Frequent Visitor
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14 Messages
MoCa Help request
Hi. Hoping to get help with setting up MoCA.
I have an Xfinity XB8 Gateway and a Gigabyte plan. It is on the second floor. I get very good coverage throughout the house, even in the basement two floors below. Comcast wired the house when we moved in 30 years ago for televisions. We have since redone the basement and I really don't know where coaxial splitters are behind walls.
I have a coaxial outlet not in use in the basement next to a Mac mini which I use primarily as a media server. Although it's working fine and I get download speeds about 400 Mbps on it wirelessly, I was looking in to MoCa. I read a bit beforehand and didn't think it would work for me because of all the warnings I read about having the appropriate splitters, etc. I was curious to try and picked up an inexpensive MoCa box, plugged it into the coax outlet and then connected the Mac mini to it via ethernet cable. I was amazed that I even had an internet connection, let alone speeds over 900 Mbps.
My question is about security and whether I am really going to interfere with neighbors' signal. My immediate neighbors use fiberoptic. I have read warnings to use a PoE filter. Since I don't have access to the splitters, I don't know where to put it. I live in a very residential neighborhood of single family homes and am wondering if my home network is at a real risk.
Thanks very much for any guidance.
XfinityWilliam
Official Employee
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1.1K Messages
11 days ago
Hello @wac1. These are all great question! MoCa will not interfere with your neighbors, because our modems and likely your modem, has a built in MoCa that essentially confines your connection to your home. Also, we usually install a POE filter outside of your home, to prevent signals from leaking into other customers homes.
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EG
Expert
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109.2K Messages
11 days ago
You really should use a PoE filter to prevent any potential security issues ! That said, it needs to be put at the point of entry where the coax line from the pole and the coax line going into the very first splitter meet. This is called the demarcation point. If you reside in a single family home, there is typically a double female grounding block with a grounding wire connected to it. It is typically mounted on the outside of the house where the electric meter is. The filter should be placed on the side of that grounding block that goes out to the street (either a phone/electric pole or a surface mounted pedestal.
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XfinityAmandaB
Official Employee
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2K Messages
10 days ago
@wac1, like @EG, mentioned a POE filter would be installed at the house box where the cable line touches the home, usually near the power box for grounding purposes. We would not document if one is installed in a location, so I would check out the gray lock box on your home. As for setting one up, if you do not have one. Since you are setting up a home network, you can reach out to a low voltage electrician, our team would only install one if you are already having issues with a MoCA network we set up.
[edited: grammar]
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EG
Expert
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109.2K Messages
10 days ago
@wac1
Here's a pic of a grounding block;
It may be right on the outside wall or may be inside a gray colored box if there is one. The filter has both a female and a male side. On the side of the coax line that goes to the pole, unscrew that coax cable connector and insert the male side of the filter into that female end of the grounding block. Then you screw that disconnected male end of the coax line connector into the female side of the MoCA filter.
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EG
Expert
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109.2K Messages
10 days ago
YW and good luck !
PS: You also have the option of using a combo grounding block with a built-in MoCA filter. You can tell the difference by its longer length: Link here
Feel free to post back if you have more questions.
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