Will a Cat6 ethernet cable between my ONT/router resolve poor Internet speeds?

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TheHand

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To summarise, I'm paying for FTTH 200/200, getting at most between 80-100/60-80 based on speed tests.

So I contact my ISP and after some back and forth their technical support said I will need to replace my Cat5e ethernet cable connecting my ONT device to my router with a Cat6 cable.

Is this actually relevant? It's an inexpensive solution if so but it just seems odd to me that would affect the speeds I'm getting, especially considering that most ISPs supply a Cat5e Ethernet cable with your package when you sign up.
 
TheHand said:
To summarise, I'm paying for FTTH 200/200, getting at most between 80-100/60-80 based on speed tests.

So I contact my ISP and after some back and forth their technical support said I will need to replace my Cat5e ethernet cable connecting my ONT device to my router with a Cat6 cable.

Is this actually relevant? It's an inexpensive solution if so but it just seems odd to me that would affect the speeds I'm getting, especially considering that most ISPs supply a Cat5e Ethernet cable with your package when you sign up.
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Unless your current cable is damaged it won't help at all. Cat5e is perfectly capable of those speeds (it can even do 10gig on very short runs).

It's an easy thing to test though and cables can get damaged and then they usually will drop down to 100Mbps. Just plug a different cable in and see anything changes.
 
Have they confirmed that both devices have a gigabit port and not just 10/100?

Unless there is a break in the cable, cat5e should be fine for the connection between ONT and router which I'm assuming is right next to each other?
 
I had cat6 cables all over the house and couldn’t get more than 80 on my 500 line.


Then I eventually noticed the issue…

1727779046866.jpeg
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
Unless your current cable is damaged it won't help at all. Cat5e is perfectly capable of those speeds (it can even do 10gig on very short runs).

It's an easy thing to test though and cables can get damaged and then they usually will drop down to 100Mbps. Just plug a different cable in and see anything changes.
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Thanks. I've plugged in three separate Cat5e cables and I'm getting the same result, so given the unlikely event that all three are damaged in some capacity, I assume the fault then is either on their side or with my router, perhaps? I have a RTAX58U, which I believe should support 200mbps speeds.
 
PsYTraNc3 said:
Have they confirmed that both devices have a gigabit port and not just 10/100?

Unless there is a break in the cable, cat5e should be fine for the connection between ONT and router which I'm assuming is right next to each other?
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Yep, literally right next to each other. Cable lengths are 1m.

I'm not sure how I can confirm what the ONT has re: port - is there an easy way to check? It's mounted on the wall so I can't get any model number.
 
Who is the ISP and who is the fibre operator in your area?

What model ONT is it?
 
TheHand said:
Thanks. I've plugged in three separate Cat5e cables and I'm getting the same result, so given the unlikely event that all three are damaged in some capacity, I assume the fault then is either on their side or with my router, perhaps? I have a RTAX58U, which I believe should support 200mbps speeds.
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From the router itself, from the app do the speed test, is it still under 200?
 
TheHand said:
To summarise, I'm paying for FTTH 200/200, getting at most between 80-100/60-80 based on speed tests.

So I contact my ISP and after some back and forth their technical support said I will need to replace my Cat5e ethernet cable connecting my ONT device to my router with a Cat6 cable.

Is this actually relevant? It's an inexpensive solution if so but it just seems odd to me that would affect the speeds I'm getting, especially considering that most ISPs supply a Cat5e Ethernet cable with your package when you sign up.
Click to expand...

How are you connecting your devices to the router?
 
When testing your internet connection speed it would be best to use a wired connection. According to the cable specifications category 5e network cable is capable of 1000Mbps speeds. If you look on Youtube you will find people running 2500 Mbps connections over standard cat 5e cable, albeit over shorter distances.

Log onto your router and find the page that displays the lan connection speeds for each port. It will display either 10, 100 or 1000 Mbps. It will more than likely be syncing at 1000Mbps. By default, network devices will automatically negotiate the highest possible speed unless you manually override it.

Speed over wifi connections can vary drastically due to neighboring networks competing for shared access to the radio frequency spectrum. The wifi capabilities of the router and client devices, distance from the router, interference etc all play a role. If you have no option but to test your connection from a wifi capable device, then try to use the 5 Ghz frequency band instead of the 2.4Ghz one. Fewer people use those frequencies and most routers are capable of achieving wifi speeds ranging between 433Mbps and 866Mbps.
 
I would argue that 5e is better for the home setup. 6 has far more specific install requirements.
But either way dont listen to thie ISP as they clearly have no idea what they are talking about and 5e is perfect for what you are trying to do.
 
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bobcpt said:
When testing your internet connection speed it would be best to use a wired connection. According to the cable specifications category 5e network cable is capable of 1000Mbps speeds. If you look on Youtube you will find people running 2500 Mbps connections over standard cat 5e cable, albeit over shorter distances.

Log onto your router and find the page that displays the lan connection speeds for each port. It will display either 10, 100 or 1000 Mbps. It will more than likely be syncing at 1000Mbps. By default, network devices will automatically negotiate the highest possible speed unless you manually override it.

Speed over wifi connections can vary drastically due to neighboring networks competing for shared access to the radio frequency spectrum. The wifi capabilities of the router and client devices, distance from the router, interference etc all play a role. If you have no option but to test your connection from a wifi capable device, then try to use the 5 Ghz frequency band instead of the 2.4Ghz one. Fewer people use those frequencies and most routers are capable of achieving wifi speeds ranging between 433Mbps and 866Mbps.
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And also make sure that you use 80MHz or 160MHz channels to get the best speeds.
 
Where and how are you doing the Speedtest?

Also what devices are in play; both ONT and Router.

ISP’s can be proper knobs, know of more than one case the ONT was ancient and didn’t support Gigabit so best to start there get the model and confirm.
 
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