All of that slack with the wires so close to each other will be bad for your Ethernet. Going to need to terminate those cables again with shorter stick out.
Yes it does look like at least cat5, if they hadn’t painted it it would be easier to see.
In the building where I work they only used rj45 jacks in the wall plates. One was labeled voice, the other data. They did use cheap phone cable for the voice lines though.
Good eyes, I missed that.
You may want to get permission from your property manager before you start this project.
I probably won’t patch panel it given the limited space. I only need a few of these terminated so I was thinking I’ll get some jacks and use YouTube 
What is SMBs?
Also thanks for the tips, is there any interference issue with having “leggy” connections?
I do! Thanks though that’s good advice.
Ah yep that would be great thanks again!
@2twisty would interference be a factor in this if the connections are “leggy” as you say
It can, but as long as the twist is preserved, it should function just fine. The jacket is there to protect the wires from damage. Having them exposed where they could be flexed, bent or nicked is what you want to avoid.
Also, it looks neater, but that is purely aesthetic.
The strain relief in the connector won’t work if the outer jacket is not up in place like normal. Not the biggest issue inside a bod, but something to be aware of.
Thanks everyone, just removed one of the wall plates to get a look at how they are currently wired and this is what I see.
Should I be wiring for 568A or 568B? Is it ok to leave the wall jack as is?
@2twisty <3 Tag since you said you might be able to identify it
Those are phone Jack’s and cannot carry data. Cable is fine. You will need new Jack’s and faceplates as well…
Oh, and for the record, those are wired 568A
crap didn’t know it mattered if they were RJ45. Thanks
@2twisty, How can you see the difference between phone or data in the first image, since all 8 wires are wired in?
My electrician friend also said they look like they can carry data so I’m not sure why they wouldn’t be able to carry data…
Agreed. You may have to recrimp the ends but there’s not reason (after getting permission) that those couldn’t carry 1 Gbps data. Also make sure the 568A or B is the same at both ends.
You mean recrimp if they fail testing or something right? You don’t see something inherently wrong with how they are currently?
And yep got permission! Landlord happens to agree that ethernet would be more useful in today’s day and age anyways.
The wall outlets look fine as long as the 568a standard is followed. I’ve heard of builders pulling CAT5e and using it for phone. Definitely acceptable. Its just that when that wire is repurposed for data that the ends may need to be redone because what is in the panel where all the wiring comes together is not going to work for data. Since it’s not your place you can buy a few inexpensive keystone’s and crimp down the lines in that box to 568a standard then put an inexpensive switch in there. If you owned the place or if the owner wants to pay for parts you could go farther and properly wire up a networking patch panel. Either way just having the correct wire type in place puts you so far ahead in terms of the amount of work you now don’t have to do. Have fun!
Those MIGHT carry data. You can see that you lose a lot of twist in the wires, and I’ve never encountered a data jack that is built like that.
Additionally, since those jacks are wired 568A and they terminate in a telephone 110 block, it tells me that the system that was attached to them was a phone, not a network. Or, if it was a network, it was a 10Mbit network at the best.
Given that the cable is cat5e, that means that 10/100 was at least normal at the time that the cable was installed.
If you want to give it a go, it can’t hurt. But if you’re going to the trouble of putting jacks or a patch panel on the other end, you might as well spend the extra $3 per port and get new jacks and faceplates.
