7250 Starter Kit

Some background. My house is prewired with coaxial. The coaxial comes from the outside and into my house. When I was using Optimum the setup was simple. Optimum just connects the cable from the pole to my existing cable outside my home and the signal is brought inside to my house on the 1st floor. There, I plug in my cable modem and my router (Netgear Orbi RBK53S and later an Orbi RBK753S). My setup was perfect. The Orbi has a "good" status for the backhaul and all my devices had as advertised WIFI speeds and solid connections. So why do I need this MoCA adapter? Optimum did not want to keep me as a customer, so I switched over to Verizon FiOS, who offered me more for less $. I already had FiOS before, and the ONT was in my walk-in. When I had FiOS years ago, they were still using coaxial so the same setup applied as with Optimum. The installer just had to install the ONT and then connect the coaxial from the ONT to my outside coaxial cable and the rest would be in my house (quantum gateway/router). Flash forward to present time, to my surprise, the installer told me that over 100MBPS, it is no longer coaxial, and they have to run things through ethernet. I don't have prewired ethernet, and I don't want him to redo the ONT install in my house and run wiring all over. So I told the guy to keep everything the way it was, I'll move the Orbi downstairs since its a mesh router and it should be fine. But it was not. The Orbi positioning was out of whack now. Sometimes a satellite would go out of sync, and another would just show poor. Most of my devices were showing poor performance overall. Before you ask did this guy try resetting the setup for the Orbi. Yes, I initially plugged and played, however I ended up doing a full factory reset setup on the Orbi. So with my frustration, I looked for ways to potentially convert coaxial to ethernet so that I can reuse my pre-existing coaxial setup and position the Orbi router/satellites back to where they were. Which brings us to this Actiontec MoCA adapter. Prior to my recent Verizon install, I had purchased a G1100 router refurbed for less than $40 as I did not know VZ had gone to the ethernet route and I can use any router; not just their routers. Anyways, this purchase turned out to be vital to my setup. My current setup is this and it works perfect for me: Pre-existing ONT in the walk-in. G1100 connected to the ONT next to each other via ethernet WAN. A coaxial cable is plugged into the G1100 router (which switches the coaxial to LAN). This coaxial cable from the G1100 is then connected to my pre-existing coaxial cable that was outside and then brought the signals into my house. From there, I plugged in this Actiontec MoCA adapter via coaxial. The ethernet from the MoCA adapter is then plugged into my Orbi router. I rearranged my Orbi router/satellites back to how they were originally. I switched the Orbi to AP mode as my Qnap NAS had trouble recognizing the dual router setup when I had the Orbi set as router mode with the G1100. Now my network is back to peak performance. Advertised speeds, and stable internet. I'm glad I found this adapter as if this did not work, I would have had to drill a hole through the floor and run ethernet to where I keep all the networking equipment. This adapter saved me from all that hassle.

This was easy to set up and took me only a few minutes. For my setup, I connected one of the devices to my main router, then to a coax cable running to my office. In my office, I connected the other device to the coax cable, then to an ethernet cable, then to an ethernet-to-USB adapter, then to my computer (my computer has only USB connect, so there's no direct ethernet connection available). The speeds I'm seeing are as promised. I was able to measure 2.5Gbit download and 2Gbit upload. Given that my internet service is rated at 2Gbit symmetrical, those measurements as good as I could hope for. These devices are a great addition to my network. I've only been using them for a day, so I'll have to see how the equipment holds up over time. They feel like high quality.

As all IT pros know the best way to extend WIFI is to have your house wired with ethernet cables, but how many people have that? Answer: not many. However, almost everyone has coax running in their house for cable TV and that is where MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) comes in. A MoCA adapter allows additional routers to receive an internet signal directly from your modem through the existing coax cable in your walls. You just plug the coax from your wall into an adapter and then plug the included ethernet cord from the adapter to an additional router, and now you have a super-strong WIFI signal as if the main router and additional router were connected by an ethernet cable. This is amazing for home network, easy to install and it works flawlessly I live in a condo with no way to run ethernet cable to the living room so this is great solution to this problem I went from 55mbps on my pc to 914mbps with this, I never could get any better speed than that due to there being a thick wall and furniture between our X1 Modem and my PC but because of these MoCA adapters I now have found my solution. It also has helped improve the download speeds on my Xbox as well I went from having 60.55 mbps to having 865mbps download speeds. This is the setup that I am using I connected the Moca adapter to my Router using Cat5e, then connected Coax to the other end of the MoCA adapter that leads from the coax coming from the wall. For the 2nd MoCA adapter I connected the Coax from the wall to one end of the splitter, and another Coax cable to my cable box and another to the MoCA adapter that connected to my Xbox Series X. Everything worked great, now I can get high speeds in a room that didn't have a ethernet lan cable. Getting speeds of 1G and fast downloads of 900Mbps on the xbox! Ok, now for the Pro-Life Tips. 1. THIS WILL NOT WORK FOR SATELLITE TV! CABLE ONLY! Sorry, but you're SOL w/ DirecTV and Dish 2. You do not need a MoCA adapter at your modem if your modem is already MoCA enabled. You will need to hook up one of the adapters to the modem if it is not MoCA enabled. A lot of people rent a combination modem/router from their cable provider. The newer ones are already MoCA enabled and if it's not, your cable provider will trade your old modem/router for an updated one for free. 3. Speaking of renting a modem/router combo...don't. Buy a separate ARRIS SURFboard Modem and whatever router you want and it will pay for itself in about a year. Don't give your hard-earned shekels to the corp bastards. 4. You need a MoCA 2 way splitter if you're running your additional router off a coax that is also providing a cable signal to a TV. The instructions and diagram that come with the adapters aren't clear about this. The adapter set comes with one 2 way splitter, but you will need a 2nd one if you're going to set up two adapters and two additional routers. You can buy a 2-way splitter at Lowe's or Home Depot for $6. Just make sure it is MoCA compliable. Also, the box comes with two short coax cables, but you will need two more if you're connecting them with two TVs. You can buy 3 ft. coax for cheap if you don't have extras laying around. 5. The MoCA adapter does not send out a WIFI signal by itself! You must use an additional router for each adapter. Any old router will do, so you don't need to blow your brains out on the latest and the greatest. However, you still need your original "Home Base" router that you have already been using. 6. Instructions. How to set up in a room where you already have a TV and your modem is MoCA enabled: Unscrew the coax from the cable box and screw it into the "cable in" port on the splitter. Now screw in another coax to the "cable out" port of the splitter and run it back into the cable box. Cable TV is now all set. Screw another coax to the other "cable out" port of the splitter and screw the other end into the "cable in" port on the adapter. Then plug the provided ethernet cable into the adapter and plug the other end into the WAN port of your router. Plug adapter and router into the wall or outlet strip and enjoy that sweet, sweet rock hard WIFI signal. 7. Please know the difference between "your" and "you're". Your is possessive, ie: your new MoCA adapter. You're is a contraction of you are, ie: you're going to love your new MoCA adapter. (See what I did there?) 8. Enjoy your strong WIFI signal and please be safe and please be nice to each other. We're all in this trying time together and a little kindness goes a long way. Cheers.

These devices have issues when using with a DocSis 3.1 router. Also be warned that their India based technical support is horrendous. That said, here are the steps their tech support didn't know and how I got the adapters working with a DocSis 3.1 router. I first installed a Point of Entry (POE) filter (not included) where the service connection enters my home, and their included 2-way splitter at my cable router. The adapters will work fine without a POE filter, but you risk sharing your internet with a nearby neighbor if they also use MoCA. The ECB7250-K02 adapters worked great out of the box yielding nearly identical 1 Gbps router speeds, but by default did not have the MPS security enabled and had a default password. The combo box included two 2.5 GB adapters, two splitters, two power supplies, two short coax cables, and two Cat 5e Ethernet cables which was annoying since Cat 5e only provides 1 Gbps and the devices stream 2.5 Gbps. I tossed their substandard cables and got Cat 6 cables which flow 10 Gbps. There was also no manual explaining how to access the adapter and setup MPS security. To access the device, go to the Windows Control Panel – Network and Internet – Network and Sharing Center – Change Adapter Settings. Select the Ethernet connection, right click on it to select Properties, and select Internet Protocol Version 4 and Properties. The Obtain an IP address automatically should already be checked, but needs to be changed to “Use the following IP address.” with these settings: IP address: 192.168.144.1 Subnet mask should auto populate (if not just click on it) Default gateway: 192.168.144.5 Save, close the properties box, and go to a web browser and type 192.168.144.200 to access the adapter’s MoCA Setup using ID: admin, Password: screenbeam Reset the admin password in the Security settings tab, and to enable encrypted MPS security, check the D-Ext box. The tech support guy incorrectly said to disconnect the coax cable (unnecessary), unplug the adapter for 15 seconds (unnecessary/MoCA Setup has a reboot option), and to restart my PC (also unnecessary). After doing these and reconnecting everything, the devices no longer worked and had no internet connection. When I called back, I was told to reset both adapters which did not work, then my POE and external cable provider filters were bad, and after I replaced them, they then said the MoCA adapters were damaged by using DocSis 3.1. Again, this tech support team is clueless. The adapters work great without MPS enabled, but once you turn it on and manually set a static IP address (to access the device), you lose internet. To get them working, with a DocSis 3.1 router while using MPS encryption, you will need to uncheck the Data External (D-Ext) and Data Low (D-Low), and change the LOF: from 1150 to 1400. Save and Reboot. Then to re-enable internet, go back to the Control Panel – Network and Internet – Network and Sharing Center – Change Adapter Settings and reset the Select the Ethernet connection’s static IP by right clicking on Properties, Select Internet Protocol Version 4 and Properties, and select the Obtain an IP address automatically. Now my MoCA network is encrypted, and operates near 1 Gbps speeds. The major issue is you will need to set and reset the adapter’s static IP every time you want to access the device settings such as updating firmware, etc. - and their tech support team can't help you. All this aside, these adapters are working great so far. I just hope I never need to call them again. UPDATE: I installed an Amphenol 9-port Inifity Premise MoCA Unity Cable TV Amplifier, part # IPA2008DSL2-RSVFA which works great with Xfinity Comcast. This provides lossless signals to every room and because the amp is MoCA compliant, I was able to reconfigure my MoCA Adapter settings to back to the original checked Data External (D-Ext) and Data Low (D-Low), and LOF: 1150. The addition of the amp and these settings boosted my speeds an additional 100 Mbps.

The 4-star rating is due to terrible documentation of the setup screens in the adapters. ScreenBeam doesn't seem to document the main MoCa settings screen *at all*. I had to go internet spelunking just to find the default username/password, since the one listed in the included printed documentation was wrong. (It's admin/screenbeam, at 192.168.144.200) Despite that, I'm extremely pleased with the adapters themselves, even though... It took me THREE TRIES to get the item as described. First delivery was a (used) single adapter, not a dual kit. Second delivery was the correct item, but was also used with multiple missing items. I even tried ordering from another vendor and had the same problem: used adapters and missing items. See Jason Nguyen's review for pictures of what you should receive versus a used unit. If your unit doesn't have all the internal packaging plus 2 splitters, coax, and Ethernet cables, I urge you to send it back. Used and open-box items should be sold (and priced) as such. You get what you tolerate. I'm certain that I received so many used items because the return rate for these adapters is so high. And the return rate is high because... Setting these up may be very complicated if your install has less than ideal conditions. I was able to get mine working perfectly, but not without crawling under the house to trace cable routing and remove old splitters, plus some trial and error with new splitters and filters. The good news: once everything is set up and running, the performance is excellent and the connection is rock solid. I am running both my MoCa 2.5 connection and DOCSIS from my ISP over the same cable, with no problems. I put MoCa POE low-pass filters (product code B00KO5KHSQ) on both the cable modem and the point-of-entry into the house. I also raised the LOF setting in the MoCa setup screen from 1150 to 1500, to push the channels in use as far as possible above the DOCSIS channels. I used the included splitters and they work just fine. And speaking of which: these adapters achieve 2.5 Gbps by bonding multiple channels across 1100-1675 MHz (look up the "Shannon–Hartley theorem"). Contrary to what another reviewer said, you do not need 2500 MHz splitters to achieve the full data rate.

This worked great for me. It feels like a high-quality adapter, and I would highly recommend it if you need one. It’s very simple to set up once you figure out where your coax splitter is. It genuinely improved our home setup—I was sick of Roku buffering in the basement due to a Wi-Fi dead spot, and now everything runs at maximum speed. One note for FiOS users: if you’re using the FiOS G3100 router, remember that it has a built-in MoCA adapter. You’ll only need this adapter if you want to bring an Ethernet signal to another room. And if you want Ethernet in multiple rooms, you’ll need one adapter per room. Also, if you're planning to put a wireless access point in another room, keep in mind that the FiOS E3200 extender already has its own built-in MoCA adapter. In my case, I specifically needed Ethernet in additional rooms, which is why this adapter was essential.

Basic back ground. I am an IT professional, 24 years. The installation and configuration on a technical scale is childs play for me. I purchased 8 of these devices from November 2002 - April 2023 to install in my home network, despite having a robust WiFi mesh delivering 800+ link speeds to Ax devices. There are cases however, where I need to have physical connectivity since the 50+ endpoints in my network are not all Ax rated and the airspace is crowded. All Screenbeam MOCA devices initially worked as expected. As of June 2023, 5 of the devices now have defective Ethernet ports. Ethernet ports are a common failure point on routers, switches, and media conversion devices (like these). Bonding occurs as expected; however, Ethernet link activity and addressable network is non existent. That’s 5 failed devices out of 8. I requested an RMA under warranty through customer service. The response has been slow, but worse, the company customer service rep (unknowledgeable about IT networking 101) has asked for troubleshooting steps that are inconsistent with the issue. Also, have been instructed to perform time consuming phone calls with no clear understanding of the purpose other than to extend the support case. While understanding that I am allowing the company to proceed through their case management process to get an RMA (I get it, process), I performed the basic troubleshooting steps requested. Supplying results, I was told the devices were working as expected and asked to call customer service. This is a deliberate attempt to prevent or slow replacement - I know because I ran a consumer electronics call center long ago in my career (also the reason I left that job 15 years ago). This is ridiculous and a continued attempt not to issue the RMA and replace the devices under warranty. You can simple swap in a defective device to the topology, bonding occurs, and network traffic is non existent - no link activity on the port, no addressable network layer. Swap again with a good device and no issues. These devices have a 1 yr warranty. I share this experience so you can make your own judgements, but I cannot recommend these devices with high failure rates and when the company does not honor the warranty/RMA process. This is contractual. While most buyers/reviewers may purchase and never have an issue - providing 5 star reviews about the excitement that these devices “magically work”, I say proceed at your own risk. If these devices were $20-30 like a common desktop network switch, or 1-2 failed devices, I would just eat it and move on. But they are not. At $70 a pop, 5/8 device failures, we are venturing into material expense for a majority of people. I fundamentally do not accept this performance. I am moving on to competitor devices. Buyers be warned. Lastly - if Screenbeam customer service responds to this comment that they would like to “help me” - by directing me to call customer service, I say no thanks. Spare us the perception that your company is trying to resolve the issue when I already gave you that opportunity. Save me the intellectual dishonesty. The resolution is RMA. Period. The resolution is not to stay on the phone wasting my time teaching your low level techs basic networking and your continued assertion that the devices are working and the issue is my “other equipment”, WAN provider, or a coax splitter that isn’t present in the network topology. Comical.

This MoCA 2.5 system is the bomb! My job is remote, and I work for a company in Massachusetts while living in Arizona. I work with CAD modeling software and the models get pretty big with 1000's of parts. Previously, I was using WiFi which was provided by COX and their modem with panoramic WiFi didn't cut it, download speeds were horrible. If I was near the router I would get 325-330 Mbps. In the room where my computer system is which is a straight run down a hallway, I was getting 10-20 Mbps. I installed a net extender and the best I could get with it was about 30-40 Mbps. It would take 30 minutes to upload the model I was working on and that would sometimes result in a communication error. After installing a ScreenBeam MoCA 2.5 which was so easy to install, I was downloading at 324.7 and that was through a secure VPN tunnel! Model open time was 33 seconds! These devices are amazing and will be saving me from lots of frustration and lost time! I will probably buy 2 more of these extenders for 2 more rooms. The only drawback I will say is the installation took 3 coax cables at the router and 1 in the room where it was going. The system I purchased only came with 2. Normally it wouldn't have been a big deal because over the years, I accumulated dozens of coax BUT, we moved in to our AZ home back in March and I threw out all the junk I didn't want to carry across the country and the coax cables were part of the cleanup. I got these the evening before Thanksgiving and I was fortunate enough to have my cousin stop by and bring me a coax cable and stay for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a 10 minute install and it works flawlessly! So make sure you have a spare coax cable or 2 hanging around. The image below is a picture of my laptop computer on the left and my desktop computer on the right. The left is running the MoCA 2.5 system and the right is using Cox WiFi at 2.5 GHZ with a net extender halfway between the modem and my desktop. Total length between modem and computer room is about 55-60 feet.