Just learned about MoCA today and have some questions.

[MechaDangerous]

Hello everybody. Brand new to the forum but this seemed like the perfect place to ask some (potentially) silly questions about MoCA.

I live in a single-story house that I'm renting. I've recently been trying to find a solution to my gaming problem concerning my wireless. I currently have a Cisco DPQ3212 cable modem and Linksys EA6400 router in my office with my gaming PC. The wired connection is beautiful and works like a charm.

In my living room I have my PS4, Xbox One, and Roku. The wireless between my office and my living room is atrocious. I can see 104mbps down in my office (wired connection) and 778kbps or 1.2mbps down on my PS4 over wireless.

This is horrifically slow and I've tried a couple of different solutions over the past couple of months:

1. Powerline Adapter: I purchased a Linksys Powerline AV 1-Port and 4-Port Network Adapter Set (PLSK400) and tried that. The connection is great..when it works. It's very common for the connection to just cut out entirely and I notice the device look like its rebooting or finding connection again. I've checked firmware updates but that hasn't resolved anything.

2. Wireless Extender: I purchased a Linksys RE4000W N600 PRO Wi-Fi Range Extender (RE4000W) and spent quite a bit of time setting that up yesterday, but I've actually seen more issues with that, and when it does work, the speeds are not really not what I'm looking for either. It was barely an increase, if it was an increase at all.

So in speaking with some coworkers today, someone recommended that I look into MoCA adapters. From what they tell me, it's the same theory of a powerline adapter, except instead of ethernet over electrical, it's ethernet over coax. Is that sort of right? It seems like something that I'd be interested in if it will mean a hardline solution for my gaming consoles.

So if that's what will get me the best speeds and work the best in my home, what all am I looking at buying? After some research online I came up with the following:

1. The MoCA adapters themselves. Maybe the Actiontec MoCA Home Networking Kit?
2. Splitters? I found Legrand splitters on Amazon.
3. I assume I'll need another access point in my living room for the ethernet cables to run from to my consoles.

So to hook all this up, I assume the following:

Office:
Coax Port -> Moca Adapter -> Cable Modem -> Router

Living Room:
Coax Port -> MoCA Adapter -> Access Point -> Consoles

I'm not 100% sure where the splitters go in this equation, but hopefully someone here can help with that, or at least tell me if I've got this wrong completely and I'm wasting my time trying to wrap my head around this.

A question I do have, though, is about the coax port in my living room. That isn't even being used for anything, so I don't even know if it's "live" or not. I for some reason have in my head that my ISP (Cox Communications) only leaves on coax port "live" at a time at a residence. Would I need to call them to send a tech out to activate it or something?

A lot of my questions or ideas might be pretty dumb, but I'm trying to understand this, because I just want the best experience for gaming and on-demand content in my household. I very much appreciate any help somebody can provide.

 

[thiggins]

I know this is not what you're asking, but before you give up on Powerline, check this article.
How To Troubleshoot Your Powerline Network
All non-Ethernet networking technologies require some futzing. They are not just plug-and-play.

 

[htismaqe]

I realize you are renting so any wall, ceiling, or floor penetration is a no-no. However, have you considered just running ethernet cable along the baseboards or something? In my rental property, I've allowed my tenant to use Command strips to hang pictures and stuff. They're strong enough to hold cable. I realize it wouldn't LOOK clean but it would work so much better to run a cable from your router to the AP.

 

[CaptainSTX]

So to hook all this up, I assume the following:

Office:
Coax Port -> Moca Adapter -> Cable Modem -> Router

Coax Port> Splitter >Cable Modem > Router off one leg of Splitter > Ethernet Cable from LAN port router to MOCA adapter
> MOCA Adapter off other leg splitter

Living Room:
Coax Port -> MoCA Adapter -> Access Point -> Consoles

I would suggest that you use a switch instead of a AP
No need for a splitter in this room unless you also want CATV

I'm not 100% sure where the splitters go in this equation, but hopefully someone here can help with that, or at least tell me if I've got this wrong completely and I'm wasting my time trying to wrap my head around this.

If there are any other splitters in the COAX wiring you may need to replace them with a splitter that will pass more than 900Mhz.

A question I do have, though, is about the coax port in my living room. That isn't even being used for anything, so I don't even know if it's "live" or not. I for some reason have in my head that my ISP (Cox Communications) only leaves on coax port "live" at a time at a residence. Would I need to call them to send a tech out to activate it or something?

The quickest way to see if the coaxial outlet in the living room is live is to move your STB and TV into the room and see if you get pictures. Chances are that it is active. If not call the cable company and tell them you need an additional outlet activated in the living room.

 

[stevech]

Office: path mixes Coax and cat5.