Ethernet Wall Ports

[Anonymous User]

I have recently moved into a flat and have set up internet with NOW TV. When attempting to use the ethernet wall ports throughout the flat, they do not work, however a direct ethernet connection works fine. I have contacted the landlords about this and they have said it is something to be dealt with by the internet providers. However am I right in thinking that it is an issue for the flat maintenance team as it is an issue with the wall ports. I am lead to believe this may be a matter of turning on or tinkering with the relevant network/fuse box. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[schnapps]

Hi @Anonymous User

Have you tried going into the NOW Hub Router Web settings and change the default settings from Gigabit to Fast Ethernet. 

See if anything in this linked thread helps. 

https://community.nowtv.com/t5/NOW-TV-Smart-Box/Wired-connection-stopped-working-on-my-Router/td-p/530088 

Any external wiring from the Router won't be the ISP responsibility. 

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for the advice, sadly these did not work. I have further spoken to maintenance trying to explain that the problem lies with the ports in the wall, and that these are not the responsibility of the isp however they are not accepting to believe me 😕

[schnapps]

Hi @Anonymous User 

If the flat Ethernet wiring doesn't work for some unknown reason and wifi is not an option, then maybe look into and do some research online about power line Ethernet adaptors dotted around the flat.

Not sure if this will affect your flat agreement conditions with the landlord and how the flat is wired electrically and on a dedicated isolated power ring main circuit.

Maybe have a word with the landlord and building maintenance company for permission and if it's a possibility.

I doubt the NOW Broadband Team would be any help because the external third party wiring is not their responsibility and you have proven the Ethernet works on their NOW Hub Router by connecting an Ethernet device directly into the Router.

[Feko]

Hi @Anonymous User !

I am in the exact same situation. Moved to a flat with those ports, and am wondering how to make them work, since the WiFi doesn't reach the room I'm working from.

Have you solved this situation? Care to share your solution?

Thanks

[dr_necessitor]

@Feko 
How many ethernet ports in each room?

Is there one room where there is more than one ethernet port?

The answers may help give us clues to help!

Oh and are we sure that there is actually ethernet cable inside the wall ports and connected to the sockets?! If not, they’re not ever going to work!

[dr_necessitor]

@Feko
One other thing to check. Does the building have an exclusive deal with an ISP to provide internet to every flat? If so, the ethernet wall ports might only work on that ISP. Have had experience of such a building in the past. The ports did not work for distributing “own” ISP around the flat - had to use router’s WiFi only.

[Feko]

Hi @dr_necessitor thanks for your reply! 🙂

I'm new to this flat (it's not a huge building, it was a huge house that was split into 4 flats), and from what I could find, I have 3 sockets: 1 in each room, and one in the living room.
I tried looking everywhere to see if I could find a switch/hub where all the cables would end, but couldn't find any.
About the cables, I'm not sure if there is a cable inside the walls - that's a good point actually, I'm taking one of the sockets off to check.
I don't think there is a single ISP for the whole building, because I have an Openreach Master socket in my living room, which I connect to the NowTV modem. The Openreach socket has only two wirings, so I believe it's a telephone line, and no ethernet.

[Feko]

Following along with the thread, I removed the wall socket to check what @dr_necessitor asked me. And curiously, the ethernet socket had 6 pins instead of 8 pins (pic attached).

Also, the ethernet cables had one color missing (brown) - I had orange/orange stripes, green/green stripes and blue/blue stripes, but no brow.

Also[2] only the blue color was wired, not the remaining ones.

Googling the part number, seems like what I have are not ethernet ports - but Telephone slave ports.

Never heard of Telephone Slave ports before... What are they for? How does this work?

Can I plug the NowTV Modem into any slave port, or do I need to use the Openreach master port?

Do it require some sort of special cabling? I don't think the usual telephone RJ11 will fit into these.

[dr_necessitor]

@Feko 

Correct, those are NOT ethernet ports! They are phone sockets.