Short answer: you need two MoCA adapters on the same coax: one connected to the coax and to a spare LAN port on your router, the other connected to the coax and to the device or mesh unit in the far room. Every splitter between them has to be MoCA-rated, and you should add a point-of-entry filter so the MoCA signal stays inside your home and doesn’t clash with your cable internet. Then check that each adapter’s MoCA light comes on.

Before you start

  • You need coax at both ends. MoCA uses the coaxial cable already run for TV or cable internet.
  • Not with satellite TV. goCoax says MoCA and satellite TV can’t operate on the same coax, and Motorola lists DirecTV, Dish and other satellite services as incompatible with its adapters.
  • You need at least two MoCA devices, one at each end of the link. goCoax notes you can use MoCA equipment you already have, so a provider box with MoCA built in can be one of them.

If you haven’t bought adapters yet, the best MoCA adapters list explains what to look for.

What you need

  1. Two MoCA adapters.
  2. A point-of-entry (POE) filter. Hitron says this filter stops cable internet signals interfering with MoCA and keeps MoCA signals from leaking out of your home; without one, MoCA may disconnect, run slowly or fail to link at all. Some adapters include one in the box, such as Motorola’s.
  3. MoCA-rated splitters. MoCA uses frequencies from 1,125 to 1,675 MHz, and every splitter in the path has to pass them. Hitron recommends splitters rated to 1,675 or 2,300 MHz, and warns that older amplifiers and attenuators on the line block MoCA.

Step by step

1. Fit the filter

The standard placement is at the point of entry. Hitron’s instructions are to attach the filter directly to the incoming coax where it enters your home (often an outside box, a utility room, or near the modem), before it reaches any splitter. Hitron is explicit that the filter should never go on the modem’s leg of a splitter, and that only one should be installed.

If your adapter’s own instructions say otherwise, follow them for that adapter. goCoax, for example, gives different advice for one specific case with its MA2500D: when the cable modem’s frequency range reaches up to 1,218 MHz, it shows a two-way splitter feeding the adapter and the modem, with a filter just before the modem. That’s a manufacturer-specific setup for its product and that modem situation, not an alternative to choose freely.

2. Check the splitters

Find every splitter between the two coax outlets you’ll use and replace any that aren’t MoCA-rated. Hitron also suggests avoiding chains of splitters where you can, and making sure both outlets are fed from the same splitter.

3. Connect the adapter at the router

Connect the first adapter’s coax port to a coax outlet near your router, and its Ethernet port to a spare LAN port on the router.

4. Connect the adapter at the far end

In the other room, connect the second adapter to the coax outlet there and, with an Ethernet cable, to the device you want wired: a TV, a desktop, or a mesh unit for wired backhaul.

5. Check the light

Power both adapters and wait for the MoCA link light. Hitron says green or amber MoCA and Ethernet lights confirm the link; goCoax’s MA2500D has a MoCA status light and an MPS pairing button. Check your adapter’s manual for what its colours mean.

Alongside a cable modem or provider box

MoCA and cable internet share the same coax, so check two things:

  • The modem’s frequency range. goCoax advises checking your cable modem’s upper frequency, because some modems reach into MoCA’s band; that’s the specific case where its own instructions differ from the point-of-entry placement.
  • Provider equipment with MoCA built in. goCoax says many cable companies use the lower part of MoCA’s band for their own equipment, and its adapters can be set to use only the upper part to avoid it.

If the modem loses its connection after you add MoCA, check the filter first: Hitron’s guidance is that it belongs before the splitter, not between the splitter and the modem.

  • Adapter light off: check the coax connections and that both outlets are actually connected to the same splitter network.
  • Slow or dropping link: look for a splitter that isn’t MoCA-rated, an old amplifier, or a missing filter.
  • Still nothing: your coax may not reach both rooms, or one outlet may be dead. Then Ethernet, MoCA or powerline covers the alternatives.