How to Crimp Cat5 / Cat6 Network Patch Cables (RJ45 plugs)

How to make up CAT5e or CAT6 ethernet patch cables from scratch and terminate using RJ45 plugs.
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How to Crimp Ethernet Cable: If you need to learn how to make ethernet cables, this network cable crimping will show you how to arrange the 8 twisted pairs of wires in the correct order and then how to crimp RJ45 cable before verifying your new Cat6 crimping skills with a cable tester.
See Also:
How to Wire Up Ethernet Wall Jacks - • How to Wire Up Etherne...
How to Crimp Pass-Through RJ45 plugs - • How to Wire Up Etherne...
Purchasing Links: (paid)
➡ RJ45 Ethernet Crimping Tool: geni.us/RJ45Crimper
➡ Ethernet Cable Tester: geni.us/NetworkCableTester
➡ RJ45 Plugs: geni.us/RJ45Plugs
➡ Punch Down Tool: geni.us/PunchdownTool
➡ Cat6 Ethernet Cable: geni.us/Cat6
➡ Wire Cutters / Snips: geni.us/Snips
Learn how to make a network cable (patch lead) and fit an RJ45 connector using an RJ45 crimping tool. Be sure to check the correct order of the coloured wires (T-568A or T-568B) and perfect placement inside the jack before crimping.
Now you know how to crimp RJ45 cable!
If you struggle to get the 8 wires into the RJ45 plug neatly, you can also try pass-through RJ45 plugs (also called "EZ Plugs" or "Snap Plugs") and there's a video showing how to make ethernet cable with passthrough connectors here: • How to Wire Up Etherne...
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#RJ45 #Ethernet #HomeNetworking
00:00 - Intro & why it's a useful skill
01:19 - Stripping the outer sheathing from the network cable
01:34 - Untwist and straighten out all 8 wires
01:53 - Organising the colour-coded wires in the correct order
03:14 - Trimming all 8 wires to the correct length
03:49 - Sliding on the RJ45 Plug
04:05 - Cat5e / Cat6 Cable Crimping
04:29 - Testing your home made ethernet cable with network cable tester
** RJ45 Wiring Diagram **
Here's the RJ45 Pinout T-568B diagram which was the first result in Google Images in the video demo: www.showmecables.com/blog/pos...
More reading, T-568A vs T-568B: www.canford.co.uk/TechZone/Ar...
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[@soup___hie]

Why are the colors cheating on each other when I try to strengthen them?

[@hannahzimmerman2449]

I really appreciate the extra time you took to add subtitles for this. Thank you!

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

My pleasure, I hope they were useful for you 😄

[@Beevreeter]

I thank the network gods (or whoever invented it) for the pass through RJ45 which has holes in the end so you can slide the 8 wires right through the connector and pull the insulating jacket in tightly with them - and then check the cable order before you crimp! Genius invention and has saved me hours of redoing terminal connections because one wire moved or snagged as I was inserting them into the RJ45.

[@JHendo247]

I need that tool. What exactly is the name for it? I am wasting too much time putting these cables together, Please HELP!!

[@MrDavesClass]

I watched your video, followed your guidance, completed the work, and now I'm enjoying the fruits of my labor with super fast inter-web cruising speed. Simply - YOU ROCK - . If an old guy like me with a room temp IQ can successfully perform this task, then there is hope for everyone! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Great job!

[@fanwellkalumbeta832]

Blessed you are!!!

[@keniaglenn]

Perfectly worked, thanks. It's very important to test the cables to don't assume it's not working. It wasn't working until I understand I had to setup my router, the tester helped to understand I didn't have issues with the cable.

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Great to hear! Glad the tester helped you find the issue as well :)

[@miquelito11]

😂keekjkkpp Motkc 😊❤❤❤😊❤❤❤🎉 us 😂 😂 😂 🤣 iiiii​@@SwitchedOnNetwork

[@rudeman8510]

Quick and easy explanation Thx Dude this worked as explained.

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Glad it was helpful! 🙂

[@mickeynismocat]

Thanks for posting this, I also just bought the same crimper!!

[@stemmentor9700]

Like the idea of using the terminal as a measuring guide. Done so many over years I have it now, but great learning idea for what I’m doing this week (teaching MS kids during summer cyber camp)

[@vivekchandra5892]

Thanks so much for this super easy to follow guidance.

[@willward952]

Thank you :) will really help me with my cctv installation.

[@zm23f]

One of the best tutorials

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Thank you so much ☺️

[@pureblood4386]

Great vid and fantastic oratory skills.

[@fanwellkalumbeta832]

Perfect elaboration 👏 thank you for sharing i got it 😊

[@MarcoDGallego]

Thanks a lot this video was super clear and helpful!

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Glad you found it helpful!

[@felipel.r.637]

Today I learnt how to crimp cables thanks to you! My new memory technique to remember the colors is: brown dirt, green grass, blue sky, orange sun.

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

ha, nice method! Glad the video was helpful - thanks! :)

[@paulgill7222]

After the green is actually striped blue white, so how is that grass?

[@felipel.r.637]

@@paulgill7222 I just put brown (dirt), green (grass), blue(sky), orange(sun). Then precede each color with its stripped version. But before crimping, switch stripped green with stripped blue. Sounds stupid but worked for me.

[@paulgill7222]

@@felipel.r.637 OK thanks. I don't understand why they never chose to just go with one solid, followed by its stripped and so on. Why this mix mash up? Probably a geek trying to confuse others? Lol

[@felipel.r.637]

@@paulgill7222Indeed! That's a good example of why mechanics hate engineers hahaha

[@train4905]

Exellent demo sir

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Thank you!

[@bonelesspizzaman3263]

Genuinely amazed your channel isn't bigger with tutorials as well made as this. Serious props my guy, really well made.

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Thank you, you're so kind!

[@bonelesspizzaman3263]

@@SwitchedOnNetwork I should be thanking you! Saved my ass with my Networking college course.

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Excellent! Glad I could help 🙂

[@pragmatickaos852]

Maybe if the colors weren't in the wrong order they'd have a bigger channel. He's got the solid blue wire in pin 3 in the video. Obviously used a different cable for the test at the end.

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

You spotted the Easter egg, that I used the wrong bit of footage at one point whilst editing by mistake 🤣

[@lenleangztechnology3347]

مجهود وشرح رائعين شكراً جزيلاً لك بالتوفيق

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

إنه لمن دواعي سروري ، أنا سعيد لأنك وجدتها مفيدة!

[@Batman-db2vv]

Thank You 😊

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

You're welcome 😊

[@Mafi-0007]

Thank you ❣️❣️❣️

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

My pleasure, hope you found it useful 👍

[@MrDavesClass]

Thanks!

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Thank you! Very kind of you, and I'm glad you found the video useful 😀

[@SianaGearz]

I do and can crimp my own cables but i have always struggled with something. There's 4 pairs right, so is there an optimal order in which you straighten them out and try to arrange them? Because one pair goes down the middle, one pair goes right around it, which makes it a little weird, and then two pairs go on each end... so things end up crossing over every which way and i have to fiddle for a while until i get them in order and straight. Also how come the pinout is this weird anyway? It just seems so absurd. I didn't have a crimp tool when i crimped my first cable over 20 years ago so i just used a tiny flathead screwdriver and hammered the contacts in until they pierced. Finicky but it worked. I think i'm still using that cable somewhere. Crimp tools were painfully expensive back in the day; nowadays it's kind of a shame not to own one. I had no clue cable testers were this cheap, several times cheaper than a crimp tool. I mean yeah i can see how they would be, it's just some slow clock generator (eg a 555 or a couple Schottky gates or just a couple transistors) and a 40/74 series counter IC, those have never been exactly expensive, plus standard parts like resistors, LEDs, diodes. Probably single sided PCB.

[@stemmentor9700]

Those plastic strippers are My preferred. Never liked using that built in one on crispers

[@timmywashere1164]

Me at the end of the video: Alright seems straight forward I got this. Me several months later:The White Stripes!!! Damn it that's brilliant.

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

haha glad you find my terrible jokes funny, at least someone does! 🤣🤣

[@numbr6]

Using patch cable stranded wire is VERY HARD to get right, as the wires do not "stay put" and can flip before you crimp. Using in-wall / plenum cable for patch panels is typical, but wrong. Eventually the solid strands will start to "break loose" from the crimped plug conductors, and now you now have mysterious slow networking / outages. This is a skill that takes practice and patience.

[@SKULLEYEZ]

Very nice tutorials . Does this apply if I want to run cat 7 or cat 8 cables ?

[@ellenorbjornsdottir1166]

Cat7 isn't compatible, but I think cat 8 it would.

[@SKULLEYEZ]

@@ellenorbjornsdottir1166 thank you for your reply - it’s nice to know somebody is caring to make a difference to others . A big thumbs up for you 👍

[@tomyerinides4002]

Great vid! My only question is who is the "American rock Duo from Detroit???"

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Duh, duh du du du duhhhh duuhhhhhh

[@dksmiffs]

@tomyerinides4002, another hint is that @SwitchedOnNetwork is not insulting your intelligence with this reply. He's humming their most well known tune for you in text ;-)

[@jmunga2511]

Ive got 'outdoor shielded' cat 6 cable. The wires are way too thick to push in. Are there different jacks available?

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Yes, you can get plugs with different gauge (AWG) but for that type of cable you're better terminating it to a keystone jack in a wall socket and then using an off-the-shelf patch lead to connect into the device.

[@kv6559]

So idk if this relates to the video but, I want to get Ethernet in my room which is in the basement right below my modem, and I noticed that I have a cat 5e outlet built in my wall right beside me, I’m just confused on how I could get it, do I simply just plug in the cord into the wall and in my device?

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Yup, assuming there's a working cable run behind it that should work just fine. At the other end just plug into your router.

[@jollino]

I have two (possibly stupid) questions, hoping that others may benefit from any answers this may get. :-) 1) What is the "tip" of the yellow stripper tool used for? 2) Is there any technical reason - beyond making it easier for maintenance - to use the same standard that a network currently uses? For instance, when I first lay down cat5e cable in my house over a decade ago I used the 'A' standard to terminate the cables going from one switch to the next. If I were to replace one of them with a new cable terminated with the 'B' standard, wouldn't it still work? As far as the switches are concerned, they're nothing more than patch cables. I'm not sure if I'm missing something obvious, hence the "possibly stupid" question. :-) Thank you in advance!

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

No such thing as a stupid question! :-) 1) It can be used as a (very rudimentary) punch down tool for wiring up keystone jacks (ie. wall sockets). However, if you're going to be doing any of that I'd recommend a much better tool, the one I demo in this video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3nbhZWqdqqXY6c 2) You're basically right, yes, they'd just be treated as patch leads so you wouldn't notice or experience any problems whatsoever. There's a *bit* more to it than that, and I'm sure someone will come along and tell me how wrong my last statement is, it's to do with legacy backwards compatibility with smaller RJ11 phone connections before the general shift to the B standard but it's too much to get into here. TLDR; yes you'll be fine with either standard! (But as you say, for maintenance, knowing that anything other than a simple pre-made off-the-shelf patch lead uses either A or B will be useful for any properly installed cable runs).

[@jollino]

​@@SwitchedOnNetwork Thank you very much! I just have ethernet cables going straight into switches as those "wall sockets" were insanely expensive when I first started cabling up my house many years ago, and I just kept going like that. :-) Also thanks for clarifying the A vs. B mix-up issue: I kept seeing the same recommendation ("make sure you use the same as what's already there!") but nobody ever points out that it's mostly for maintenance reasons, rather than anything technical. The A system should be an expansion of RJ11, with the central pairs being effectively the same as an RJ11 connector and the other two added to the sides, one wire on each side per pair... if that makes sense. Still no idea why B is "better" but it's one of those holy wars we all seem to partake in when it comes to technology. :-D I also just followed your suggestion in another video and ordered a box of pass-through connector, a pair of pointy clippers and a specialised crimping tool, as I've had *hell* trying to crimp this cat6 wire with the old equipment I had: the wires are so stubborn that the moment I went to actually crimp the connector, at least one would "roll back" and not make contact. And to think I could crimp cat5e cables almost blindfolded! I do wonder if using the B system would make for a physically looser "sorting order" of the wires. I'll give it a go as soon as the crimping tool is delivered, maybe that's why it's considered better! Thanks again, and great channel. Subbed here and followed you around social media - seems like we share several points of views!

[@Chewbazza]

Wired up both ends but when testing the led in the 6th position doesn't light up. Does this mean the solid green wire (the wire that is occupying the 6th position) is faulty/broken?

[@Chewbazza]

Great vids by the way 😁

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Thanks! Yeah that will mean there's a break somewhere in the connection. Depending on how fancy your tester is, it might tell you which end (or at least help you figure out which end) so you know which one to snip off and redo. If you're using a tester like the one in the video, try swapping the sender/receiver ends round. IIRC, if it lights up on the sender end but not the receiver end it's likely that the fault is on the receiver end - hope that helps!

[@Chewbazza]

@@SwitchedOnNetwork had plenty to spare so cut them both, bought some passthrough clips for good measure and all is good now. There'll be no stopping me now!!! Thanks

[@StrangeComments]

i'm having an issue where I recently replaced a cat5e with a cat6 that goes from my verizon modem outside my house to my router inside my house. I crimped the cat6 myself by my router is reporting a 100mbps full duplex signal instead of 1000mbps which is what I expected. The wire is kinda already installed and pinned against the wall. What should I do? Where should I start?

[@ellenorbjornsdottir1166]

Start by using the cable tester. It's possible some lights won't light up. Fast Ethernet (0.1Gbit) can run on just two twisted pairs, so that's why it's still syncing at all, if indeed something has come undone. You may need to reterminate, and pinning against the wall may not be so good. Pass-through RJ45 plugs are much simpler to get right.

[@chesshooligan1282]

Shouldn't any wiring order work as long as both ends follow that same order?

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

No, because the twists and which pairs are twisted together are important. Different pairs handle different things and in different direction for two way communication and error handling etc. Twisting pairs together prevents electromagnetic interference and allows cancellation of unwanted RF etc

[@chesshooligan1282]

@@SwitchedOnNetwork Good to know. Thank you.

[@douglashero3261]

I am trying to learn from this tutorial and I think there is something he didn't tell us, and that is that you have to put the snap away from you on one end but the facing on the other end -- so the wires colors are mirrored.

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

If you do that you'll have a crossover cable - which is fine if that's what you're intending to make, but certainly NOT fine if that's not what you want. If it's a long patch lead you need to make (eg. for connecting a device to a router/switch) then you need the clip facing away from you on both ends, so both ends are identical.

[@ellesvlog8112]

Did you use 8B in both ends of ur wire?

[@ellesvlog8112]

Or the other ends of ur wire is 8A?

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Yes. You must use the same standard at each end (A and A or B and B) unless you want to make a crossover cable, which would have A at one end and B at the other (rarely used these days).

[@StrangeComments]

@@SwitchedOnNetwork where would this type of cable be implemented?

[@ellenorbjornsdottir1166]

@@StrangeComments Older computers may not have MDI-X. If you need to get a DOS computer online and the ethernet driver is loaded and working, but it only works if you connect to a switch, rather than to another computer, and you want to connect it directly to another computer, you may need a crossover cable. Most newer ethernet cards are capable of automatically faking crossover mode. In the last few weeks when I have been using ethernet cables to connect my computers, I have only used patch (A to A, or B to B).

[@richsilvasatx]

Confused, you mention using one A instead of B. I assume if you are running a cable from your modem to a tv there is no choice but to use what is already set up. ?.

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

The important thing is to use the same wiring standard at each end of a cable, A or B. It doesn't really matter what the rest of the network uses as long as each end of the cable is the same, but for the sake of neatness and consistency I'd use the same as elsewhere if you can.

[@user-lg1bh4ee6q]

Sir wala nata utro na vendo set up ?? Pwd ra ana direcho

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Paumanhin, hindi ko maintindihan ang iyong tanong. Maaari mo bang i-rephrase ito?

[@MasoodJamal]

What does crossover mean ?

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

It's for connecting two devices directly together (ie. not via a switch or router), so the "send" on one end will be considered "receive" at the other end, and vice-versa. Wikipedia will give you more info if you want to read up: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet_crossover_cable

[@jeremygoode7048]

Couldn't figure it out, sorry. The wires in the Ethernet cable wouldn't straighten out in the direction I need them to.

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Try using the side of a screwdriver to run along them and straighten them out. With practice it'll work 👍

[@explod329]

HAHAHA, Look at the jacket at 4:05 and then at 4:15. At 4:05 the jacket was no where near inside the connector enough but magically at 4:15 its a inch longer.

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

It's called editing 😘

[@armanul_10]

🇧🇩🇧🇩🇧🇩🖤

[@user-cv5vn7wu6o]

UNSAON MANIIIIIII

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Huh?

[@grzegorzg447]

I can't remember the colors 😭

[@bloodthyrsty]

I wanna say best tutorial and dumb proof, but somehow my new cable is not recognized at all :D

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Ooops! Did you test it with a tester?

[@bloodthyrsty]

@@SwitchedOnNetwork Nope, i didnt push brown one all the way in, i realized that after i tryed to pull it out, bcs i though i can do same step all over again, but then i realized it cannot be replaced one you press crimpers. :) Well, bought a new 5 connectros and was able to make it on first try, but yea, weekend on WiFi with laaags :( :D

[@DeadeyeDamari]

Practise makes perfect... you crimp enough cables you will eventually hit almost 100% connectivity without even using a tester..... not that you shouldn't a tester... but confidence is a powerful thing. :P

[@dinoccio]

Tribute act from Detroit...lost.me who is it?..white Stripes?

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

You got it 😀

[@pauliepellegrini]

Btw if you wish to lose the will to live then do this for a living

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

haha, every now and again is manageable but no more than that 😂

[@tonyrd43]

Why did you upload this video when you have the video of the "Pass Through" method which is a millions times easier?

[@SwitchedOnNetwork]

Because passthrough plugs aren't the only type and some people prefer this type.

[@cliveleonard2473]

I bought the only plugs available on the day I needed them: non-passthrough. I appreciated this video.