AMPCOM STP CAT8 RJ45 Connector Zinc-Alloy Tool-Free Ethernet Field Termination Modular Plug -6 Pack

I needed to make up some custom cables, and ordered this as an alternative to the cheap plastic plugs I had used for CAT5 cables. The color-coded load bar makes it easy to line up the wires properly. Snip off any excess wire. Then put the load bar into the shell, squeeze tight with an ordinary pair of pliers, and tighten the boot. No special crimping tool required. Unlike the cheap plastic plugs, this supports shielded cable. These are great if you need to create custom CAT6 cables.

After trying 2 other brands of RJ45 Connectors for my Cat6A Riser Cable, the wires were too thick to pass into the connectors; these ones from Ampcom worked perfectly. What is great about them is that if you test the connection and it fails due to a wiring or crimping issue, you can reuse the same connector. Unless you are used to terminating Cat6A cables, I recommend you take a piece of scrap Cat6A cable and practice terminating both ends and testing, until you get the hang of how to get these wires to punch down nicely and neatly with the jacket into the connector. As I mentioned, you can reuse them, so practice makes perfect. I would give it 5 stars if it came with better instructions and/or video showing best practice how to use these RJ45 Connectors. What I found best was to slide the top row of cable through the holes in first, then pull back until the connector is just a little above the jacket. Then bend the top row wires where they come out fo the plastic connector back a bit to hold them in place, and then press down the bottom row wires. Then hold carefully and trim the wires so the ends are not sticking out beyond the holes. Then put the plastic connector into the metal connector, press down using pliers, then test (I found pliers created a more solid and reliable punch-down than just using the pressure of the metal connector and nut). If the test passed, I then put on the copper band around the jacket right below the coupler and connected the coupler nut to the RJ45 connector. Then I tested one more time just to make sure all is good. Once I got the hang of it, I was able to successfully terminate each wire in a few minutes.

The first thing that becomes obvious is that these connectors are quite bulky. Then... in spite of the listing title, tools _are_ required: you will need to cut the cable, strip the outer insulation, and cut the individual conductors to length after inserting them in the wire guide. All that is the usual amount of fiddly, although this wire guide is easier than most I have used for stranded cable. Hint: make sure the closing nut is on the cable before you start. After positioning the wire guide and closing the housing, twist-on the nut (gently - it is easily cross-threaded), then tighten the nut. Then wonder about... strain relief. There is none. There is a curved contact that provides a connection for shielding (the connector comes with copper foil to make that more reliable - but I doubt it will ever be 100%), but it is definitely not strain relief. Once you connect them in a switch, the bulk becomes very noticeable. In high density situations, pushing down the release clip gets complicated since it is hiding behind the bulk of the housing and requires significant force. Conclusion... In a situation where bulk and lack of strain relief are not a factor, and you have your cutting tools but not a crimper handy... sure. For situations where bulk is desirable, I expect strain relief will be a requirement as well, so that would likely be a no-go.

This product is easy to use, instructions lacking the package gives you everything you need. You will need a pair of wire cutters and a pair of wire strippers. Unlike any other standard pressed connector, this one can be reused if the cable becomes problematic.

I bought these and another brand several months ago because I was running new ethernet cable through the house. I leapfrogged cat 6 (had cat5e) to Cat 8 and needed the bigger connectors. Now I bought these before I had fakespot installed, and just came back and noticed that fakespot gave this brand a big fat F. Not sure if they're paying for reviews or what to trigger that, but since they actually did work for me and I'm buying more right now, I wanted to drop a real review to let other actual real people know that they are legit, they do work and as long as you wire them the same on both ends (which yeah, I screwed up a couple times on that) they do the job. I'm getting fantastic speeds with my PoE system. The connectors are e very forgiving and can be rewired even if you do screw up. Tools you do need (for the wire not the connector) are a wire stripper (box cutter can be used instead--carefully) and I'd recommend a pair of flush cut snips too.