Review on 💎 Gold-Plated RJ45 Connectors with Shielding for CAT5E/CAT6 Stranded Cable - Pack of 50 FTP/STP Network Plugs by Rud Starks

I bought these for my normal daily need of RJ45 connectors both at work and at home. I have been making such patch cords with CAT5/e/6 for 20 years and therefore consider myself an expert in this field. I had high hopes for these connectors based on their reviews but after trying a selection of the 100 connectors I had just received on a stack of CAT5e cables that needed new ends I was very disappointed. The overall construction of these forks isn't bad at all - they're pretty solid, the locking clips don't seem to break easily, the teeth seem to be in pretty good shape, and the wire channels inside are easy enough to hit. However, one element that is critical to any effective RJ45 connector, the crimp/hold, is terrible. Minutes and you can easily wiggle the cord back and forth, which will also cause your individual strands to move. The first cable tested (white, not plenum) showed a SHORT on the tester. Like I said I've been doing this for 20 years and I've NEVER gotten a SHORT error on my cable tester when making a new patch cord. The second cable I made showed it was properly connected, but pin 3 didn't work properly - again for the first time in 20 years of making them. At this point I thought it was my cable so I tried some of my other plugs I've been using from another supplier for months and of course everything worked fine and tested perfectly the first time. The only conclusion I can draw is that at least on thinner non-plenum cables, the crimp is so weak that the wires don't stay in place at all. I've had slightly better luck with the plenum-based (blue) cables I've tested, but only because they're built thicker due to the plenum coating. Once crimped, the connectors lasted a little longer on the cables, but after a few seconds of moderate wiggling, the cable actually broke free from the crimp. The only difference here is that the plenum cables tested fine despite the crappy crimping, but I suspect that's simply because the twisted pair jackets are also thicker and can last stronger and longer than non-plenum cables. However, I cannot risk that ANY cable I make or repair could become loose and fail at any time after manufacture. The connection is TERRIBLE and I highly recommend avoiding these connections if you want your work to be taken seriously.