Cat6 Keystone Wiring

[wrems]

I've wired quite a few cat5 keystones in the past and never had an issue with them. They were the standard ones not the tool-less ones like Monoprice likes to sell. I recently have added some drops to my house that are cat6. I bought Monoprice cat6 tool-less keystones too. For some reason I have yet to get one to work. I’ve wired up 3-4 without success. My cable tester says the lines are good even with the tool-less keystone wired in place, but I’m unable to get internet connection... I take the keystone off and put an rj45 plug in its place and everything works fine. I swear that I must be doing something wrong... I just don’t know what. For some reason I can’t get the cat6 tool-less keystones to work for me.

Any ideas, or things to check. I’m at a loss. Or, are these tool-less keystones junk?

[Skirge01]

Did you ensure you did 568A or 568B at both ends? That's the most common mistake. I believe most cable testers don't check for this, as they only check that there's a connection (any connection) at the other end.

[wrems]

Yeah, as far as I know I've been wiring everything 568B and even the plug I replaced the keystone with was B. The other end of this last one I did was still factory. I'll double check since I just cut the whole darn thing off, because I wanted to examine it more closely later. These tool-less keystones are driving me nuts and it's probably operator error to boot!

[Skirge01]

FWIW, I bought the same keystones from Monoprice and it took me a little while to get them right. I did have to push the "lid" down pretty hard, though. I definitely won't be buying the tool-less anymore. I picked up regular punch downs from Monoprice the last time I ordered and they're much easier... sad as that is.

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by Skirge01

FWIW, I bought the same keystones from Monoprice and it took me a little while to get them right. I did have to push the "lid" down pretty hard, though. I definitely won't be buying the tool-less anymore. I picked up regular punch downs from Monoprice the last time I ordered and they're much easier... sad as that is.

It's true. A simple 4 dollar punch down tool (if they are even that much) are so much easier to use (I got mine in a kit, so I have no idea how much they cost separately).

[wrems]

I actually own a punch down tool and have used them solely up to this point. The last order I just thought maybe I'm missing out on something and ordered all tool-less keystones. From what I can tell by the wire upon investigation is that the cutting teeth are not making a solid enough connection, they seem like they are just barely scoring the wire insulation... This maybe due to not pressing down hard enough even though I have very firmly snapped them. I'll sit down later and play with it some more but I think you're absolutely right that the tool-less ones are way more of a pain the traditional punch down ones. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

[Skirge01]

Now that I'm thinking back on this, I believe I had to ensure that the wires were perfect before closing. So, they all went straight down the middle and made fairly distinct 90 degree turns and then went as straight as possible out the sides. I think this allowed the lid to close cleanly over the wires. I also used a friggin' punch down tool to push each wire down to the bottom, so when the lid closed, they had nowhere to go. It was a royal pain to do, which is why I switched to the regular keystones. They're actually less damn work!

[Spectrum]

Originally Posted by paulbeers

It's true. A simple 4 dollar punch down tool (if they are even that much) are so much easier to use (I got mine in a kit, so I have no idea how much they cost separately).

If you punch down a full rack with a $4 punch down tool your fingers will be bleeding and your wrists will be SORE For serious work a good punchdown, even though it costs more, is worth its weight in gold.

Originally Posted by Skirge01

Now that I'm thinking back on this, I believe I had to ensure that the wires were perfect before closing. So, they all went straight down the middle and made fairly distinct 90 degree turns and then went as straight as possible out the sides. I think this allowed the lid to close cleanly over the wires. I also used a friggin' punch down tool to push each wire down to the bottom, so when the lid closed, they had nowhere to go. It was a royal pain to do, which is why I switched to the regular keystones. They're actually less damn work!

Heh that's progress