It's already 2026—do you still need full-house network cables for renovation? After renovating two apartments, I realized that these five wiring spots are indispensable

Last year,

helped my cousin oversee renovations. On the day of the electrical and plumbing disclosure, the foreman asked: Should the network cables run throughout the house or just the TV wall? Whole house expenses add 2,100. My cousin turned to look at me, meaning that in this line of work, you have the final say. My first home was renovated in 2021. At that time, I impulsively installed over five types of furniture throughout the house, with a processing fee of 1,600 yuan; In these four years, those two mouths in the study had saved me twice in a big way, so this time I didn't hesitate: I went through the whole house, and followed my list. This article laid out the list clearly—now that all wireless cables are WiFi 7, why do I still say you can't save on a single wired cable, and where exactly and where you can save money?

to put the conclusion here: wireless is convenient, wired is the foundation

router promotional pages are really intimidating. WiFi 7 paired with MLO dual-band aggregation can negotiate speeds of up to 3570Mbps, which sounds like a cable can retire. I tested this feature (whether to enable the WiFi7 MLO ), and it doesn't help at all in external network scenarios—the bottleneck lies in broadband and optical modem, not wireless. The real benefits are from internal network file transfers, but even within the internal network, these numbers are measured "phone next to router"—every single load-bearing wall drops by half, and two times is worse than a five-yuan cable.

more practical account is stability. Wireless is not afraid of microwaves, channel congestion, or rebar inside walls; wired cables are all fearless. I counted all the devices at home: TV, box, desktop, NAS, two monitoring heads—six devices that are always wired, and WiFi only serves phones and tablets. In other words, wireless is responsible for 'convenience,' wired for 'top usage,' and each layer operates independently. Renovation is about laying the foundation you can't regret in one go. It's fine to replace wireless equipment every year, but if the cables in the wall are installed incorrectly, the cost of fixing them is ten times the original cost.

four types of wireless cables can't replace them, each one needs a cable

The first is the Mesh backhaul. When two routers are networked, the path between the sub-router and the main router is called the backhaul. The wireless backhaul eats up half the bandwidth, and after two walls, it's even worse. Wired backhaul uses network cables to pull sub-routers back to the main router, with a steady speed of around 930 Mbps. I tested it in the article where I wrote about sub-routing placement (Mesh which room signal is best for ), and for the same supplementary bedroom signal, the wired backhaul nodes can run full, while the wireless backhaul is directly halved and discounted. Whether your bedroom has a network port will determine whether you will "plug it in and go full speed" or "just okay enough to use."

the second is IPTV. Carriers' TV boxes use the multicast channel, which only recognizes network cables. When WiFi multicast is transmitted via multicast and packets are lost, the screen becomes distorted and laggy. The first thing the technician says when they come is always "Is the box plugged into the network cable?" The third is surveillance. For POE-enabled cameras, one network cable supplies power and data simultaneously, so there's no need to connect a separate power supply. This is the most important experience I've learned after installing six connectors. I wrote about the full process at the time ( how to plan a surveillance camera network at home). The fourth is NAS intranet transfer, where two devices copy original files to each other, gigabit ports capped at 110MB/s. If you want to get 2.5G or even 10Gbps, you still rely on cables—Category 6 cables can run 10Gbps within 55 meters under standard, and Category 5A short-distance tests also have a chance to reach it. But all of this depends on "having a qualified cable in the wall." I calculated this in my 10Gbps article (NAS Should I go to a 10Gbps intranet ).

five must-leave openings and copy them out according to the chart

Don't overthink

point planning. Just remember this: leave open spaces where people are present; leave double openings in TV and study rooms. Unfolded to see the table below, I took a photo of it directly for the plumber and electrician during renovation:

especially mentioned the mouth at the top of the passage. Ceiling APs are installed on the ceiling in the middle of the room, with signals spreading from top to bottom, covering much more evenly than routers tucked into corners—this is standard practice in hotels and offices. I compared panel AP and Mesh solutions (AC+AP and Mesh networking, which to choose). Panel APs can run 930MB over wired backhaul, while Mesh wireless backhaul is only about 30-40% of that. If you don't leave this opening during renovation, in the future, if you want to install AP, you'll only have exposed wiring and suspended ceilings. All wires should be arranged in a star pattern, radiating out one by one from the weak current box. Network cables cannot be connected in series like wires; they cannot be connected in series. If workers say, "Save some wires and connect them in series," they will be stopped on the spot.

cable has three tiers: Category 5 is sufficient, Category 6 is mainstream, Category 7 is

Choosing

cables is the easiest to get scammed about, because the foreman's words about 'good wire' guarantee nothing. To be clear by file: Category 5 super can run 100 Mbps steadily over 100 Mbps, and in short-distance tests, it can even reach 10 Mbps. If you already have a Category 5 super car at home, don't worry—it's enough. Category 6 is the mainstream now: gigabit 100 meters, 10 Mbps 55 meters, a 305 meter box costs 180 or 90 yuan, which is dozens more expensive than Category 5. I chose this for my cousin. 2.5G ports are now standard for routers and NAS, and Category 6 leaves plenty of ceiling opening; Category 6 100 Mbps is over 100 meters, so if your budget allows, going straight for it isn't a loss. Category 7 shielded cables should be avoided for home use—the shielding layer must be grounded. If you don't have equipotential grounding conditions at home, the shielding layer will actually become an antenna to absorb interference, making wiring modules difficult to install, and you end up spending more money to suffer.

copper core is more important than category. Fake wires are rampant on the market; copper-clad aluminum wires have high resistance and are prone to breakage, making gigabit wires unstable. Two simple methods: check the cable body for the code; genuine cables print CAT 6 and 23AWG every half meter, and if they fall off with a single wipe, it's fake; Strip a small section and burn it; after burning oxygen-free copper, it's still a whole wire, while the aluminum part breaks into slag. For my first home, I picked the wires according to these two lines. Four years later, I opened a panel to check, and the copper core was still shiny. Oh right, the panel and module are wire-based for workers, with both ends marked according to the B standard. After tapping, use a wire tester to inspect each wire, and only count when all eight lights turn on in order—I've written a separate article on panel wiring details ( how to wire network cables, sockets, and panels). On the day of inspection, I followed the instructions.

Three things to do

a weak current box: replace the large one, keep the current on the battery, and don't overfill it

developers leave low-voltage boxes in small plastic boxes, and just stuffing in a light modem is the top tier. But to actually live in, the box should at least put an optical modem, router or switch, fiber optic fusion splice pad, and even a power strip. Let's talk about three things separately: First, replace the big box after smashing it, starting at 40cm by 30cm, domestic brands for 80 or 90 yuan; Second, leave a dedicated five-hole socket next to the cabinet to supply power to the device, so it should not be connected to high-power appliances; Third, the modem really does get hot and can disconnect. Don't fill the box too full—leave enough space for cooling. I've written about the details of organizing weak current boxes separately ( how to organize if the box is too messy). The placement and wiring rules inside can be done correctly during renovation. If network ports run out in the future, don't worry—a single 8-port gigabit switch costs 50 yuan and you can just hang it in a box ( how to connect a home switch, but the premise is that there's space in the box.

three remedial roads without wiring and an acceptance reminder

those who have already renovated, don't panic—there are three options based on expenses, from smallest to largest. The first is exposed wiring, PVC wiring troughs painted in the same color as the wall and running along the corners. From the living room to the study, it costs several dozen yuan. It's not aesthetically pleasing but makes an immediate impact. The second method is to move equipment. Most houses have a wired circuit from the weak current box to the TV wall. Move the main circuit from the weak current box to the TV cabinet, leaving only the optical modem in the box, and the living room signal will immediately be upgraded. The third option is the wireless solution. First, hold your phone and check the signal in every room at home (WiFi how to check for signal blind spots ), confirm it's a coverage issue, and then apply Mesh. Rural self-built houses have long layouts. I've written a special article on wiring ideas ( how to plan the rural self-built housing network). The shafts and floor slabs are different from commercial housing.

a reminder for those who haven't handed over yet: there are only two methods for online acceptance: line gauges run one by one, and the eight lights turn on in sequence; Each wire is labeled at both ends clearly indicating its destination. Wrap up any excess wire ends and keep them in the weak current box so workers don't cut them off—that spare wire is the capital for all future modifications. The spare wire from my cousin's study was later used to connect to a newly added Mesh node. Finish the handle in order: star-shaped wiring throughout the house, five openings at each location, Category 6 oxygen-free copper, large weak current box with socket, all eight lights lit during inspection. Two thousand yuan sounds painful, but over a 20-30 year lifespan, it's less than 100 yuan a year, making it the most cost-effective expense in the whole family.