I am looking at replacing a 5 year old Westel 9100 router with an Asus dual band router to improve performance. Unfortunately when I went to install the router something became embarrassingly clear. The input from the Verizon ONT to the router is a coax cable and the input to the Asus router is an RJ45 modular CAT5 plug. So the question is where can I get an adapter for coax RG58 to CAT5 RJ45?
I do not have FIOS TV or phone just internet service so no issue there.
You have a few options.
1) Call Verizon and have them switch your internet service from MoCA (coax) to Ethernet. You may have to ask several times (nicely, of course). Once it is switched, open the customer access panel on the ONT. The Ethernet jack will now be active. Run an Ethernet cable to your router and enjoy.
2) Leave the old router in place and turn off it's WiFi service. Then, connect the new router to an Ethernet port on the old router. Set the new router to run as an access point (i.e.disable it's DHCP server and NAT) so the Westell continues to be the core of your network. Or, you can leave the new router's DHCP and NAT functions turned on to create a new, separate network behind the Westell.
3) Call Verizon and see if they will replace your old router with a newer model. The latest Verizon router is 802.11n @ 150Mbps and is decent. It's not dual band, but if you can get one for free it's worth it.
4) Use a MoCA bridge between your new router and the ONT.
Note that if you use your own router Verizon will not provide any support. Be sure to keep a Verizon supported router in case you ever need support.
You'll find this page very helpful:
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/verizonfios/3.0_Networking
Good Luck.
Really appreciate your response. Still need a couple of clarifications.
1) Not really an options as too difficult to run cabling.
2) If I leave the WesTel in place, what limitations is it then putting on my connection, relative to performance?
3) Tried this. Three different answers including, it's not available in Texas and out of stock.
4) Can you explain the MOCA bridge a bit more? What is this?
Finally, can I just get an adapter for coax to RJ45 modular plug and just plug in my new Asus dual band router?
Thanks again for the help.
2) If the Westell is operating adequately for your current tier (wired), then there's no impact.
4) A MOCA bridge is a device that converts a MOCA signal to cat5.
@Jim2716 wrote:Finally, can I just get an adapter for coax to RJ45 modular plug and just plug in my new Asus dual band router?
You can't get a "simple" cable adapter. MOCA and ca5 are two different layer 1 technologies.
As discussed in the above FAQ, you can get a MOCA WAN bridge that will convert the MOCA WAN signal from the ONT to cat5 (D-Link DXN-220). They list for about $200 for a pair. You only need one. You can sometimes find singles on eBay.
You can also configure the Actiontec MI424WR router as a MOCA WAN bridge.
See option #4 here:
What are the tradeoffs between the various router configurations
@Jim2716 wrote:
2) If I leave the WesTel in place, what limitations is it then putting on my connection, relative to performance?<snip>
4) Can you explain the MOCA bridge a bit more? What is this?
Finally, can I just get an adapter for coax to RJ45 modular plug and just plug in my new Asus dual band router?
The link I provided discusses the pros and cons of the different approaches. It is focused on the Actiontec routers, however most of it applies to the Westells.
MoCA is the name for the communications method used to create a data network over coax. MoCA co-exists with TV service by operating above the frequencies used for TV.
FiOS uses two MoCA channels, one for the link from the ONT to the router (WAN), and the other for the link between the router and any set-top boxes (LAN). Since you don't have TV service, you're not using the LAN link.
A MoCA bridge is the device that connects coax to Ethernet. If you decide to go this route, follow the instructions on the DSL reports page as not all MoCA bridges will work with the ONT WAN connection.
Good Luck
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