wall plate

Keystone jacks are small inserts designed to snap into place on keystone wall plates, patch panels, and surface mount boxes. Equipment built for keystones will have small holes left in them instead of having jacks pre-built in. Keystone jacks snap into place in these holes, allowing users to customize what jacks are included however they see fit. Keystones are also easy to remove if anything ever needs to be repaired or replaced.

A standard keystone wall plate, designed to accept four keystone jacks

Punchdown vs. Coupler

There are multiple types of keystone jacks available, primarily consisting of various types of voice, data, audio, and video connections. Additionally, keystones are available in both punchdown and coupler formats. Voice and data keystones can be either one of these while audio and video keystones are typically only available as couplers.

The difference between the two types lies with how cables are connected to the back of the keystone jack. Punchdowns allow bare wires to be connected to the jack. Directly wiring into a jack is most commonly used for permanent installations. Couplers

Installing a wall plate onto drywall can be a real pain. Cutting a hole in the wall is easy, but getting the plate to stay tight and secure is another story. More often than not, users end up with a loose wall plate that feels like it will come off along with the cable any time something is unplugged. The issue lies with the wall plate not have something solid enough to rest against. Drywall may be too soft by itself, but a mounting bracket changes that.

In the guide below, we will be using the single gang version of the bracket. The same steps can be applied to the dual gang version. A video guide is available at the bottom of the article.

Step 1: Gathering the Supplies

The main item to have will be the bracket and the wall plate that will go on top of it. For tools, users will need a pencil, a drywall saw, and a Phillips screwdriver.

Step 2: Tracing the Outline

Hold the bracket up to the where the wall plate will go. Make sure the bracket it straight and hold it steady. Take the pencil and trace the inside of the wall bracket.