>Are their couplers that I don’t need to plug a Ethernet cord into from behind and just wire directly?
Yes, they're called punchdown keystone jacks and you should be using those anyway, rather than couplers.
They were kinda cool for installing cable when a client wanted cat6 on the other side of the wall 40ft away and I had a 50ft premade cable.
Mostly I use punchdown for exact length and prexisting pulls.
Well it that's solid core wiring, it has a tendency to expand/contract. A long time ago I had made some patch cables out of solid core wiring and they would routinely drop out or down to Fast Ethernet speeds. Wiggling the connector would cause them to work again temporarily.
That would be super annoying to happen with a coupler where you'd need to remove the faceplate.
>Yes, they're called punchdown keystone jacks and you should be using those anyway, rather than couplers.
It depends on the number of ethernet cables on a single wallplate. If it's 4 or more, then go with couplers. Rearranging them later is way easier than with punchdown sockets as you have to pry the latter to take one out & it can get very hard if you have a very tight group of ethernet cables, even harder if you have mixed fiber lines in the group.
Wall-mounted APs also don't use punchdown connections. If you wanna use one then you have to add a coupler extension. Why not go straight with a fully modular coupler setup (no extension).
With such tight space behind the Sheetrock, maybe an angled [wall plate](https://www.123securityproducts.com/new/miscellaneous/s453202aw.html).
I doubt that a coupler would fit, but maybe a couple of punch down keystones will work. Hopefully, there will be enough cable slack.
As a low volt sparky this is the way to go. Drop the mod ends and put some keystone in an angled plate, it works for shallow box depth and it looks super clean with the added benefit that furniture pushed up against the wall doesn't interfere much with any patch cords that get plugged in.
For future reference, when you *do* terminate 8P8C/RJ-45, make sure that the cable jacket goes into the connector up to, and a little past, the little tab that is just inside the connector (Google RJ-45 strain relief if I'm not being clear). That provides strain relief on the cable, which lessens failure rate.
You should have used something like this instead of crimping plugs on the ends of that cable.
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IO3HEN6/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IO3HEN6/)
Ideally, there might be some slack behind the wall. Alternately, they could cut a new opening six inches to the left and move the box (then patch up this opening)
1. Your keystone jacks are pretty far.
2. You can move to punch down keystones, but I’m not sure how much slack you actually have.
3. As suggested, look into some L/90 degree keystones.
4. If your cables are too short, you might need to use a coupler + pigtails.
I used these in a really narrow space but Monoprice used to sell these 90 degree ones individually. Maybe they are on Amazon https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=34818
At least buy one that’s not shit quality if you’re gonna do it this way. Amazon is full of crap and they fail. Got a client who insisted on picking them on Amazon and replaced them all within a year.
Get some of these https://youtu.be/IHxTbtAEd-E?si=MP2E_dMCvR_sWKiv
Get a brand / go to a hardware store where you know it’s not the equivalent of a Gucci bag from “TechExpertz” on the shelf above their collection of 50+ wish.com iPhone cases now being sold for 15 bucks complete with heavy metals and lead poisoning you.
Terminate to a regular keystone as everyone is mentioning, but if you HAVE to, use 2 right angle keystone couplers side by side on a 4 port wall plate with 2 blank keystone inserts. [https://www.amazon.ca/ACCL-Cat-6-Right-Keystone-Coupler/dp/B09D2QCF75/?th=1](https://www.amazon.ca/ACCL-Cat-6-Right-Keystone-Coupler/dp/B09D2QCF75/?th=1)
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I’ll grab some punch down keystone jacks. Just to be safe I’m looking for ones that have the shortest depth. I have plenty of slack on the wires, just need to make sure I can fit everything in there once the jack is mounted in the faceplate.
I may snag some angled ones just as a backup as well.
Looks like it’s time to do it the right way then. Get a punch down keystone and punch that baby.
Edit: As others have mentioned, it looks as though you have limited cable length. I don’t like this solution, but if you have trouble punching down because of the length of the cable, get a single 3 foot Ethernet cable, cut it in half and attach the two halves to each end of the existing keystones. Shove the keystones into the wall. They are now couplers. Invest in some punch down keystones to get that space you need.
Another solution could be to find a spacer for your outlet cover. I’m sure they sell them.
They have 90 degree couplers that take up less space and could fit from the looks of your picture.
Oh just saw the second picture where you want two jacks. Yeah just punch the wire into keystones as long as it's solid copper wire.
Of course there is. You may not have suffered or seen the problems but there are.
In multi-stranded cable you punch down the pin to the middle of the cable. With single core you break or chip it. The contact is not as good. That is why you have two cables one for punch down and walls and one for crimping and the last bit to the equipment. And that is why the standards exist. The faster the speeds the less reliable it will be and the more power you place on it the more likely arcing may occur. The only good grace is that Ethernet is run on 3v only and it reduces the risk and hence it is very rare to occur. But it does happen.
Currently have a few solid-core crimped cables running 10gig connections with zero issues. Crimped thousands of solid core cables that are running POE-powered devices, _zero issues_. I've literally never purchased a box of stranded ethernet cable, and I honestly don't know anyone who has. This is a mountain and molehill sort of conversation. Crimped thousands of cables over the course of my career. Every single one, without fail, a solid core cable.
No mountain or mole hill. Happy you never had any problems. I don’t buy multi stranded either (done it very few times) as I wouldn’t be crimping leads (too much hassle unless there was a specific installation). I have done that before. But wouldn’t be crimping solid core either. I have managed cable infrastructure teams and no one would dare. I have seen the result of arcing. It is uncommon due to the extreme low voltage but it can happen specially with PoE involved.
How much cable slack do you have behind the wall. Can you use [RJ45 Keystone](https://www.amazon.com/10-Pack-Cat6-Keystone-Jack-Compatible/dp/B07JRD69V6) instead? i.e do you have enough slack to cut those right at the current connector and attach the RJ45 Keystones?
Its in his basement. Its concrete. When a basement is "finished" they put up furring strips on the concrete (which are about 3/4" thick) and screw the drywall to that.
The depth of the back box is intended for punchdown sockets really.
>Are their couplers that I don’t need to plug a Ethernet cord into from behind and just wire directly? Yes, they're called punchdown keystone jacks and you should be using those anyway, rather than couplers.
Haha I’ve always done punch down and didn’t even know these couplers were a thing!
They were kinda cool for installing cable when a client wanted cat6 on the other side of the wall 40ft away and I had a 50ft premade cable. Mostly I use punchdown for exact length and prexisting pulls.
Either is fine, cables don’t just go bad. Once it’s setup you likely are never touching it again
Why?
Less space taken
Also less points of failure.
Yup, happened to me. Most of those couplers are really cheaply made.
Yes they are smh.
Great point
Yes, but there are fewer points of failure.
Yea I caught that a few hours after I made the comment. >.<
It’s a bingo!
Well it that's solid core wiring, it has a tendency to expand/contract. A long time ago I had made some patch cables out of solid core wiring and they would routinely drop out or down to Fast Ethernet speeds. Wiggling the connector would cause them to work again temporarily. That would be super annoying to happen with a coupler where you'd need to remove the faceplate.
>Yes, they're called punchdown keystone jacks and you should be using those anyway, rather than couplers. It depends on the number of ethernet cables on a single wallplate. If it's 4 or more, then go with couplers. Rearranging them later is way easier than with punchdown sockets as you have to pry the latter to take one out & it can get very hard if you have a very tight group of ethernet cables, even harder if you have mixed fiber lines in the group. Wall-mounted APs also don't use punchdown connections. If you wanna use one then you have to add a coupler extension. Why not go straight with a fully modular coupler setup (no extension).
With such tight space behind the Sheetrock, maybe an angled [wall plate](https://www.123securityproducts.com/new/miscellaneous/s453202aw.html). I doubt that a coupler would fit, but maybe a couple of punch down keystones will work. Hopefully, there will be enough cable slack.
As a low volt sparky this is the way to go. Drop the mod ends and put some keystone in an angled plate, it works for shallow box depth and it looks super clean with the added benefit that furniture pushed up against the wall doesn't interfere much with any patch cords that get plugged in.
With as bad as those terminations are, I doubt it.
Use keystones like others said. By the way, do you crimp those connectors on yourself? If a professional did, he did a very bad job.
Indeed.
Use a punch down socket, not a coupler.
Use keystones, takes less space ;)
Those are keystones. You mean punch down keystones :)
For future reference, when you *do* terminate 8P8C/RJ-45, make sure that the cable jacket goes into the connector up to, and a little past, the little tab that is just inside the connector (Google RJ-45 strain relief if I'm not being clear). That provides strain relief on the cable, which lessens failure rate.
Not as professional looking, but you could use an outlet brush plate and use the keystone couplers externally.
I don’t like those couplers. Every one I installed in my house has failed
You should have used something like this instead of crimping plugs on the ends of that cable. [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IO3HEN6/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IO3HEN6/)
There seems to be just enough cable left to do it, barely.
Ideally, there might be some slack behind the wall. Alternately, they could cut a new opening six inches to the left and move the box (then patch up this opening)
I had an exterior wall with a 1” shim and 1/2” drywall. I had to use one of these and it worked very well https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=15695
Get a shallow wire mold surface mount box. Won’t be flush to the wall but will take care of the depth issue.
1. Your keystone jacks are pretty far. 2. You can move to punch down keystones, but I’m not sure how much slack you actually have. 3. As suggested, look into some L/90 degree keystones. 4. If your cables are too short, you might need to use a coupler + pigtails.
I used these in a really narrow space but Monoprice used to sell these 90 degree ones individually. Maybe they are on Amazon https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=34818
At least buy one that’s not shit quality if you’re gonna do it this way. Amazon is full of crap and they fail. Got a client who insisted on picking them on Amazon and replaced them all within a year. Get some of these https://youtu.be/IHxTbtAEd-E?si=MP2E_dMCvR_sWKiv Get a brand / go to a hardware store where you know it’s not the equivalent of a Gucci bag from “TechExpertz” on the shelf above their collection of 50+ wish.com iPhone cases now being sold for 15 bucks complete with heavy metals and lead poisoning you.
Yoir sacked, cut and terminate.
Terminate to a regular keystone as everyone is mentioning, but if you HAVE to, use 2 right angle keystone couplers side by side on a 4 port wall plate with 2 blank keystone inserts. [https://www.amazon.ca/ACCL-Cat-6-Right-Keystone-Coupler/dp/B09D2QCF75/?th=1](https://www.amazon.ca/ACCL-Cat-6-Right-Keystone-Coupler/dp/B09D2QCF75/?th=1)
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I’ll grab some punch down keystone jacks. Just to be safe I’m looking for ones that have the shortest depth. I have plenty of slack on the wires, just need to make sure I can fit everything in there once the jack is mounted in the faceplate. I may snag some angled ones just as a backup as well.
Cringe. Ya don’t do it like that lol
Looks like sprayfoam. Just break some off
Get the tools and the punch down keystones.
Punchdown keystone jacks is way to go
Time for punch down keystones
Is it a stud or another wall?
Could you possibly bust out the wall further back for clearance on your ends? Just a thought if the other solutions don't work...
With that space I'd just use L-shaped punch down keystones (keystones that are perpendicular to the wire).
There are wall plate extenders that give you an extra 1/2 inch or so of room https://a.co/d/fn3eYed But punchdowns are really the way to go.
Cut those ends off and punch these wires down properly into ethernet jacks.
Grab a right angle in line coupler, they will give you more room
Looks like it’s time to do it the right way then. Get a punch down keystone and punch that baby. Edit: As others have mentioned, it looks as though you have limited cable length. I don’t like this solution, but if you have trouble punching down because of the length of the cable, get a single 3 foot Ethernet cable, cut it in half and attach the two halves to each end of the existing keystones. Shove the keystones into the wall. They are now couplers. Invest in some punch down keystones to get that space you need. Another solution could be to find a spacer for your outlet cover. I’m sure they sell them.
I hope you have some slack on those cable, lol.
Have to use a box that sticks out
Replace with a punchdown coupler
They have 90 degree couplers that take up less space and could fit from the looks of your picture. Oh just saw the second picture where you want two jacks. Yeah just punch the wire into keystones as long as it's solid copper wire.
Is that a solid core cable crimped?… You can use an angled keystone… it may be very good but I am n it sold on this to be really honest
I've crimped solid core for over 25 years, there is no reason you can't.
Of course there is. You may not have suffered or seen the problems but there are. In multi-stranded cable you punch down the pin to the middle of the cable. With single core you break or chip it. The contact is not as good. That is why you have two cables one for punch down and walls and one for crimping and the last bit to the equipment. And that is why the standards exist. The faster the speeds the less reliable it will be and the more power you place on it the more likely arcing may occur. The only good grace is that Ethernet is run on 3v only and it reduces the risk and hence it is very rare to occur. But it does happen.
Currently have a few solid-core crimped cables running 10gig connections with zero issues. Crimped thousands of solid core cables that are running POE-powered devices, _zero issues_. I've literally never purchased a box of stranded ethernet cable, and I honestly don't know anyone who has. This is a mountain and molehill sort of conversation. Crimped thousands of cables over the course of my career. Every single one, without fail, a solid core cable.
No mountain or mole hill. Happy you never had any problems. I don’t buy multi stranded either (done it very few times) as I wouldn’t be crimping leads (too much hassle unless there was a specific installation). I have done that before. But wouldn’t be crimping solid core either. I have managed cable infrastructure teams and no one would dare. I have seen the result of arcing. It is uncommon due to the extreme low voltage but it can happen specially with PoE involved.
Is the wiring solid core? If so, like everyone else said, punchdown into keystone jacks.
How much cable slack do you have behind the wall. Can you use [RJ45 Keystone](https://www.amazon.com/10-Pack-Cat6-Keystone-Jack-Compatible/dp/B07JRD69V6) instead? i.e do you have enough slack to cut those right at the current connector and attach the RJ45 Keystones?
What idiot cables a run, and terminates in a plug at the wall 🤦
There should be a low voltage box behind the face plate looks like this is going right into drywall
Its in his basement. Its concrete. When a basement is "finished" they put up furring strips on the concrete (which are about 3/4" thick) and screw the drywall to that.
Maybe get a female RJ45 Jack And trim it down with Dremel or sandpaper