Be careful up there you old guys should not be on ladders.

Hi. I previously owned and operated a Audio/Video company. Years ago before Wi-Fi was so prevalent, we were wiring homes for data (computers), Cable TV, DirectV and multi-feed cable so a single video source could be distributed throughout the home. We wired for whole house music where 4 different audio sources could play at the same time in different rooms with the touch of a button on the wall. Back then, people listened to music for the quality. Not anymore!! Convenience and poor audio quality is accepted today. IMO, a "SmartHome" today does not exist. Most everything now is "plug and play" with "Smart Home" devices. We used to install automated lighting so lights came on at the same time every night. 1button set different "scenes" in the home, this is now accomplished with Google and Alexa. So unless there is "hardwires" in the walls with hardware attached, there really is no "Smart Home" today.

We have an outlet over our cabinets but never really looked at it up close. I don't think it has the red dot our outlets with a switch has...is it switchable? What's the reason for putting the modem up there? I don't think we have a coax connection up there for our modem. Does anyone do that with spectrum?

Step-stool to counter...

AND I'M NOT THAT OLD!!!

Now get off my lawn!

Putting the wi-fi modem up there theoretically increases it's range...

You mean the router? Our router has to connect to the modem and the modem needs to connect to a coax connection..which I don't think we have up over the cabinets. I like having it all under my tv as i can connect my roku directly to my router instead of wifi. I have 27 items on my wifi connection as it is!
I agree...nothing smart about our houses...

technically, neither a wireless modem nor a router.

the technical term is a wireless access point. . to access the network with a wireless device.

however, since the wireless access point is in the same physical box with a router and/or a modem, you should generally get the idea that the wireless access point is in the same box as his cable modem, (and the router).

my set up has each item as a separate physical device
a cable modem, not wireless
a router
a switch
a wireless access point.

cable companies bundle everything as a cable modem, a router and a single wireless access point all in one box.

You are probably configured to support up to 254 devices so you have plenty of room. Most of your devices probably use a small percentage of the bandwidth. For example, streaming Hi-Def (1080p) uses about 5 megabits per second of bandwidth.

Yes, the router. Mine is a one piece modem/router combo by Netgear.

Pretty sure we have a coax cable up there, but I'm not in TV right now to check...

Same here. I have a cable modem and have attached a Asus wireless router thar has vpn.
When spectrum came to install and he was out in the garage where the sprinkler system is I asked him about all the coax out there and if we could put a switch in..he was clueless on what I was asking
I would Love to be able to use the hardwire cat 5/6 (not even sure what we have..as we bought pre-owned and nobody seems to know..would love to know who to ask) I maybe old fashion but I prefer the security of wired as opposed to wifi..

I didn't opt for spectrums router. I just got the modem. I put in my own router so I can configure the 2.4 and 5 ghz separately with their own security code and configured vpn. I get great connections and have zero streaming issues. But since our homes have wired connectivity why can't we take advantage of it. Simply for security reasons. (Although I know these days security seems to be no longer an option haha)

If you're wondering about which type of cable you have it will be printed on the cable jacket (the cables specs will be printed every 2 feet or so). The category ( cat5, cat5e, cat6 etc.) is mostly a descriptor of how far and fast data can be pushed. It started with cat1 which is voice only capable, it had paper or cotton insulation. As demand for faster and further transmission came about they developed better cable. My knowledge and experience of it ends at cat6 but everything above 5 will carry tv signal at least 325 feet.

If you have a cable modem only, you need a NAT router and a switch, separately or in one box, to plug all the Ethernet cables into it and have all devices work at the same time. All equipment needs to be rated a 1gb or higher. In addition, a wireless access point can be used as well from the switch with PoE devices. PoE = Power over Ethernet

I guess I could take a plate off the wall and see how it's labeled but my question is who do i call to make them hot? I am sure it requires something done either at the connection box either outside or in our garage. Spectrum was useless...my old house had a closet in the hallway you connected a router switch to and this allowed all the ethernet jacks to be live through the switch. There was a single coax connection for your cable modem and you connected your switch to the modem. That is what I was hoping for here...

As far as wiring goes...

It all depends on where you live, and when your house was built. I live in Fenney and there is traditional cable TV coax from the low voltage box in the garage to every room of the house. The house was also wired for traditional (POTS) wired telephone service. When I inspected the cables (also in the low voltage cabinet) I found that the telephone wiring was CAT 5e. This can be used for Ethernet. I disconnected the wires in the low voltage box and put Ethernet connectors on the ends of the wires. The I did the same in the rooms that had the telephone jacks that I wanted to use for Ethernet. I also had to change the face plates on the wall.

Having said all of this, you CAN use the unused cable lines for Ethernet with MoCA adapters. This is a more expensive solution but you don't have to mess with putting the Ethernet adapters on the wires nor change the wall plates.

https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Ethe...18&sr=8-6&th=1

It's easier to just look at the wires in the low voltage box.

To make the wires "live" (if you have Xfinity or Spectrum), you would have to have the modem/router in the low voltage box and connect the Ethernet cables to the router. You might also need an Ethernet switch.

Finally, one other suggestion is to use a Powerline adapter. This allows you to run the Ethernet signals (internet) over the power lines in your home. I tried this several years ago and was not happy with the performance. It may be better now.

https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Power...s%2C117&sr=8-2

Current MOCA adapters work quite well, with throughput of 2.5Gbps