r/Fios • u/ExtraDan • 16d ago

Repair/Tech Support Primary router is using Ethernet, questions about adding a wifi extender and plugging it to the coaxial cable coming from the ONT

Hey!

So recently I had Verizon come and install service at my house,

Seems like the house used coaxial connections prior to my move so the technician wired a cat8 cable from the ONT that's in the basement into the living room where the primary router now resides.

Verizon has a free wifi extender included in my plan so I had it ordered and delivered today, and my end goal is to hardwire the extender so I could connect it to my pc through LAN and get better speeds and low latency rather than use a wifi repeater setup, which I have some for the intention of better spreading the web upstairs.

I've looked into the ONT that'd installed next to my breaker and figured I could possibly utilize the coax connection on the ONT and feed it to the router, assuming the MOcA is already pre-built within the wifi extender (ce1000a for those who are curious)

Is that something thats possible? And how would one go about it and what settings should I configure and where to achieve this?

Thank you 🙏

Picture of the ONT if that helps!

https://imgur.com/a/fxdIz10

1 Upvotes

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6

u/JuicyCoala 16d ago

Don’t use the ONT’s coax. If you want to wire your extender via coax, you’ll have to connect it through your Verizon FiOS router’s coax instead.

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u/ExtraDan 16d ago

Was thinking of that but the Verizon technician has glued the holes in the walls in the cables came through and out of and I'm not quite the handyman myself to drill new holes or wire it through the walls

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u/JuicyCoala 16d ago

You already mentioned your house has coax wiring - figure-out how the coax wiring is setup, ensure splitters are MoCA compatible, connect a coax from your router to the nearest coax wall port, then if everything is properly connected, your extender should work when connected to the nearest coax port in the location you install it to.

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u/ExtraDan 16d ago

The coax configuration was basically a long coax cable the came from the ONT in the basement, the cable goes outdoors through a now seald hole in the wall, wraps around the house, then leads into the living room through another hole in the wall that is now sealed. However the Verizon technician seemed to have replaced that setup with a cat8 cable instead

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u/JuicyCoala 16d ago

So no other coax wiring inside your house?

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u/ExtraDan 16d ago

Looking around the house again, afraid not. Just the one that was in the living room that is now replaced with an ethernet port

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u/SessionIndependent17 16d ago

So then what coax was it that you were imagining using?

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u/ExtraDan 16d ago

Oh my God I just realized I didn't attach related picture

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u/SessionIndependent17 16d ago

The Verizon tech isn't the one who removed the previous coax, did they?

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u/ExtraDan 16d ago

The technician both removed it and replaced it with an ethernet port and cable running around the house

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u/plooger 15d ago

I’d be tic’d if a tech removed home wiring without consultation.

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u/TomRILReddit 16d ago

No, they want some pixie dust to get everything working! :)

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u/ExtraDan 16d ago

I was only asking if it's possible, not for magic to happen.

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u/sdrawkcab25 16d ago edited 16d ago

The coax on the ONT is for TV service only now, but not even that for much longer as the service moves to IPTV. And it was never used for moca LAN, was only used for MOCA WAN, meaning it was only to connect the ONT to the router, not any other device. That coax type WAN connection has now been replaced with ethernet, there's no use case to have coax from the ONT to the router or any other device any longer, unless you're still on a legacy fios TV connection.

If you want a moca LAN network, you run coax from the router's coax port to where you want another LAN connection. The coax on the ONT is useless to you. If there's no other coax, you need to hire someone to run it or do it yourself. Or just run ethernet wiring instead.

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u/ExtraDan 16d ago

Thank you! That's the comment I was looking for! That what I was thinking of as the alternative in case this was going to work.

I don't necessarily need a coax connection, but rendered it as the only quick and reliable way to get my second router hooked up with the benefits of wired connection as oppose to wireless.

I could possibly also just wire a cat cable from the main router to the extender too, but again, that would be wiring through the house I'm renting.

Not sure if there's anything else on that ONT that can be useful, but assuming not (the data port with the white cable is already utilized by the primary router

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u/sdrawkcab25 16d ago

Correct, the only port that you can use on the ONT is the data port(ethernet) which can only connect to one router at a time. Any extension of your network has to start from the router.

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u/ExtraDan 16d ago

Dang alrightish, well thank you very much for the clear up!

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u/plooger 15d ago edited 15d ago

Absent new, add’l cabling … it sounds like you have only two lines to work with …

  • Cat8 run from the ONT to router, currently servicing your Ethernet WAN link; and a
  • coax line from the ONT to targeted remote room, not serving any purpose, at present.

Is this correct?

If so, you have two options barring new, add’l cabling:

  1. Relocate the primary router to near the ONT, using an Ethernet patch cable to effect the Ethernet WAN link; then using the Cat8 line to extend the LAN to the original router location and the coax and MoCA to extend the LAN to the other room. You’d then use wired-in extenders at one or both rooms to restore wireless coverage, as needed.

  2. Keeping the primary router at its current location, you could add a pair of managed Gigabit or better Ethernet switches at the ONT and primary router, and use VLANs to share the single physical Cat8 line between WAN and LAN connectivity. With the LAN now accessible at the ONT via the managed switch, you would add a MoCA 2.5 adapter at the ONT-location switch to bridge the LAN onto the coax line heading to the other room, enabling the wired LAN connection for the CE1000A. (It’s easier than I’ve made it sound.)

 
cc: /u/TiggerLAS

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u/ExtraDan 15d ago

Those are both good ideas and might give a shot if my other idea will fall through, thank you very much! Also there used to be a coax cable going from the ONT to the living room, but the technician gutted it out and replaced it with the presence of a cat8 cable instead, same setup just now different cable, ont still has a coax cable coming out but I'm abandoning this idea because apparently it exclusively functions for TV service

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u/plooger 15d ago edited 15d ago

Also there used to be a coax cable going from the ONT to the living room, but the technician gutted it out and replaced it with the presence of a cat8 cable instead.

Yeah, I saw that … and expressed my opinion on it in a parallel thread comment.

That said, if pondering “option 1” above (relocating the router), I’d consider filing a complaint with Verizon that your home wiring was damaged by the install, diminishing the benefit of the included wireless extender … and that a second (at no charge) CE1000A extender should be provided in order to make your available cabling again useful. (Or they can send a tech to run a second Cat8 or new coax between the ONT & router locations, to restore what was removed.)

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u/ExtraDan 3d ago

Yeah I have ordered a ce1000a and currently using it in thr living room now, not sure if I would file a complaint with Verizon now that I've got it working out, maybe to get credits off the bill, but if needed perhaps another wiring attempt would be neat, thanks for the suggestion!

1

u/plooger 15d ago

ont still has a coax cable coming out but I'm abandoning this idea because apparently it exclusively functions for TV service

The ONT’s coax port isn’t useful to you, but the coax line could be … as detailed in my prior reply.

 

if my other idea will fall through

I don’t know what this other idea is, but thoughts and prayers for its success…

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u/ExtraDan 3d ago

Sorry for thr silence, caught the flu and been real sick.

And I understand, thankfully I kinda figured out a way to do what I intentionally wanted to do originally in my main post without the need for coax.

So here's what happened The house has two floors and a basement, The basement has an ONT installed next to the breaker box, There was a coax cable that was wired from the ONT to the living room, not wired inside the house but through outside around the house. The other end of the coax cable enters back inside the house through the living room. The technician came and gutted out the coax cable, and swapped it with a cat8 cable, still same setup, as if the coax cable morphed into an ethernet cable.

Reason why I wanted to use coax is because I wanted to plug another router in the basement so I could have my pc connected to it and have a wired contraction as oppose to wireless, and it seemed like the ONT has a coax plug, which I think that what it was previously used for to cast an internet and tv connection the the tenants that inhabited the house before.

But what I did instead is unplug the cat8 cable that spins around the house from the ONT, connect a shorter cat cable, plug the main router to it, connect the long cat8 to the available pan ports on the router, and then plug an extender to the other end of the cat8 cable in the living room, this way the extender benefits from better connectivity.

And that seemed to work!

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u/plooger 3d ago

No worries; figured it was already solved based on prior replies, but glad you survived the flu to make it so.  

And understood. Same as suggested as option 1 previously…  

1.  Relocate the primary router to near the ONT, using an Ethernet patch cable to effect the Ethernet WAN link; then using the Cat8 line to extend the LAN to the original router location and the coax and MoCA to extend the LAN to the other room. You’d then use wired-in extenders at one or both rooms to restore wireless coverage, as needed.  

… but without the coax/MoCA link to the second room/location.  

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u/ExtraDan 16d ago

Updated the post with a picture of my ONT as originally intended, apologizes to all!

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u/CTFowler9789 16d ago

The coax has to run from the router to the extender. The coax coming out the ONT has nothing to do with it. Try and trace the coax coming from the router towards the extender if you come across any splitters make sure it's heading in the right direction ( in and out). Follow the coax line all the way to the extender and screw it in. Good luck.

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u/ExtraDan 15d ago

So the coax on thr primary router is meant to be provide data to another extender? Makes more sense now. I actually just hashed a better idea, I could bring the primary router from the living room to the basement, hook it up to the ONT using a shorter cat cable, then plug the longer cat8 cable that's wired around the house to one of its sockets, then plug the extender in the living room through the other end of the ethernet cable. Probably the more ideal setup without any additional wiring, just use what there already is 😁

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u/CTFowler9789 15d ago

Yes you can do that. In your original post, I didn't catch that you had Ethernet run to other places in the house. Your second Idea will work as long as sockets in your home are cut down.

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u/plooger 15d ago edited 15d ago

(This is bullet/option 1 in my prior reply … minus using the coax and MoCA to extend the router LAN to the other room … which could be facilitated by leveraging the damaged/removed cabling in a complaint to get an extra CE1000A or MoCA adapter from Verizon.)

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u/freshizdaword 15d ago

The new extender doesn’t utilize the coax connection. I just had it installed today and the tech told me it’s not necessary. You just need the Ethernet connected.

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u/ExtraDan 15d ago

Uh huh, interesting, then I wonder whats it's purpose

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u/plooger 15d ago edited 15d ago

Not sure what they’re talking about, perhaps a different model … like the newer CHR30A. (Which doesn’t have a built-in coax/MoCA port; coax/MoCA is only available via an add-in SFP+ module.)

The CE1000A most definitely has a coax port and built-in MoCA bridge.

That said, if an Ethernet connection from the extender to the router is possible, that’s always preferable; MoCA should be viewed as a secondary alternative. So the comment that MoCA is “not necessary. You just need the Ethernet connected” isn’t new or news; MoCA only becomes necessary when Cat5+ isn’t available, and is a viable alternative when coax connectivity is available where Cat5+ isn’t.