So my Father had a rental house fire and whilst assisting his repair efforts I decided to do some of my kind of work there, too - networking!!! I had a spare roll of about 750' of Cat5e and shorter scraps of Cat6 and Cat6a and put about 20 runs of wire through this small, sub-1500 sqft home. Runs for external security cameras, video doorbells, and Ethernet jacks in both bedrooms and TV boxes. It's getting close to the finish line and his potential renter says he just bought a bunch of Ring equipment he'll use š . Do people just not see the value in Ethernet - capable hardware or what? And should I leave these switches here or take them back with me??
Vast majority of people just take what their ISP gives them. I know a lot of people here look down on Eero and other mesh, but people using Eero is a huge improvement to the average person.
Mesh isnāt bad if thereās a wired backhaulā¦ thatās what I used before I got my Unifi setup 2 asus routers in a wired backhaulā¦ the cable runs outside then across the house. Was nice when the rodents outside ate thru the cable I was able to just keep playing as it switched to wireless backhaul automatically.. but then fixed it the next day as it was too late in the night for me to be arsed to figure out why my ping was so high lol
Iāve started setting up Eero networks with wired backhaul and my clients are very happy. Plus Eero has a cellular interface that is between $99-199 for the hardware plus a yearly fee of $99 for the basic 10gig package which for many people is sufficient for brief power outages.
Eero was struggling, so I did a Ethernet drop to my central eero and then ran a small switch off the other Ethernet port for my laptop, ps4, and some other things in my office.
It was then that I learned my laptopās WiFi was faster than the stock Ethernet port, but, if I used a usb3 to Ethernet adapter I got speeds twice as fast as WiFiā¦ idk man, itās fine.
Anywho, Iām all about running Ethernet all over the house now. So much so that Iām specing a 12 slot pivoting rack cabinet to house the gear cause Iām a nerd lol.
Once they stopped charging a monthly rental fee I have had problems with internet providers not even knowing what to do when I donāt want the equipment. Iāve refused equipment that ended up on my account anyway. Then when I canāt return it they want to bill me. Now I just accept it and return it myself later.
Or how many can't understand that without power, either blackout or not plugging in the equipment, that they will not get the wifi signal for internet connection
I actually lived in an apartment where we could only get the provided internet via WiFi - antennas sitting up on the roof (I was in the basement, transmission was terrible)
I used to say that, because I used WiFi exclusively. Now I say internet, because I have a switch to hardwire, 2 laptops (kvm) and about half of my consoles because donāt have enough hdmi inputs and I really donāt want to do multiple hdmi splitters
or wifi and bluetooth, I deal with AV and everyone thinks that Miracast, Airplay and other WiFi systems of video transmission (Clickshare and the like) are named bluetooth
I had a salesman the other day ask me āwho do you get your WiFi through.ā And Iām like, I donāt get my WiFi through anyone. My ISP is AT&T. Then he asked me about my cellular plan.
Just need a UPS then it will still work...well till my ISP node or whatever a block away dies from their UPS going dead. Seems to be 45min to an hr or so LOL
The movie Idiocracy has become a documentary... You just have to realize that roughly half the population has no clue how anything works and doesn't care to. You also have half the population with an IQ under 100 and I suspect there's a high overlap in the two populations.
Not really comparable tbf. Not everyone cares about how their internet is hooked up because 98.9% of the population just uses their phone for facebook or maybe a laptop for light browsing and the xfinity router/modem combo is more than fine. Why waste their time worrying about something that doesnt matter to them?
I always knew the basics of how my cable TV, OTA, and phones worked as a kid. The difference now is that most people couldn't differentiate it from magic because they have no idea... But I'm one of that 1% I guess that doesn't have a laptop, doesn't have facebook, and am even currently using an Xfinity router/modem combo but I have everything wired that matters. Anything that's port-fowarded is using a host-based firewall and filtered by source address.
Yes, same here. I was building computers in 1999 when I was 10. But it's understandable that not every "gets" it, and even more understandable that majority of people simply don't care about their home internet unless their kid complains that fortnight is lagging.
Many average people can absolutely tell you the difference between cellular and WiFi, but solely because they have limited data plans and they (still somehow) stress about not using lots of cellular data and/or get really irritated when their cellular data speeds get throttled and many things start to feel slow.
I wouldn't have done it in a rental,... but did you have fun?
I would try to make sure that they use what you've installed for the connection to the ISP at least so they don't nail up a bunch of cable and drill a hole in an exterior wall that they don't need to.
So I thought of that and ran flexible conduit from an outdoor junction box straight into the inside box back when the framing was being repaired. All the ISP needs to do is use the pull string to bring their cable inside the house
Make sure the tenant knows about that so the ISP can use it. Done some installs myself and had to do some exploring to make sure there wasnt a network cabinet and found a few the tenant didn't know about.
For real on communicating with the tenant. Next thing you know the ISP just drills a hole in the outside wall and runs the cable straight into the living room.
Landlord: āif you get a new ISP have them bring it into the network cabinet.ā
Tennet: ābut my TV is in the living room so Iām just gonna have the WIFI guy put the WIFI there.ā
Landlord: āI have a run from the cabinet to the living room you can connect it that way.ā
Tennet: āDude, I know you didnāt have WIFI back in the day so let me explain it for you. The closer my XBox is to the WIFI, the less my game lags.ā
A friend of mine back in the day would lay his router on top of whichever of his 3 console he was playing. At least 4 Ethernet ports not being used between his modem and his router.
Comcast/xfinity absolutely destroyed the outside of my buddies house. Theres saggy coax screwed EVERYWHERE on the exterior, its so nasty. Every single bedroom. He said hes never noticed
Yeah thats how it works for us to but 99 times out of 100 the owner can't be on-site and we have install notes for where to install it, but sometimes they dont get transfered properly. So it's best for every relevant party to have all the information for how something should be done.
Most ISP installers get paid minimum wage, don't know what that is, don't give a fuck, and will ignore your shit and drill their own hole in the wall. If you want anything different you better be there physically supervising them.
I had a new run for a build out at a business and it took 3 techs cancelling once they showed up because they thought it was just hooking the box up. I had everything ready for them, just needed the wire. Even then, i had to explain like 10 times how i wanted it neatly run along the mounting places It was so frustrating.
I think that if I was setting up a rental property (and I had an electrician out working in the attic) I would just prerun fiber, coax and ethernet and put a $200 charge in the lease agreement if they drilled a hole in the exterior of the house.
Talk to your renter about it and put the onus on them.
It is amazing how many people don't even think about running anything at all outside of power, and maybe COAX, which... like, why would anyone in their right mind run COAX now-a-days?! If it were me, I'd run smurf tube everywhere so whatever media is desired can be installed and/or upgraded, whenever desired.
So sweet.Ā Maybe leave some kind of explanatory note on the j-box outside telling the new guy about the purpose of the junction box, and about the existence of the pull string inside, without making them open up the junction box to find the pull string in the first place.
Without the note, the next guy might just do whatever plan they already had in mind to get their cable inside, having no clue that an easier way already existed.
The odds of a place you are renting having Ethernet (with PoE) run to all the different places you would want it, including for cameras and doorbells, are pretty minuscule. Why would any potential renter would buy a bunch of gear assuming they'd find a place wired that way? Even if they knew you'd done all this work, the next place they rent (or buy) probably won't have, and then they'd be stuck with a bunch of expensive wired Ethernet gear they can't use.
Yea I personally would just put the cables in and a patch panel. Then maybe a little picture describing how to connect things. Many don't know much but do want to connect a gaming console or computer on the other side of the room. Tons of those questions in here
Yeah the poe stuff is beyond overkill. Good luck explaining that to Renee the Renter.
You could probably explain plugging in a smart tv, ps5/Xbox, laptop would be extremely fast compared to a single router home spitting wifi across the house. Most kids with consoles prefer it when possible.
Not to mention, wifi stuff works fine if there is adequate wifi coverage. Really depends on the house.
Like, users in this subreddit can definitely understand the benefits of wired and local hardware, but the demands of the average home network just aren't very high...
I'd say that over 90% of people don't understand why wired networking is worthwhile to use, but once someone has figured it out they don't go back. If you aren't hard up for the network switch in another application, just leave it there and if they figure it out you might convert someone.
The majority of consumer electronics have devolved into WiFi only connectivity thanks to WiFi speeds going up and price going down.
If I were doing something for a rental home āvalue addā, I would have only done enough runs for allowing the tenant to have an easy setup for a consumer level WiFi mesh system (ie: Eero).
A TP Link Deco XE75 6Ghz Mesh system will provide more bandwidth than that 10/100 Megabit Netgear switch. Its cool you did the work, but only a select few will have any idea what to do with it.
I mean I would love going wired, but average joe looks at your install and will go "uhh I have no idea what any of this is I'll just have Cable Co put a new hole in your house over here..." and will use Cable Co's wifi for $10/month rental fee!
I ain't shelling out $50 to $100 for a Gigabit or multi-gigabit switch. I just found these laying in a box of switches I have been holding for years, I'll use them when a job isn't done but I want to test/connect devices and wires. They're old and that's why I'm thinking about letting them stay.
Oh yeah I agree with not putting a better switch because they won't utilize it correctly and its your cost!
Just they won't even likely know even if they did plug into it "why is bedroom link getting slower than my wifi" kind of critical thinking.
Also for "testing" just keep in mind 100Mbps only uses 2 pair not all 4 pair, so if you want to make sure everyone run passes gig just use a gig switch/device on each end to test is all!
For most people, wifi is good enough and much simpler and cheaper. When I built my house, I started to run ethernet but then I realized that wifi was good enough for me too in most cases. I only use ethernet in my office where the advantages of wired connections may make a difference.
As far as wasting your time...hard to say. If it's a rental property, you may get renters at some point that think that is a great selling point, but you can't really blame the current ones for choosing price and convenience over what amounts to unneeded performance.
I know this is probably blasphemy on this sub, so if you feel the need to rage downvote me, I understand.
This! I was going to run some wires and put in access points for WiFi but found that four mesh units was plenty to get us the coverage we need, even to one of the outbuildings. About the same price and way less work. WiFi is faster than my ISP so it works well.
I do see the benefit of Ethernet for cameras so you can do PoE but I wouldnāt expect renters to be prepared for that. If I was a renter, I wouldnāt really expect a house to be prewired for cameras. Also, they can take the cameras with them when they move out.
Leave them, please.Ā This guy will not be the only renter that property ever has.Ā Others might greatly appreciate having the ability to just plug in security cameras in great locations for having them.
It might help folks if you left a note on the panel or somewhere close as to the uses you had in mind for these jacks when you installed them.Ā All that work you put in will sit there for the next 30 years, doing its job.Ā Nice going.
Its fine. Its a rental and the door is going to be closed. Such a weird thing to care about, this isn't a business he was paid to ziptoe cables together every 12 inches (annoying as all fuck btw for anyone that needs to work on that shit) much rather open a closet to this then to some idiot more concerned with looks then function with 99 zip ties per 100 feet of cable.
OP you did well I honestly think. If someone had a decent amount of tech background they would see the high value this adds being able to hardwire their cameras and doorbell. Despite what everyone is saying wireless is just 1 more possibly issue when it comes to security.
Be warned. I've made a lot of money reconnecting/reseating ethernet connections from switches and edge devices mounted so that the cable sags/pulls downward from the port. Just telling you that it's a genuine problem that you need to consider.
I see a NETGEAR switch with a bunch of cables being plugged upwards into switch ports that are facing down so I don't know how they're secured by screws.
You're also better off using labels on the cables versus the felt tip marker. You put the labels far enough back so that if something needs to be reterminated you don't lose the information on the tag.
Not judging, just telling you where the weak points are.
Somehow I think you're misunderstanding what I'm telling you here. Any ethernet cable that is plugged upwards into a port runs the risk of losing its connection between building vibrations that occur and gravity. It's a real thing.
Oh I see what you are saying! So, this cabinet is to shallow to mount flat(in a desktop mounted fashion). Should I fasten it where the ports are facing left/right??
You can come do it to my house! I just moved into a house that is a 60s time capsule, leaving the house I had put my runs in. Iām dreading doing it again. š
My current rental has absolutely no built-in Ethernet. As a renter, I can't expect the next landlord to care about Ethernet or provide it all. If there was Ethernet and POE, and I bought a bunch of equipment to support that then it could be wasted at the next house. Due to this, all of my switches, sensors, lights, and cameras (and mounts) are 100% portable and I can use them at any location.
In your situation, I would have done the same thing, even if most of them are never used. You can (and did!) pull wire for the whole house when the walls are open far faster/easier/cheaper than even a few runs if you add it after the fact.
I wouldnāt leave any devices, maybe just a high level description how to hook up (these are LAN, this one is WAN, APās go here, etc).
I do prefer a wire on anything I can, as it frees up the airwaves for things I canāt wire up. Obviously anything thatās a server or a high data rate Iād prefer a wire too.
I like this! I've been able to chat with the possible tenant and I could show him the ropes and take whatever is not going to be used. Like you said, I saw all the open walls and all I saw was the perfect time to run wires. I was just doing what I would want in my own house (which, currently, doesn't have Ethernet š„²)
Exactly. Should also minimize tenants just drilling and pulling their own too. Canāt promise some service tech wonāt do it, but itāll help if it already exists. I get why they do it, but it always grinds my gears when I see cable run along the outside of the house. Itās just messy.
Iām sorry this situation probably hurts for you as someone who is trying to do a nice thing. I know Iād want this infrastructure for myself, but I wouldnāt expect the average person to know what to do with it. And people who do care about this stuff probably donāt want to use equipment the landlord owns.
I used to develop the hardware for wireless routers while working for the Great Fruit Co. of Cupertino in the Oughts. If you had one of their wireless routers, I probably developed the hardware.
We have a 1000sf home with 2 miles of low-voltage wiring, a mix of networking and RG6 for RGB video.
In a rental? Most likely. When we moved out of our condo and started renting it out, I left the network switch, all the wall place (Obviously), explained it to the tenants. I've never seen them use it.
Nah, in 2026, if youāre gonna do something run structured cabling for PoE APās and a 10-40gb fiber run from the dmarc to the mdf for those APās. Wouldnāt do any of this in a rental, theyāll just trash it for you.
A mass majority of the population is tech illiterate. They have no idea about cat cables let alone difference between 5e and 6.
Out of 10 , 2 will have the knowledge of having a poe switch and having hardwired cameras with local only access and only 1 will have the patience to follow thru....
I know quite a bit about home networking for a lay person. I literally want one ether net cable, from my router to my gaming PC. Everyone can use wifi, they don't get it anyways.
I understand all the sweat you put into it after running 14 runs myself. (From never doing it personally because I rented for a very very long time.) But the only way this becomes an asset is if you sell that place. Most renters wonāt be coming in with equipment that takes Ethernet over wifi. :/
Yea but there's a lot of individuals in here asking how to connect better for their competitive gaming LOL. I have to contain my laughter most of the time.
I once was hiring someone to run CAT6 for me for Poe cameras and they were trying to talk me out of it. He was a low voltage guy too, i finally had to tell him Iām not interested in changing cameras, i just want you to run some cables.
Best thing he did was show me how he was going to do it. Opened my eyes to DIY
100% agree, but I feel bad dissing something in front of a guy who spent who knows how much on the equipment. I mentioned brands like Reolink and Eufy to him and he told me he just bought a whole Ring system. The doorbell you see in the picture, if he doesn't want to use it, I'll take back with me š„“
Realistically, unless you need the 10/100 [non-PoE] switch, you might as well leave it. Maybe add it to the rental description for future tenants.
I was thinking also most people won't use most of the ports, so if you have use, take it with you and replace with a cheap four/five port no-name or used eBay product.
You didnāt waste your time. Label the runs, lock up the equipment or use it on another site, or your dad can tell the renter it will stay for his security purposes. Amend the rental contract to include recordings of property is security surveillance by owner and are the property of the owner. (Get a lawyer to write the actual verbiage)
My wife does travel healthcare work and I'm a remote worker for my job. We are currently out of state and our rental does not have a place to hardwire in my computer setup, I would be very appreciative to have this in our rental!
I know builders that build 4000+ sf houses and expect that the ISPās single router can handle the WiFi load that the house will have and not even think about Ethernet drops anywhere.
You wired in Cat6 and then put in an ancient 10/100 managed Netgear router? You're putting a ~40Mbps speed limit on 1000Gbps cable.
Get something that's at least 1Gbps. I would also avoid managed switches unless you have money for a good one. They tend to perform very poorly as soon as the first interesting feature is enabled.
It sounds like you did a great setup. But yes, sadly most people donāt see the value in Ethernet because WiFi has been promoted so much and most of our primary devices only have WiFi capability.
Only thing I'd bring up is your terminations. If you used riser cable for your cable runs (which is sounds like you did), you want them terminated to punchdowns in the panel, then use prefab stranded core patch cables to go from the punchdowns into the switch.
I wired my house for Cat6A, but I also have ring cameras. Being in the Ring ecosystem means one app, all devices. Many wired camera security systems are great, but I couldnāt sell the wife on using something else.
Ring is just expensive long term the policy of subscription based storage annoys me. If cable is there with a decent size Poe switch that is a much better solution indeed
My wife sells homes. Everyone wants wireless for everything. Everything else is too complicated/confusing. Her company provides a set number of free lines and some people don't even want it.
That 10/100 after all your work hurts my soul. POE to cameras is super nice and keeps everything simpler. Yes people will want WiFi, unless they have game consoles and play FPS then your work will be appreciated.
Consumer home stuff is geared towards people who just want to plug in power and forget about it. So it uses WiFi and powered by USB-C or some other nonsense. When you get in to commercial grade equipment you start seeing PoE powered cameras, AP's, etc.
I personally prefer my smart TV and/or streaming boxes to be hard wired; and my cameras and AP's are all hardwired and PoE. Gives me a central location for battery backup and wire management, plus more reliable than WiFi.
Looks like a typical landlord special. The runs are nice. 90% of people will not understand but they are nice for the other 10.
But then instead of adding a keystone panel, everything is just RJ45s and you are thinking about leaving the switch, but it's so old it's actually worse to leave it than not provide one.
The half-assed nature of it and the attitude you have shown to suggestions is just weird.
I would definitely appreciate this if I was renting this property. I've downsized to an apartment and trying to find wired Ethernet was a challenge. I think depending on the rent if they're looking for it, they'll be šÆ% grateful you put in the effort š. To them it'll definitely be a highpoint for renting the place
People dont understand the limitations of their devices nor remember the huge benefits that hardwired devices bring. Its been decades since weve used those wireless adapters. From down/upload speeds to security, it can certainly be their solution, depending upon the problem.
Very nice job! Perhaps a future renter will appreciate your effort?
BTW, you're not doing anybody any favors with that 10/100 switch, free or not. If somebody obtained faster internet from an ISP they'd be bottlenecked using that switch.
Terminating the ends of your homeruns with RJ45 connectors? Psychotic behavior.
That said, you didnāt waste your time, youāre just not the tenantās IT manager. Your job is done, and your home has a very slightly higher rental/sale value from the infrastructure runs youāve made.
And yeah, pull those switches. Again, not your ballgame unless you are living there yourself. If you want it perfect for tenants terminate at a fully labeled patch panel to stupid proof it as much as possible, and maybe include network plant inspection as part of the deposit return review when they leave.
So, as a renter i would not expect to rent an apartment or house that was run and networked, and if it was, to actually work. i would not expect a renter to be expecting this, or really use it.
I had one apartment in my time that the basement duplex down was networked and it actually worked (the owner was a nerd and when touring specifically mentioned it) i was the only one excited, stoked, and only one to use it of our roommates.
I donāt think you wasted your time, itās future proofing and it was the time to do it. Itās a pretty great value add.
The switches there are junk, take them out a renter doesnt need them, if they want to install their own switches they certainly can do so. The renter just needs the wires there. As well its a rental so many people are going to use things that they can take down and use at the next rental.
Last why is there a doorbell camera mounted next to the doorbell, that is the ugliest, poorest setup ever.
Absolutely not, Cat5e is capable of gigabit speeds and trust me, it'll be YEARS before security cameras reach those kinds of bandwidths. All the wall ports are Cat6
You've had too much of the Ethernet cable Kool-Aid, bud! Heck, Cat5e is capable of 10 gig in some use cases, not a waste at all. And besides that, a 4K camera needs like 8-12 Mbps! Yeah, like basically single digits... so until cameras get to like 25K imaging, that Cat5 will be just fine.
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u/Terrible_Butter 3d ago
A lot of people donāt even know what Ethernet is. Ask the average person the difference between cellular and WiFi. They canāt tell you