Splitter or Switch/Router?

Question

Okay, so I've researched this question and found many answers but not the question that I need answered. I have the following internet setup in my room. We have a wireless router in the living room but the signal doesn't reach my bedroom. I have the wireless router wired to a device that sends the signal though the electrical wiring in the house to my room. It does slow down the speed quite a bit but I can deal with it and it works fine for what I need. Now I want to hook up my PS4 to the internet and want to split the connection that is coming out of the wall. Both my computer and PS4 are hooked up to the same TV/monitor so they will never be on at the same time so they will never compete for the same signal or "talk" to each other. For what I want to do, is it possible to use one (1) ethernet splitter that I can buy as little as 99 cents or do I need to buy a switch?

P.S. I tried to use an old router to split the signal but it didn't work. Both my computer and my PS4 were able to connect to the network but unable to connect to the internet. I don't see or understand why they could get on the network but not the internet. Seems to me if you can connect to one you should be able to connect to another. I am anxious to get things working as soon as possible and greatly appreciate any help you can give me.

Answer 1

A splitter would not work. You'd use a hub or a switch with at least 3 ports.

Connect from the outlet powerline adapter in your bedroom to any of the ports in your hub/switch. Then plug your bedroom computer and PS4 into any 2 other ports on the hub/switch.

The old router should work, if it has a built in switch (w/3 or more switch ports). You would want to disable the routing functions on the router though via its admin menu, so you are only using it as a switch. Then you would connect from the powerline to one of the switch ports on the router; not to the WAN port.

One other note: if the ports on the hub/switch (or old router) don't support Auto MDIX, you would need to use a crossover ethernet cable to connect from the powerline to hub/switch.

Answer 2

You used the term "router" to describe what you tried that didn't work. If that's what it really is, I suspect it was a "router" intended to connect to a cable or DSL modem with WAN port, firewall and multiple LAN ports. You could possibly make that work, but trying describe how to reconfigure it as an unmanaged switch isn't feasible in this forum. A "switch" and a "router" are two different things.

Get an Ethernet "switch". A simple, consumer, 5-port gigabit switch is dirt cheap now; less than $20. Beware of "Fast Ethernet" which are still around for about $10 or so. Fast Ethernet is 100Base-T, not Gigabit (aka 1000Base-T), and it's not considered "fast" any more. They're obsolete. Connect an Ethernet cable from the Ethernet powerline adapter to the switch, and one cable each from the switch to your two devices. On a 5-port switch, you'll have two ports left over for more stuff, and the number of things wanting to connect to the Internet never goes down. On a true switch, it won't matter which port you use for the incoming from the Ethernet powerline adapter, and which you use for the game box and which you use for the other device (TV ?? computer ??). Do NOT use a "splitter". I'm amazed those things are still around. Must be a vestige of the USOC analog telephone systems (four-line analog telephones using 8-wire cables with the same RJ45 plugs and jacks). Ethernet cannot be "split" like analog phone lines using a 99 cent splitter. The two are completely different technologies.

Observation #1: I used the Ethernet powerline adapters in the past. They usually work, but they're not the best. As you've experienced, their throughput (data rate) isn't very fast. Depending on the power wiring in the home, they're sometimes extremely unreliable or don't work at all. I had nothing but headaches with the two pairs I tried to use in my house and finally set up a WiFi mesh. Your situation is not uncommon with a WiFi AP at one end of a home and near zero signal at the other end in a bedroom, especially when they're on different floors. There's a tendency to want to WiFi everything versus hard-wiring Ethernet cable as much as possible. WiFi is half-duplex and only one device can be transmitting packets at a time. Add in the neighbors all trying to use the radio band, and now you're competing with countless WiFi devices and a half-dozen or more WiFi access points. The result is usually less than desirable. Apartment complexes and condos are even worse than suburban single-family homes.

Observation #2: Any new switches, routers or cables you buy should all be Gigabit, also called 1000Base-T. Some might mention a "hub", a device that's been obsolete for years. It's not the same as a switch which operates much more efficiently with much greater throughput. Ethernet patch cables to devices should be nothing less than Cat.5e, preferably Cat.6 (no plain Cat.5; I just purged a half-dozen from my SOHO). Your priority right now is the gigabit switch - upgrade the rest as time and money permits. I'd be looking for a solution to replace the Ethernet powerline adapters next.