Structured Cable installed all the coax, telephone...

Structured Cable installed all the coax, telephone and Ethernet, Wi-Fi access point and surround sound in my new home in 2015.

First issue. The surround sound speakers were not installed at the same height (about 12" difference between L/R front speakers and 14" between L/R rear speakers). They came and fixed and had to repair dry wall.

Second issue. I noticed I did not have enough Wi-Fi coverage after construction. During the pre-construction phase I had questioned whether the design had enough access points (APs) to cover the house and they indicated it did since they had wired other identical (Jasmine Grove) homes with this config before. One AP was in basement (level 0) and another AP was in stairwell on level 2 (house has 4 levels total, including basement). Bottom line is that I had to install 4 extenders all over the place to get adequate coverage throughout the house. I was more than willing to install more APs up front.

Third issue. The wireless access point they installed (Araknis AN-100-300-AP) did not have great coverage or throughput, and the most frustrating thing is that it would reset itself to initial setting randomly every 6-12 months. I worked with Araknis to try and resolve (updating firmware, etc.), but could never stop it from happening. Frustrated with its performance, I replaced it with a Ubiquiti AC Pro AP and coverage, performance and reliability improvements were tremendous.

Fourth issue. Based on the Ubiquiti performance and capabilities, I decided to install one AC Pro on every floor, using the existing Ethernet ports that Structured Cable installed for smart TVs. I checked the performance of each Ethernet line from the switch to its end-point and found one was under-performing (350mb/s at switch, 60mb/s at the other end of the Ethernet cable). I called Structured Cable to see if they could come check it out, and said they would put me in contact with service tech, but it would cost ~$100 for the service call. I was OK with that (despite the concern that it was an install problem), but never heard from the tech. So, after 4-5 days I called again and left a message. After another 6 days of no return call, I decided to check it out myself. I found that the they had reversed two wires on one of the RJ45 connectors on that line. I installed a new connector, and viola, problem solved.

What this illustrated was that there was a significant lack of quality control, not only in design, but implementation. I spent a total of $3,111 (through the home builder - RYAN Homes) for the surround systems and Ethernet/WiFi cabling and config. One surround system wiring ($1,137) and Ethernet/WiFi ($1974), which was supposed to include "TOTAL WIFI & HARDWIRED SOLUTION: Luxul XAP-1500 Wireless Access Point (1000 mW output power for maximum coverage, Data transfer up to 900 Mbps, Dual Band 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz, mounts to ceiling or wall), 28 " Data Networking Distribution Panel, 8 Port Ethernet Switch Module, 4 hardwired Cat5 data runs, and data networking set up post-closing - Includes wireless access point, setup of customer supplied modem inside of networking panel, 4 hardwired data ports and setup of network". There was little setup provided other than setting the Wi-Fi SSID and password. Despite seeming a little high, I was OK with price since it was being done through the builder (who gave me no choice otherwise) and I assume a professional, no-hassle install.

I have no problem spending money to save me time, but I have little tolerance for a lack of quality. Shame on me for not requiring that they test the lines for me.

The salesman was nice, but clearly my Wi-Fi was under designed, which is on him.

Sorry Structured Cable, I wanted to post something good and find a good partner for the future, but after this experience I'll look elsewhere or do it myself.