taking the time to answer.
posted by fozzie_bear at 11:48 AM on March 23, 2021
posted by fozzie_bear at 11:48 AM on March 23, 2021
As others have pointed out, you have 2 options:
a) Powerline adaptors. Connect one end near your router, connect ethernet cable from router to adapter 1. Go to your room, and connect adapter 2 to your laptop, then all plugged in. Then use the sync procedure. Usually, you press the SYNC button on one device, then go to the other device and also press SYNC. Each will try to ping the other on the network for 60 seconds or 120 seconds. If they see it, they'll link up, and voila, ethernet connection.
b) Wifi Extender with ethernet out. Some Wifi extenders / repeaters have Ethernet out for older non-wifi devices. Plug that near your laptop, connect Ethernet port to your laptop, then configure the extender to extend the existing wifi network. Once it has "patched in" to the existing network, it should give you a connection.
Hypothetically, it could just you that you need a new WiFi adapter, which is much cheaper than either of the above options. But if you're using company dime to fix it, then it's up to you.
posted by kschang at 3:02 PM on March 23, 2021
a) Powerline adaptors. Connect one end near your router, connect ethernet cable from router to adapter 1. Go to your room, and connect adapter 2 to your laptop, then all plugged in. Then use the sync procedure. Usually, you press the SYNC button on one device, then go to the other device and also press SYNC. Each will try to ping the other on the network for 60 seconds or 120 seconds. If they see it, they'll link up, and voila, ethernet connection.
b) Wifi Extender with ethernet out. Some Wifi extenders / repeaters have Ethernet out for older non-wifi devices. Plug that near your laptop, connect Ethernet port to your laptop, then configure the extender to extend the existing wifi network. Once it has "patched in" to the existing network, it should give you a connection.
Hypothetically, it could just you that you need a new WiFi adapter, which is much cheaper than either of the above options. But if you're using company dime to fix it, then it's up to you.
posted by kschang at 3:02 PM on March 23, 2021
Aha, if the problem is your laptop then another option is a usb wifi adapter (assuming you are allowed to plug usb devices into your machine. Some companies lock them down). This will provide an alternate way to connect to wifi and may be better than the no-name piece of garbage that is in your laptop.
They range in price by a ridiculous amount, but you can find perfectly serviceable ones for under $15.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 3:41 PM on March 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
They range in price by a ridiculous amount, but you can find perfectly serviceable ones for under $15.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 3:41 PM on March 23, 2021 [2 favorites]
Will not stay connected to WiFi but works fine with Ethernet cable.
Okay then. Definitely worth trying a USB wifi adapter before shelling out on anything more expensive or less convenient. These tiny generic driver-free types are surprisingly effective.
posted by flabdablet at 4:58 PM on March 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
Okay then. Definitely worth trying a USB wifi adapter before shelling out on anything more expensive or less convenient. These tiny generic driver-free types are surprisingly effective.
posted by flabdablet at 4:58 PM on March 23, 2021 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Unfortunately I can't recommend a specific one as I opted to run a long ethernet cable along the base of my walls instead to avoid the trip hazard. But it was something I had come across.
posted by ToddBurson at 1:16 PM on March 22, 2021 [1 favorite]