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Old 12-14-2024, 10:28 AM
jrref jrref is offline
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Default Quantum Fiber Installation Tips

Because of the recent $35 price for 1Gbs bi-directional, non-shared internet service that Quantum Fiber has been offering, there have been many people, who can get the service, switching from cable and a lot of discussion on how to get the best WiFi coverage with Quantum's included WiFi7 equipment.
From my experience, you should get a premium installation without any intervention but here are some tips to make sure it’s installed optimally.
Quantum will install what they call a SmartNid device usually in the white data cabinet in your garage. This SmartNid is a combination Optical Network Terminator which terminates the fiber optic connection to your home and a Router. It has two 1Gbs ethernet ports, one fiber port and a power supply connection.
They will also provide WiFi7 Pods. One pod will be a larger “main pod” which has to be hard wired via an ethernet cable to the SmartNid in the garage. The remaining smaller pods work wirelessly off of the main pod and are installed in other areas of your home for maximum coverage. The number of smaller pods needed will depend on the size of your home. Because these WiFi7 pods provide wireless signals in the 2.4, 5 and 6Ghz bands, they give you effectively a “stronger” WiFi signal than previous versions of WiFi devices so the main pod might be all you need for a smaller home where in a designer home you may need one remote pod and in a larger premier home you may need two remote pods. The technician has an app that will tell them based on the signal strength in all of your rooms, lanai, etc, how many if any remote pods are needed. If there is any doubt, always ask the technician for at least one remote pod that you can move around your home at a later date if needed.
In most homes here in the Villages built circa 2012 and newer, the builder installed blue cat5 ethernet cables from the white data cabinet in the garage to most of the rooms in your home. They were installed and wired as telephone jacks even though no copper landline service was ever installed. Only 4 out of the 8 wires are typically wired in the wall jacks. I don’t know how older homes in the Villages were wired but I’m sure over the years they were done in different ways. The point is, if you have these blue cat5 ethernet cables, the Quantum technician will use them to provide the hardwired connection from the SmartNid in the garage to the main WiFi7 pod and if you ask them they can also use the 2nd ethernet port on the SmartNid to give you a hardwired connection for your computer in you office if you have one.
Given this background, here are the installation tips:
1) Make sure the main WiFi pod is installed as close to the center of your home as possible. This may mean installing it above or under one of the cabinets in the kitchen where there is an ethernet jack available or in a guest bedroom closest to the main living area. Most every home has a connection somewhere in the kitchen. You can also install it in your office near your main computer if you have one. The main WiFi pod has several ethernet jacks so if installed in your office near your computer you can hardwire everything you want in that room easily. If you install the Main WiFi pod anywhere except in the center of your house you may need a remote pod to get a strong WiFi signal throughout your home.
2) NEVER let the tech install the main WiFi pod in the garage with remote pods throughout your home. This will never work reliably.
3) If you install a remote WiFi pod in a room where there is an ethernet jack, ask the technician to hard wire that pod via the jack to the SmartNid. This will make the remote pod work better.
4) Before the tech leaves the installation, ask them to do a speed test to verify and show that you are getting the speed you ordered. Plugging directly into one of the RJ45 ports on the Main Wifi pod is best but with a not too old cell phone on the wifi should read in the "ball park" of the speed you ordered.
5) Be aware of what's on the other side of the wall where the Main WiFi Pod is installed to make sure there is nothing big and metal there potentially blocking the signal to the rest of the house. If there is, then choose another location.
6) Make sure if you are using a smaller remote Wifi pod for additional coverage that it's plugged in, in another room close enough so it gets a strong signal from the Main WiFi pod but far enough away that it doesn't interfere with the Main Pod.
7) I always recommend using the same existing WiFi network name and password for the new Quantum Wifi so you don't have to go to all your devices and re-connect them to the new WiFi equipment. Always give the technician the existing network name and password so he can configure the new Wifi with this information. Just be aware, even if you do this, there still may be some devices that don't connect to the new WiFi and in these cases you will need to reconnect them manually.

The exceptions for the advanced homeowners:
1) If you have your own WiFi equipment such as an Orbi, TP-Link, Amazon or any other favorite system, all you need to do is plug it into one of the ethernet jacks going to the SmartNid in the garage. You will be double NATing because your equipment will have a router butr the small delay is not noticeable. If you are a purest or have special needs then you can log into the SmartNid and put in ByPass mode which disables the built-in router but I personally don’t believe it’s worth the effort.
2) The WiFi7 equipment that Quantum installs is actually very good and will work great for a majority of people but an Orbi or other premium WiFi7 equipment will be better.

For the Advanced Homeowners who want to prewire your home in preparation for the Quantum Install:
1) Find a central location to install the Main Wifi7 pod. This can be under one of the Kitchen cabinets since almost all homes here in the Villages have an ethernet jack there or in one of the guest bedrooms that's closest to the main living area.
2) Find the blue ethernet cable running from the RJ45 ethernet jack in the room where you are planning to put the Main Wifi pod to the white data cabinet in the garage. There are many ways to "buzz" out the cables to locate the one you want to use. I prefer using a Kolsol AT338 Optical Wire Meter Tracer. It has an Optical power meter (which you won't need) and multifunction cable scanning and continuity testing functions. You can use the cable scanning function to "buzz" out and locate the correct blue ethernet cable at the data cabinet. There are many ethernet continuity testers on Amazon but I like this one the best.
3) Once the ehternet cable is found in the data cabinet, use a RJ45 Ratcheting Ethernet Wire Crimper / Stripper / Cutter, for Pass-Thru connectors such as the Klein Tools VDV226-110 to install the Rj45 plug onto the end of the cable. Always use RJ45 Pass-Thru connectors since they are easy to use and provide a perfect connection 99.9% of the time,
4) Next examine the connection at the RJ45 Keystone ethernet wall jack in the room where you plan to put the Main Wifi pod. You will probably see 4 out of the 8 wires terminated. Since they are almost never terminated properly, pull out what's connected so you can re-terminate the blue ethernert cable on the jack. Look to see if the pin-out on the jack has the T568B code. If it doesn't have the "B" pin-out code then best to replace it with a new keystone jack.
5) Once the blue ethernet cable has the RJ45 plug terminating it at the data cabinet in the garage and the RJ45 "keystone" wall jack on the other end use the Kolsol contunuity tester to verify the terminations are correct. If so, then put the wall jack and plate back together and lable the other end in the data cabinet in the garage for the tech when he arrives.

The Quantum tech will do all this for you but if you want to pre-wire then these are the steps you need to take.

After working at Verizon for 30 years and much of that with Verizon FiOS, I can say we are very fortunate to have fiber internet service in many locations here in the Villages. I hope this post helps provide potential users of Quantum Fiber with some good information. I’ve overseen many Quantum installs here in the Villages so my comments are based on my actual experience. If anyone has any specific questions I would be happy to help. And of course, if you have had Quantum fiber installed and made any tweaks to improve performance, please share them.

Last edited by jrref; 01-09-2025 at 09:34 AM.