Q: How to disable Wifi Radio (In Case you need these for MOCA)?
A: The radio can be turned off, the option to do so is hidden in the HTML of the "Basic Setup Page", just unhide it to show the radio-buttons, make the change, and click "apply" button as usual.If you use the Chrome Browser, right click on header for each wireless band and choose "inspect" to get at the HTML. Clear out "display:none".
Credit Amazon Review [amazon.com]
Q: How many of these do I need?
A: If you have zero MoCA adapters, then you will need two. If you have an existing MoCA device, then you only need one. Examples of existing adapters are: actiontec ECB2500V, actiontec ECB6200K, Verizon FiOS MI424WR router, Verizon FiOS G1100 router, Verizon FiOS WCB6200Q extender, XFinity DCT3941T gateway, XFinity TG852G gateway. You need one adapter for every location you intend to connect.
Q: Is this compatible with...?
A: MoCA is tolerant of splitters and long cable runs, but cannot handle amplifiers or filters. You also cannot use these in conjunction with DECA (the DirecTV version of this), as the Tv signal uses the same frequency as these.
A: These will work fine with an amplifier as long as it's MOCA compatible. See the following links for examples if an upgrade is needed: http://www.pctstore.co
Q: Will this work with the TiVo MoCA?
A: Yes.
Q: Why bother?
A: These basically convert coax to ethernet. You get the benefits of having an ethernet plug in every room where you use this box with an existing coax drop without needing to wire your house for ethernet. It provides low latency, very fast stable speeds (130-140mbps), and in this case it is super cheap. Also adds additional Wi-Fi APs if your home needs them.
Q: What does this have to do with Wi-Fi?
A: It adds another access point in your home utilizing 2.4/5ghz N wireless. It will also assimilate the same SSID as your current setup if you use WPS.
Q: Compatible with MoCA 2.0/bonded?
A: Yes, MoCA 2.0 is backwards compatible with 1.1, however it will operate at 1.1 speeds.
Q: Any issues with these boxes?
A: The firmware is a bit locked-down (these are likely TWC returns). It isnt easy to turn off wi-fi, or encrypt MoCA. You also cannot log in using default credentials (you will need it to pick up an IP from a router) They work with any brand MoCA device! The stock firmware does not allow the vertical bar symbol "|" in your WPA passphrase.
Q: What do I get inside the box?
A: Coax cable, ethernet cable, splitter, bridge, AC Adapter, stand.
*Some sellers don't provide a splitter and coax cables. If you use OTA, you can use a diplexer and there will be much less signal loss.
Newer firmware:
https://github.com/jameshilliard/WECB-CC-GPL
Steps to updating the firmware and turning off wireless:
- Download firmware compiled by Fiercedeitylink (use at your own risk): link
- Connect to device's web UI by finding its assigned IP address (your router UI may help identify it) and type in a web browser (e.g. 192.168.1.5)
- login as admin/admin for user/password
- go to Advanced Setup and flash with downloaded firmware
- login to device again as mso/mso for user/password (there are 3 different accounts with different levels of accees. mco account has the highest level)
- go to Wireless Setup, then Basic Setup
- select 'Disable' on Wireless Radio for both 2.4ghz and 5ghz
- also turn on 'MoCA Privacy' somewhere in the settings.
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If you choose to go with the ethernet bridge (ECB2500) or a second one of these WCB3000N devices, you do the following. Plug one device via ethernet into your router, and then connect the coax line to the wall. With the second device, all you need to do is plug it in via coax into the wall. That's it. The DHCP from the router will be picked up and the wifi will properly distribute the IP table.
If you choose to go the router route (MI424WR, G1100, or one of the cable modem gateways from XFinity or Arris) all you need to do is setup your router as you normally would (be it as the primary router connected to your cable modem, or as a coax bridge), then connect the coax to the wall. Using the second device, just connect the coax to the wall. And you are done. The second device will pick up the IP table no problem.
In both cases, after you plug it in you can setup the Wifi settings on the WCB3000N as you like...SSID, wifi password, etc. I know there is someway to have this automatically extend your MoCA router wifi network, but i never cared to figure it out as I like to have separate networks.
I bought eight of these (at $13.99) and returned five of them. Here's a quick breakdown:
Yes, these work if you have fios and cable. It will also work if you don't have internet at all. Any room that has coax/TV can get hardwired level connections with these.
You'll need one box per head, including at the router... If your router doesn't have MoCA built in.
These are MoCA 1.1...it caps at around 130-140 mbps... Or just slightly over fast ethernet speeds. This is between endpoints with a six foot coax cable.
Good parts:
Plug and play wifi extenders if you have WPS.
Very easy to install.
Not much degradation even if you have a ton of splitters and lines.
Will crush any wireless solution in latency.
Great for use as backhaul between APs
The main issues:
These are likely rebranded TWC boxes. Many things are disabled by default... And the firmware will NEVER be upgraded.
Cannot turn off wifi easily without going into the individual elements of the GUI and turning them off. You need to repeat this everytime power goes out.
No MoCA security... If you're in an apt complex... This means you neighbors may see your computers. Not an issue if you're in a detached home with fios.
These boxes come with:
One splitter
One rg59 cable
One ethernet wire
The box itself, of course.
I kept two (for parents) and one as a spare if a friend should need it... But I found more flexibility and tweakability in just buying old fios routers and turning them into bridges. Also, with the advent of cheap gigabit internet... I need. Bonded MoCA 2.0 minimum... Worth the extra $ to get those boxes for me.
Now as far as the difference between powerline and moca. Powerline, of course, is over your powerlines while Moca is over your coax. The major benefit that moca has over powerline is line noise. Powerline is injecting a networking signal over powerlines which are inherently noisy and susceptible to interference (e.g. magnetic field). As a result, as you move the two powerline adapters further away from each other, the speed degrades. Originally, powerline adapters were a mere 10 mbps, but now they offer 2 gbps. So a 50% drop in speed from a 2 gbps adapter is not so bad as a 50% drop in speed from a 10 mbps adapter - you get to "suffer" from a 1 gbps speed. The PROBLEM is, even with that speed, because of the noise on the line, you will likely encounter jitter - your ping won't be rock solid 1ms. Hell, 50% may not be all the speed drop you experience. If your powerlines are old, your drop could be bigger if you intend the two adapters to be far away. For basic internet you it will be acceptable, but...coax is much more solid, has much less jitter, great pings, no speed drop as you increase distance (at least I haven't experienced it...and I have my mom's network over a huge ranch house).
Pros of Powerline over Coax:
Every home has power lines to use for networking. Not everyone has coax wiring (as much as one would like to believe...the cost to get these lines installed could be pretty pricey. And at that point, you might as well get ethernet wiring)
Powerline adapters are now up to 2 gbps. Moca 1.1 is 270 mbps total, while Moca 2.0 (bonded) is 1 gbps.
More adapter choices with better price points (for the new 2 gbps adapters. Obviously this WCB3000N is $10 which is a stellar price, even for coax). The new Moca 2.0 bonded devices are prohibitively expensive. A 2 pack of Moca ethernet-only adapters are $160, the upgrade to the WCB3000N, the WCB6200Q, is $150. All of them made by Actiontec. The TP-Link 2000 powerline 2-pack is $85. Zyxel is $80. Netgear is $130.
Pros of Coax over Powerline:
The signal is much more solid on Coax. No jitter, no noise, no interference (as long as you arent using filters, amplifiers or satellite tv)
Speed doesn't drop over distance
Signal will never drop. If you have newer coax wiring it is shielded RG6 cables, very robust. Shielding helps the signal. Even the older RG59 cabling is good - its not shielded, but it will still keep a solid signal.
Both systems suffer from the same cons (vs ethernet network):
Need powered adapters. Ethernet doesnt need power.
Need to be careful what you put on the line to avoid noise on the line (e.g. filters, amps, splitters).
Both act like a wired network hub as opposed to a network switch - it is not 1 gbps (Coax 2.0) coax at each adapter, it is all locations use bandwidth which maxes out at 1 gbps, or in the case of 1.1, it is 270 mbps shared.
I spoke too soon lol. I made Front Page for the first time ever
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I just bought these for $11-12 a few weeks ago, going to set them up now. I never had this confirmed but I'm hoping that I can connect 2 of these together with a non-MOCA router...
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If you choose to go with the ethernet bridge (ECB2500) or a second one of these WCB3000N devices, you do the following. Plug one device via ethernet into your router, and then connect the coax line to the wall. With the second device, all you need to do is plug it in via coax into the wall. That's it. The DHCP from the router will be picked up and the wifi will properly distribute the IP table.
If you choose to go the router route (MI424WR, G1100, or one of the cable modem gateways from XFinity or Arris) all you need to do is setup your router as you normally would (be it as the primary router connected to your cable modem, or as a coax bridge), then connect the coax to the wall. Using the second device, just connect the coax to the wall. And you are done. The second device will pick up the IP table no problem.
In both cases, after you plug it in you can setup the Wifi settings on the WCB3000N as you like...SSID, wifi password, etc. I know there is someway to have this automatically extend your MoCA router wifi network, but i never cared to figure it out as I like to have separate networks.
Do you get a lot of lightning strikes taking out electronics where you live, or did you research the product and see they are prone to failure?
Call me skeptical, but that business model wouldn't work if people generally came out ahead with protection plans.
Call me skeptical, but that business model wouldn't work if people generally came out ahead with protection plans.
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Keep in mind this is MOCA 1.1. If you have gigabit internet, you'll need MOCA 2.0. Otherwise your wired speeds will cap at around 500 Mb/s. Still not bad, but not full potential. If you're paying for anything less than a 500 speed and have something with a gateway router, then this is more than enough.
I've been on MOCA for probably 10 years now. It's a fantastic solution for houses not already wired for ethernet. Wifi has always been spotty at best for me, especially when gaming, so finding out about MOCA was perfect. I definitely recommend figuring out where all your splitters are in the house and reconfigure them in the most efficient way possible. Every coax split will hurt speeds a bit more.