Turning on all Ethernet connections in your new home?
Turning on all Ethernet connections in your new home?
I recently purchased a new two-story flat in South Korea. I have several built-in Ethernet ports throughout the house, but only the one in the living room is functional. Inside my unit, I found a box near the entrance with a patch panel on the left and coaxial ports on the right—likely for the TV. My connection speed is 500mbps from SK Telecom. On the patch panel, there’s an "IN" label, probably indicating internet access, and above it in Korean it says "upstairs," which refers to a multi-story apartment. The top layer with wires seems to connect to the living room. I have a router connected via standard NAT/DHCP without any setup—just plug in a new router from the box, and the internet works immediately. It’s likely that a provider server room exists somewhere in the building to manage the rest of the connection. However, there are several dead spots in the house, and when I bought an extra router, I discovered that other Ethernet ports, especially upstairs, are non-functional—particularly the one intended for my home office. Since this house is pre-wired, I need to determine how to proceed with this configuration. My initial idea was to install a switch, patch the panel to INTERNET → SWITCH → LIVING ROOM (DHCP), and then add more cables from the switch to the patch panel to activate the remaining ports. Is this feasible, or am I veering off course? I’m relatively new to this, but my parents’ house in South Africa is well-wired—DIY, crimped Ethernet cables, installed ports, switches, routers (same SSID) throughout, ensuring consistent local IPs and smooth device switching. That was four years ago, so the memory is fading. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Verify the presence of coax outlets in the space.
Utilize MoCA adapters to establish an ethernet network connection.
https://www.amazon.com/goCoax-Adapter-Et...1QYR9?th=1
Then connect any router operating in AP mode.
So initially I understand where the terminals should be connected, and that’s not the main concern here. The process would involve directly punching down wires, but eventually I’d prefer to use a small patch panel instead, offering standard Ethernet ports for easier maintenance. An 8-port patch panel is quite affordable.
Now regarding your question:
The path must always follow ISP—modem—router—switch order. You can’t insert a switch between the modem and the router. This isn’t a technical restriction, but rather a limitation imposed by the ISP, which only provides a single IP address. If you connected a switch, only one device would receive the IP, leaving others without connectivity.
The next important factor is how the ISP connection is routed inside the house relative to the patch panel. The most straightforward and optimal setup is to have the internet directly enter the patch panel, placing all devices there. In smaller homes with fewer than four rooms, you could simply use the router’s LAN ports. However, even though Ethernet concepts are simple, patch panels are often placed in less ideal locations for Wi-Fi, requiring additional access points or routers to maintain good coverage in distant areas.
The more complicated scenarios arise when the ISP connection isn’t near the patch panel at all—such as placing it in a living room with an Ethernet jack back to the panel. In this case, you’d still need to install an AP or router in the main area and extend the cable to the patch panel, connecting multiple jacks through it.
Other more intricate solutions exist if the modem and router need to be in separate rooms. I’ll save those details for when you indicate a more complex installation is required.
In full agreement with the previous discussion.
I want to know what is displayed along the length of those "Ethernet" cables.
The punchdowns are also incorrect, and it’s unclear what else might be wrong in the actual cable runs and termination points (such as wall jacks) at the other end of these cables.
If the physical cable and connections/punchdowns aren’t in their proper place, network issues are likely to persist.
I recommend you provide a simple line diagram illustrating the network wiring and devices as you understand them.
You may use the example diagram provided, and feel free to adjust it as needed to fit your setup. For instance, omit the switch if your network doesn’t have one.
ISP === (coax, DSL, fiber) ===> Modem ---->[WAN Port] Router [LAN Port] ----> [LAN Ports] ---> Wired Network devices (with the switch included).
Switch LAN ports -----> other wired network devices.
And Router ~~~~~ > Wireless devices.
You’re also welcome to share your own diagram or sketch. It doesn’t need to be elaborate—just clear and accurate.
Include a few more photos of wall jacks, cable labels, etc.
I don't think the OP should interfere with the patch panel.
There appear to be two Ethernet cables entering from the top and five from the bottom, and the exposed core wires are making a crossover connection.
Obtain an 8-port ethernet switch.
Acquire four short patch cables, halve them,
And link cables from switch to the breakout board as needed for network layout.
Align cables with suitable colors on the breakout board.
I'm uncertain about the wires or the patch panel. It seems more like telephone wiring to me. I'm not sure about the South Korean standards. I agree with @cruisetung - the exposed wires look like jumpers. It looks like a straight connection rather than a crossover. I'd like to see more of the photographed patch panel and learn more about the cables and destination wall jacks.
Like I said, I don't have access to anything further upstream. For all intents and purposes this is where the internet terminals in the house. There's no modem, I assume the "modem" is somewhere in the building.
Korean apartment blocks generally have a "server room" of sorts where ISP's put their equipment (perhaps multi tenant ONTs if you can call it that) and then just run ethernet to the house. In my case it terminates in to the patch panel which then connects the living room ethernet port where I plug in my router in the WAN port and the internet just works. No authentication on the router, no PPPOE etc. It literally just works - which is kinda black magic to me, but I guess it's standard FTTB.
I will send more photos when I get back home later.