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I have a gigabit switch and I am connecting my laptop to it using a cat6 ethernet cable.

The problem is it is connecting to 100Mbps only instead of 1Gbps.

This is what i found :

  1. The is a zone in which the cat 6 cable passes where there are electrical connections and wires... at some point the cat 6 cable crosses an electrical wire
  2. I tried to remove the cat 6 cable from this zone where there are electrical wires ... when I do this my laptop connects at 1Gbps
  3. So I am pretty much sure there are some kind of interference with the electrical wires
  4. I have tried to make the cat 6 cable cross the electric wire perpendicularly instead of parallel to it... this does not work .. I stil get 100Mbps

I am obliged to pass the cat 6 cable in this zone.. there is no other route... what are the solutions to this problem? How to avoid interference with the electrical wires??

yeahman
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    How long is the cable run? – EEAA May 06 '16 at 20:46
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    Was this a professionally made cable intended for GigE or did you make it yourself? You must pass all 8 pins straight through and you must correctly map pins to pairs. – David Schwartz May 06 '16 at 22:18
  • the cable is 15m and made professionally. As I stated it connects at 1Gbps when it does not cross the electrical wires... but I have no choice, I need a solution to make it cohabit with the electrical wires – yeahman May 07 '16 at 05:55
  • Are all the other connections running at 1Gbps? – Mike Sherrill 'Cat Recall' May 07 '16 at 08:49
  • no some devices connected to it do not hava gigabit port – yeahman May 07 '16 at 13:30
  • The obvious answer is that not all four pairs of the cable are good. Auto-negotiation is a requirement for 1000Base-T, and it will fall back to 100Base-TX if it cannot use all four pairs. – Ron Maupin Mar 03 '19 at 06:49
  • Depending on the local jurisdiction, there may be a required separation between high and low voltage cabling. If you violate this, the building could be red tagged for occupation until the situation is corrected. You must ask the local enforcement (building inspector, fire marshal, etc.) what the rules are in your jurisdiction. – Ron Maupin Nov 07 '19 at 02:24
  • well. if you can't move the ethernet cable, move the electrical one. just kiding. Have them at least half meter (~2ft) apart, should help it a bit; but, yeah, preferably run it somewhere else. Maybe have a look at powerlines, you never know. – Pedro Rodrigues Nov 04 '20 at 14:37

2 Answers2

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IIRC - You need to cross power cables at a 90 degree angle.

https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/11492/can-i-run-cat5-6-cables-parallel-to-electrical-cables

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Jonathan Piccirilli
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I understand that moving the network cable or electrical wiring isn't practical for you. If that's the case, then if electrical interference is the problem, electrical shielding is the solution.

I guess the cheapest experiment is to contrive a simple shield from aluminum foil, and ground it. (I assume that doesn't violate any building or electrical codes.) If that works, you might be able to run your network cable through some electrical metallic tubing (EMT).

Mike Sherrill 'Cat Recall'
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    Or just purchase STP cable. :) – EEAA May 06 '16 at 20:45
  • I actually have the same issue with another outdoor rated cat 6 cable which is shielded... the cable "cohabits" (follow the same route) as my other cat 6 unshielded cable – yeahman May 07 '16 at 05:57