Cat5 Cat5e cable ends not seating properly in sockets
 

Well, I got a NetGear n600 wndr3700 2 router with cabling [Yellow] from a friend. While using it I have internet connectivity outages because the ports on the router and onboard NIC seem loose as in if any force pulls on the cable ends the little snap hook on the cable end only engages after the end is pulled say a millimeter back out of the socket. Makes me wonder if router was swung as a centrifuge from the cord or jerked about by an ape to cause this movement. The NIC port seems to have trouble in many directions and has to be jiggled until the connection lights at the port come on. Motherboard is TA75M Biostar. I've tried direct cat5e to computer and still happens but less frequent. Original cable is heavier cat5e patch cord. I switched ports on the router for incoming line and pushed it in all the way and then pulled it back for the hook to catch and network connection stayed good. So probably last outgoing port is worn out more. The MB NIC is about 2 years old and does wiggle alot when plugging cable into it. Heavier patch cord is more problematic with the port. Original owner said he had connection problems and is adamant that it was AT&T's fault. I also supported the NIC cable end so it doesn't hang downward pressure on the port. Might condsider an add on NIC if it gets worse. Just Wondering if anyone had any additional thoughts I might be solved?

Hi there,

nice that you mention it, but the color usually doesn't mean anything. I have network cables in many different colors here (most of them gray, but a few yellow, blue, red or green). The reason they come in different colors is for people distinguishing them quickly where they're used for different purposes, e.g. seperate networks in a small company, or network and telephone.

Well. There is in fact some mechanical tolerance, and it is quite normal that the RJ45 jacks move a bit back and forth along the cable axis when you push or pull at them. However, a millimeter, as you say, is quite much; it should not be more than some tenths, only so much as to notice that there is some looseness. If you look closely at an RJ45 jack, you will find that the contacts are exposed on a length of a bit more than two millimeters, and that should be enough to compensate for tiny the axial movement.

However, there should be no noticeable lateral freedom of movement.

And if you suspect the device has been badly treated, check out the RJ45 sockets as well. Take a finger and check carefully if they're seated solidly on their PCB. If the connection has really experienced excessive force and solder joints have come loose, it's pointless to check for good contact between socket and jack.

Not good. There should be a click when the jack is latched inside the socket, and then the "LINK" light should come on almost at once without having to probe around, and wagging the cable slightly should not interrupt the connection. What you describe sounds like lots of wear to me.

Do you have trouble on that end, too? Because you're mentioning it explicitly ...

Of course. ;-)

That's a good idea, but I think there isn't much more you can do about this, except of course support and secure the other end, too.

[X] Doc CPU

"Do you have trouble on that end, too? Because you're mentioning it explicitly ..."

Hard to tell how much of the connection light being off is the cat5 connection or rj45 port moving. Really all I can think of is use it till it really totally breaks. Cheap muthah boards anyway #@^)(*&^@#%^&*(%;[
Should we mark this as solved as it kan B?

I had the same problem, I bought a 100 cheap Chinese plugs on ebay.

Get a small file (nail file would probably work) and sharpen/deepen the back of the hook retainer.

Can't really explain it better but the moulding of the ones I have are a bit suspect!

Thanx__hdp160