Max speed with 4 wires?
Max speed with 4 wires?
Hello everyone! I discovered yesterday there are four copper wires running from the kitchen (home router location) to my bedroom, currently unused and part of the telephone setup. I wanted to test how much data could flow through them and compare it to an AC wireless option. Presently, I have a gigabit router connected to a DIY FreeNAS built from older Gigabit gear. The network functions well, and with a USB 3.0 adapter to Ethernet, I can move files at around 100MB/s to my Surface Pro 4. Initially, I considered using two Ethernet pairs, which worked fine, so I’m planning to purchase an Ethernet port for the wall connection. But since it’s only two pairs with four wires, I’m capped at 100Mbps—slower than my current WiFi speeds for file transfers. Another thought was repurposing these wires as USB cables. It’s a bit tricky; USB 2.0 should work, but distance limits it. I expect about 30MB/s, which is an improvement over my existing WiFi. My Surface Pro 4 supports up to 867Mbps WiFi, so this might actually be better than switching solutions. USB 3.0 brings things interesting. Research suggests I can skip the USB 2.0 connector entirely—power one end, new USB 3.0 wires handle the rest. The middle wire is usually GND_SIGNAL on Wikipedia, but I’m not sure how it fits into the setup. Could someone clarify? Are there other methods to boost internet speed using just those four wires? Any overlooked standards would be helpful! It’s disappointing that Ethernet only goes from 100 to 1000 Mbits; using two pairs could reach 500Mbps. I’m open to suggestions and feedback. Thanks, Chris.
Four wires refer to the physical connections in a standard Ethernet setup. Each cable contains eight wires arranged in four pairs, typically labeled as twisted pairs. To achieve a Gigabit connection, you must utilize all eight wires, otherwise performance drops to around 100Mbps, which translates to roughly 10-11MB per second when accounting for network overhead.
There is an image showing four wires. Its usefulness isn't clear yet.
I understand USB 3.0 involves more than five wires, but in certain situations you can bypass the USB 2.0 connections and use only the USB 3.0 ones. Right now I’m just exploring what’s feasible, trying to see the possibilities without knowing if it actually works.
A few considerations: The wires were designed for analog phones and lack twisting. Depending on the distance, interference could cause problems. We did the same setup 10 years ago in some older homes without being able to remove the old cable, and it worked fine as a 100Mbit connection. Wifi operates in half-duplex mode, so speeds around 300Mbps will drop to about 150 Mbps each way. Generally, wired connections at 100Mbit will still outperform Wifi. The safest approach is to try removing the wires. Before connecting a cat5 cable, use the existing ones to guide it. When using old cables, remember to connect pin 1,2,3 and 6.