convert coax to ethernet
Pepperisadog
Enthusiast - Level 1

Hi all,

My mother had to downgrade her Verizon services from triple play to 200Mbps ethernet with Youtube tv. She is in an old house and the wifi isn't always reliable for streaming to all her tv's from the downstairs router.

My questions are:

1) Is there a way to convert those now-unused coaxial cables outlets that ran from the outside into cable set-top boxes into working ethernet jacks by just removing the coax cable and substituting ethernet cable? I'm not sure if there is a way to run all of the would-be ethernet cords back into the ONT but a few might be a big help to her streaming performance.

2) Would I be better off buying her a Powerline ethernet device or new Fios extender?

3) Can those now unused coaxial cables along the house be be re-purposed to bring the Internet wired connection by converting the coax outlets to ethernet with adapters?

I will probably use the G3100 router the tech delivers since if there's a problem, I want Verizon fixing it and not my Mom troubleshooting when I am not here.

Thanks for the advice.

Rob

0 Likes
1 Solution

Correct answers
Re: convert coax to ethernet
Cang_Household
Community Leader
Community Leader

Let me tackle your questions one by one.

For the first question, I am not quite understanding. You want to pull new ethernet cables throughout the house to replace the existing coax cables? Sure you can, but remember to comply with the local electrical and fire codes. You need to terminate all ethernet cables next to G3100 to plug them into the LAN ports. If you have more than 4 ethernet cables, you need to buy a switch.

For the second question, I would prefer FiOS extenders over Powerline Adapters for two reasons. Powerline Adapters' performance may be hindered by old wirings. If the pair of adapters are not on the same circuit or on a surge protector, its speed will drop tremendously under 100Mbps. Powerline Adapters are generally more expensive than FiOS extenders for the same performance.

For the third question, the answer is yes with MoCA adapters. What extenders do you need? I will give you several options.

FiOS Network Extender: Models E3200, WCB6200Q, and WCB3000N are all compatible MoCA extenders. E3200 is designed for G3100, but expensive and overkill for your 200Mbps subscription. WCB6200Q is the update for WCB3000N, but expensive (less than E3200 so) and overkill for your speed. WCB3000N is the oldest of these extenders. WCB3000N has the throughput capped at 175Mbps, better than Powerline Adapters but not overkill for your speed. WCB3000N does not sell by Verizon any more. You can buy them on Amazon for $25 each. All these extenders have WiFi 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz, and two gigabit ethernet ports. E3200 supports WiFi 6, WCB6200Q supports WiFi 5, and WCB3000N supports WiFi 4.

FiOS Network Adapter or ECB5240M: This is a MoCA adapter with 4 ethernet ports but no wirelsss. If you have more than two devices at a location but does not require wireless, you can buy one for $55 from Verizon (only sold by Verizon).

My final recommendation for you is that you should buy several WCB3000N from Amazon and maybe one ECB5240M from Verizon for the optimal result. The speed is not overkill and the price is acceptable. WCB3000N can provide WiFi and 2 ethernet ports, and ECB5240M can provide many ethernet ports.

If you have more questions, please ask.

View solution in original post

Re: convert coax to ethernet
Cang_Household
Community Leader
Community Leader

Let me tackle your questions one by one.

For the first question, I am not quite understanding. You want to pull new ethernet cables throughout the house to replace the existing coax cables? Sure you can, but remember to comply with the local electrical and fire codes. You need to terminate all ethernet cables next to G3100 to plug them into the LAN ports. If you have more than 4 ethernet cables, you need to buy a switch.

For the second question, I would prefer FiOS extenders over Powerline Adapters for two reasons. Powerline Adapters' performance may be hindered by old wirings. If the pair of adapters are not on the same circuit or on a surge protector, its speed will drop tremendously under 100Mbps. Powerline Adapters are generally more expensive than FiOS extenders for the same performance.

For the third question, the answer is yes with MoCA adapters. What extenders do you need? I will give you several options.

FiOS Network Extender: Models E3200, WCB6200Q, and WCB3000N are all compatible MoCA extenders. E3200 is designed for G3100, but expensive and overkill for your 200Mbps subscription. WCB6200Q is the update for WCB3000N, but expensive (less than E3200 so) and overkill for your speed. WCB3000N is the oldest of these extenders. WCB3000N has the throughput capped at 175Mbps, better than Powerline Adapters but not overkill for your speed. WCB3000N does not sell by Verizon any more. You can buy them on Amazon for $25 each. All these extenders have WiFi 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz, and two gigabit ethernet ports. E3200 supports WiFi 6, WCB6200Q supports WiFi 5, and WCB3000N supports WiFi 4.

FiOS Network Adapter or ECB5240M: This is a MoCA adapter with 4 ethernet ports but no wirelsss. If you have more than two devices at a location but does not require wireless, you can buy one for $55 from Verizon (only sold by Verizon).

My final recommendation for you is that you should buy several WCB3000N from Amazon and maybe one ECB5240M from Verizon for the optimal result. The speed is not overkill and the price is acceptable. WCB3000N can provide WiFi and 2 ethernet ports, and ECB5240M can provide many ethernet ports.

If you have more questions, please ask.

Re: convert coax to ethernet
Pepperisadog
Enthusiast - Level 1

Thanks for your answer.

Regarding my first question, yes, that's what I thought I might do. Since those coaxial jacks won't be carrying Fios tv, I thought I might reuse the openings in the house by substituting ethernet cable for the existing coax. My misunderstanding was that those coax outlets were useless after the move to ethernet but if I can reuse them with several extenders as you suggest, I guess I don't need to rewire the outlets. I'm a newbie at this so as you can see, I have a lot of misperceptions. I will do as you suggest so that my mom's YouTube tv has a wired connection on all the tvs. I am traveling a lot of the time and won't be in the area to troubleshoot so I'm looking to minimize problems for her. Thanks so much for your knowledge and willingness to share it. Take care and stay safe!! 

Rob and his 85 year old mom 🙂

0 Likes