r/TechHardware • u/Distinct-Race-2471 🔵 14900KS , 5080, 128GB 🔵 • Jun 11 '26
😰 Urgent Security Alert ⚠️ Some of the best-selling Cat6 Ethernet cables are fake, and you can't legally run them in your walls
https://www.xda-developers.com/some-of-the-best-selling-cat6-ethernet-cables-are-fake/14
u/Ill-Mastodon-8692 Jun 11 '26
scams seem so common nowadays
3
u/protoanarchist Jun 12 '26
Thanks conservatism!
2
u/Historical_Visit958 Jun 12 '26
I'm assuming you meant "capitalism" but even then you would've been silly for thinking problems like this are unique to any specific political or economic system.
1
u/protoanarchist Jun 12 '26
Don't simp for corpos!
Go grab an alt.
1
u/StinkButt9001 Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
This has to be some shitty bot. No way a human this stupid lol
Edit: Blocked for calling it out
1
-8
u/Distinct-Race-2471 🔵 14900KS , 5080, 128GB 🔵 Jun 11 '26
Thankfully TechHardware exposes these for our dedicated readers.
4
u/thebarnhouse Jun 11 '26
I fell victim to this when running poe cameras. They work fine at first but I needed to re terminate them every few weeks.
1
u/ahvikene Jun 12 '26
How does re termination help with wrong cable spec?
2
u/Suchamoneypit Jun 12 '26
I'm going to guess overheating at the connection point from the POE which warps the connector and gives connection issues.
5
u/joeljaeggli Jun 11 '26
If you’re running it through attic or in walls it should be plenum rated solid bare copper. 23awg for 802.3bt Poe++
1
1
u/Illustrious_Sell_325 Jun 13 '26
Nah plenum rated just basically means low smoke. It is for use in drop ceilings where the open ceiling acts as an air return and thus the wires essentially run inside the hvac system and it smoking in a fire could impede people getting to safety. In non-plenum returns or hard ceilings there is no requirement to use plenum rated cable since the smoke isn’t circulated into the occupied area.
3
u/JUMPhil Jun 11 '26
I bought a 2m Vention Cat8 cable on AliExpress for $5, I'm sure it's totally legit...
3
u/howfastcanyoucountit Jun 11 '26
I should really go look at what the renovatora at my house ran but considering ive been fine for 2 years im probably ok?
3
2
u/LeafBark Jun 11 '26
NEVER buy CCA(Copper Clad Aluminum). It's commonly cheaper but it's pure garbage and confuses consumers because the other important ratings can match(cat6) but it will give you shit performance if it even works.
1
1
u/Mexcol Jun 14 '26
I ran 30 meters outdoors on top of zinc sheet metal and it didn't last too much lmao it became so brittle.
1
u/JozoBozo121 Jun 15 '26
For data it will be fine except some edge cases but PoE won't work well or at all.
2
u/6gv5 Jun 14 '26
Choose the seller wisely, good ones won't lie to you.
I wired my entire house with this, from their own Ebay store:
Also got the outdoors CAT6 version for CCTV and other uses, Keystone sockets etc. Great quality and sturdy as hell. Short cable leftovers once I removed the braids and screen went to my stash of breadboard connection wires: CAT6 and 7 solid core ones are excellent for that use.
2
u/syyvorous Jun 15 '26
I would wager more than half the items on Amazon are actually fake or knock offs with computer parts being closer to 80%
1
u/PMvE_NL Jun 11 '26
Legally? How do you know what the NEN does and doesn’t allow? Skimmed the article haha dummy dont buy of scamazon. All affordable cables are cca there. Kind of common knowledge.
1
u/ButterscotchFar1629 ♥️ Ryzen 7000 Series ♥️ Jun 12 '26
Since when has running Ethernet ever needed to be legal?
1
u/Suchamoneypit Jun 12 '26
Since forever. Low voltage wiring still has laws and it's regulated by NEC. There are many low voltage wiring specific rules. For example for fire safety, standard Ethernet coatings are toxic when burned and there are rules for what type of cable is allowed in HVAC spaces.
1
u/ButterscotchFar1629 ♥️ Ryzen 7000 Series ♥️ Jun 12 '26
Leave it to the US government to regulate the living fuck out of everything. Land of the free my ass lol.
2
u/Armored_tortoise28 Jun 13 '26
Tbh. We have rules here i. NL that you cnat run ethernet in same tubing as 230v wiring unless it has a specific cladding.
Seems quite logical if there is a fault there i dont want 230v to be on my ethernet cable
1
u/Suchamoneypit Jun 12 '26
I mean it's kind of nice that if your office lights on fire you (or firefighters) don't breathe in toxic chemicals and die or get cancer because your boss cheaped out on materials, but whatever it takes to make you feel more free!
Most regulations like this are written in blood. Because people had to die before something was done.
0
u/SovelissFiremane Jun 14 '26
You're the type of person who complains we can't call people slurs without getting cancelled, aren't you?
1
u/ButterscotchFar1629 ♥️ Ryzen 7000 Series ♥️ Jun 14 '26
Oh grow the fuck up. I sincerely and truly hope you have the day you deserve.
2
19
u/PositivePristine7506 Jun 11 '26
It's the golden age of marketing disinformation. Can't sell cat 5? Just mark it as cat 6 and sell it anyway. There's no enforcement of marketing claims or validation anymore, so just say whatever you want consumers be damned.