Vent: Tried running Cat6 through a drop ceiling vs. conduit in a retail space last month

The drop ceiling was way faster but now I'm chasing a intermittent connection issue and I'm pretty sure a ceiling tile shifted and pinched the cable, has anyone else had that problem?

2 comments

2 Comments

tylerw9221d agoTop Commenter

Are you SURE it's the ceiling tile and not just a bad termination or a patch cable that's loose? I've seen a LOT of people blame the drop ceiling when they really just didn't crimp the connector right or left a service loop that got stepped on. Plus intermittent issues are almost ALWAYS a physical break or a connector that's half-crimped, not a pinch from a lightweight tile. Those tiles are basically fiberglass and cardboard, they're not gonna crush the cable unless you've got something heavy sitting right on top of it. I'd check your ends first before you start blaming the ceiling, because you could waste a whole day moving tiles around when the real problem is right where you plugged it in.

black.margaret21d ago

Ceiling tiles are lighter than people think but I've still seen them pinch cables just right when they're set back down crooked. A quick visual check on the ports is easy enough before crawling up there though. Intermittent stuff could be either, so ruling out the cheap fix first makes sense.