# Standard colors for RJ45 jacks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 6, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-colors-for-rj45-jacks/614898 "2012-03-06T04:17:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-colors-for-rj45-jacks/614898/1 "2012-03-06T04:17:45Z")
Is there any standard for the color of RJ45 jacks? Not the wiring of them, but the jacks themselves. Eg: LAN jacks are blue, standard phone jacks are white, PBX jacks are yellow, etc. or is it up to the installer to pick a color scheme so they can keep track of which is which? ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-colors-for-rj45-jacks/614898/2 "2012-03-06T05:55:52Z")
That’s mostly an organizational decision. In lots of places, the CAT5/5e for networking is blue, VoIP is black, etc. But there the same ol’ networking cables. In government installations, colors become meaningful - red, for example, is supposed to indicate Secret-level comms wiring (which requires air-gapping from other wiring). I won’t suggest that the rule isn’t always followed, but… ---
**Author:** ![Khendrask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@Khendrask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khendrask)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-colors-for-rj45-jacks/614898/3 "2012-03-06T12:28:20Z")
You pick the colors you want for your 8P8C Male connectors. There are a dozen or so common colors, but I’ve never heard or seen anything that is a standard. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-colors-for-rj45-jacks/614898/4 "2012-03-06T14:12:00Z")
The only standard colour I’ve ever seen is red for cross-over cables, but even that is nowhere near to a standard. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-colors-for-rj45-jacks/614898/5 "2012-03-06T15:44:00Z")
[QUOTE=GiantRat] That’s mostly an organizational decision. In lots of places, the CAT5/5e for networking is blue, VoIP is black, etc. But there the same ol’ networking cables. [/QUOTE] That’s close enough to a standard for me. 😃 I’m just trying to sort a mess of unlabeled 4-slot keystone plates where all 4 jacks are white and the cables behind them are all gray, but in reality, the wiring is like two LAN, one PBX and one POTS (identifiable as such only by staring into the jacks to see that they’re 6P6C) or even worse, extra cables sprout from the wall, held in place by an existing wall plate, and the loose cables are labeled with dried-out masking tape. ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-colors-for-rj45-jacks/614898/6 "2012-03-06T18:20:57Z")
I used to install Cat 5 cable when I worked for a data wiring company (many, many years ago). The jacks came in a wide range of colors, the default common one was standard beige. The decision for the color jacks usually was done by the engineer who designed the system. It would be marked on our blueprint as to which color to use. If it wasn’t we used the lowest cost cover we could get at the supplier, usually beige or white.