I want to add more LAN RJ-45 ports to this home wifi. How do I do it?
Others here might be more insightful, but I believe what you need is a gigabit internet switch. Something like a TP-Link TL-SG108. Not recommending that one specifically, but it’s an inexpensive option from a reliable brand. We have a couple of very old switches in our office that have worked w/o issue for many years. One is D-Link and the other is TP-Link. There are also 5-port switches if you only need to add a few extra ports.
Of note, I’m using the switches mentioned above on a separate network which is not connected to the T-Mobile gateway. So, I can’t confirm that the switches work with the gateway, just assuming that they should.
The question that i have is can i hook up a tp-link 5 port gigabit switch to a t-mobile 5g wireless internet modem and what all is involved in doing so. Do you need to change the settings or is it just a plug and play type of thing. Thank you
It should be plug and play. A good order of connecting things is to
- Leave switch powered off (don’t plug n the power adapter yet).
- Connect switch to gateway via Ethernet cable.
- Use quality cable, as suggested above.
- Use the WAN port on the switch, and use any of the Ethernet ports on the gateway.
- Now plug in power to the switch. Doing it in this order lets the gateway assign an IP address to the switch. Some switches assign a default IP address if powered on before they’re connected to the gateway, and that might cause a conflict in some isolated cases.
- Attach your other devices to the switch, again using quality cables.
I’ve used TP-Link and Netgear switches (5, 8, and 16 port) with the Nokia gateway, following the steps above, and all worked without any other configuration necessary.
Thanks for your reply. I will get one today.
Userlevel 7
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Adding a Gigabit Ethernet switch will do the trick. Be sure to buy good quality Ethernet cables. Using CAT 6 Ethernet cables would be best. Sure CAT 5e should work but a good quality cable should be used. Cheap Ethernet cables sometimes have RJ45 connectors that are not to the IEEE specifications and the contacts are of poor quality. It is not just the connectors the RJ45 body can be off a bit and lead to the improper seating of the connections or be sticky in the port on the switch.
Spend enough for a solid solution and don’t buy a bunch of weak links. If you get a Gigabit Ethernet switch that does not seem to work properly just send it back and get another brand. If you want to see how well it works when you get it use a large file and run a transfer test between two local clients. There are software solutions you can use to run performance tests to know what you have.
In the end though if it works well for you and you like it that is what is important.
I apologize, but step 2.2 above: “Use the WAN port on the switch, and use any of the Ethernet ports on the gateway” has me confused for a couple of reasons. Is it supposed to be the WAN port on the gateway, and the ethernet ports on the switch? Or if it is correct as written, how can you tell the WAN port on the switch when they are merely labeled 1-8 (but there is a small notation of “Link/Act” above port #8 on the TP-Link TL-SG108).
Secondly, if this is backward and I am looking for the WAN port on the gateway, then I still am confused, as I have the newer flat white 5G gateway, and all there are on it are two yellow LANs and a USB-C. Would this setup still work just plugging into one of the LANs on the gateway?
Thank you!
The question that i have is can i hook up a tp-link 5 port gigabit switch to a t-mobile 5g wireless internet modem and what all is involved in doing so. Do you need to change the settings or is it just a plug and play type of thing. Thank you
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