This Budget Network Cable Tester is AWESOME! - Noyafa NF-8209S
In this video we take a look at a very affordable, yet extremely powerful device for testing network cables that provides many useful features that are invaluable when it comes to identifying and locating faults.
Buy on AliExpress (Affiliate): geni.us/nqAqoP
Buy on Amazon (Affiliate): geni.us/Ea0mHx
www.camerongray.me/
/ camerongray1515
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
02:33 - Unboxing & Hardware Tour
08:15 - Test Setup
09:10 - Looking at a Basic Cable Tester
10:10 - Continuity Testing
11:14 - Cable Length Measurement
14:08 - Cable Toning/Scanning
16:43 - PoE Testing
17:53 - Port Flashing
18:26 - RJ45 Crimp Testing ("QC")
20:45 - Fault Finding Demonstration
29:03 - Conclusion
AFFILIATE LINKS NOTICE:
Product links under this video marked “(Affiliate)” are affiliate links where I may receive a small commission on qualifying sales. Affiliate programs that I am a member of include, but are not limited to: Amazon Associates, eBay Partner Network and AliExpress Affiliates.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Purchasing through these affiliate links will not cost you any more money, however the commission earned significantly helps fund the production of videos on my channel.
Buy on AliExpress (Affiliate): geni.us/nqAqoP Buy on Amazon (Affiliate): geni.us/Ea0mHx
they've immediately doubled in price 😅
I have rarely seen such an accurate product description with such a precise language. 30 min of length, although you're a blazingly fast speaker, wow! But worth every minute! - I'll recommend your videos to friends who need some English competence in understanding spoken language. Thank you for the top notch report and the nice experimental setting, well done! Cheers!
Speaking fast doesn't mean it is correct. Maybe for sport comenter. But I vould hear a bit of speaking disorder. Hard to understand even for native speaker.
The killer feature of the digital toner on these Noyafa testers is to use the gain nob to “narrow down” the cable location. Highest gain can hunt for a cable in a room sometimes (in walls, ceilings, floors, etc.)and then lower the gain to identify the correct cable bundle, then lower it again as you narrow down to the position in a bundle, and finally drop it again to find the specific cable. It also has none of the annoying “mains hum” that the analogue toners have, where often the mains drowns out the bleeper. These just bleep or nothing (although the bleep does get stronger when you’re really really close).
That, colleague!
I presume it should also be possible to locate crosstalk. I think the guy mentioned it in the vid as an issue one would have to work around when using that function, but the benefit is that perhaps (though not sure) it might be possible to intentionally seek crosstalk.
Can it locate cables in concrete walls.
@@mrtechie6810 I suppose that would depend on depth. They are quite sensitive. Probably if it’s just below the surface.
@@mrtechie6810 depending on how deep the cables go.
I have so far used the light gray cheap tester. It works as long as everything works. But if there is an error somewhere, it is very hard and takes ages to find and locate it. The tester you show is great. Especially the crimp testing at 20:00 made me to buy it using your link. Thanks for the efforts to show all this in the video.
Excellent explanation clearly laid out in easy to understand language.
Many thanks for the excellent review - received mine today.
thanks for the vid. I've used a cheap tester for many years, and this (still affordable) one has some features that would have saved me some time on quite a few jobs. I've ordered one up. 🙂
Thank you for all the information. Great video.
It's great to see one of these reviewed. I'd come across the devices and this main brand a few years ago, but hadn't risked the purchase. Thanks for the effort.
Thanks for the great review!! Love for a follow up review on the nf-8506, which seems to be the same but a colour screen and some ip info.
Very neat tool. I was looking for some good network tester and almost ended buying this Noyafa, but ended up with more advanced type (DADI TPT-8020A), which also handles third layer, so you can test DHCP, ping etc. It was a HUGE time saver when I was changing cables in a large facility with multiple networks and server rooms.
its not often I stop everything to watch one of my subscribed videos...but when its one of yours;, everything else can wait...espeically as I am in the market for a new network tester
Off to AliExpress I go (using your link). Thanks for another great video…already love how much time this is gonna save me
It would be nice to have a comparison of this model with the more advanced ones NF-8508, 8506 and 8601. The 8508 has some optical testing features but also a better display and indicates clearly on its display which port is to be used (not superimportant but a nice feature). The 8506 is like 8508 but without the optical part - very close to the one in this review but with an apparently friendlier interface The 8601 comes in various flavors (blue buttons and red buttons) Kinda hard to figure out which is better - sometimes the more advanced models have their quirks\lack functions present in less advanced ones So it would be nice to have a comparison...
Very comprehensive review. Well done.
Great Video, a must have fault finding tool 👍
Thanks for the review - I just needed something cheap and good like this :) Ordered one by your link - enjoy :)
Thank you, ordered via your link
Also have one like this, it has been invaluable in debugging in a museum where you have 3-4 mins walk from the patch room to the lan port and only a subset of ports is patched. you also have 5-7m high ceiling ports, for all the debugging this is really great. i have the standby time to 60 mins to able to work, otherwise it might have gone into standby before i managed to arrive at the other end and test there. still waiting for one that has LLDP and can read most TLVs at that.
Interesting. For a budget option, I always point to the Klein Scout Pro. Cheap, reliable, from a trusted brand and I've had great experience with it. But this having the tone arm with it is a nice touch!
Wow literally the same model (even the model number) I bought about a year and half ago, just that I got the Chinese version (bought on Taobao, obviously) with the brand “精明鼠” （lit. Smart Rat). Didn’t know their English name is Noyafa, and have no idea what does that mean. Pretty happy about it. Just two things to improve for me: the pouch can be better laid out (maybe a mesh pocket for the manual?); if the main unit can test cable sequencing on its own (without the wand).
Damn it, the beep woke my dog. Thanks Cameron. 😅😅
I ordered one... Cause sometimes it's easier to buy own tools with own money instead of relying upon company suppliers. I wonder if that could tolerate 54V of PoE?.. Last LAN tester died of that voltage, in spite being "resistant to up to 60V". edit - -Perfect! @17:25 you explained that. Thank you!
I really like the length feature. A while back I had a long run of CAT 6 cable with one broken wire somewhere along the entire length. I spent a long time trying to figure out where the break was. Eventually, I just replaced the entire cable.
After seeing your review of the CCTV tester I went looking or the same but it seems there are now other models with widely varying prices and capabilities which baulked me but while looking I found the NF8508. It has the same functionality as NF9209 you demonstrate here but also includes Optic fibre testing, power meter and light pen + NCV AC detection along with a somewhat cheesy I Phone like UI. I bought it and it works as described. So for a someone working with ethernet and fibre it is cheap but effective tester.
I'm still hoping for Pockethernet come back into production.
Highly unlikely, I'm afraid. According to their web site it's due back in stock in Q4 2022! No firmware/app updates for years and no communication from Zoltan. I check the web site and forum daily in the hope of an update. It appears to be completely dead. It had so much potential. I rarely use mine now, I have other tools that do a better job but not necessarily in a single device.
That device always read as the sweet point between the £10 cable testers and the pro installer £1000s gear. Amazing that it was essentially a solo effort.
5:53 correction: Modern USB-C chargers output either 5V or 0V by default (nouthing or only resistors attached to CC lines). For any outher voltage - digital communications (over the same lines) is used.
That's an incredible amount of functionality for that price for someone with even tiny amount of networking
Does the older non-S version (that uses regular batteries) have all the same functions? Fantastically useful-looking tool, thanks! (We’re just remodeling our makerspace, have a crap-ton of new Ethernet runs we’re putting in. Knowing the sorry state of my crimping skills, I’m sure this will save hours!😁)
How effective is the digital probe on Cat6a and above cabling? I have a cheap analogue probe which is a godsend in many situations, however the shielding on Cat6a and above is so effective that I only hear the signal when I'm right against the socket, which will be a problem going forward as more and more builds are installed with newer cabling standards.
Good stuff thanks
Looks like a really handy wee device. Very tempted to get the non-rechargeable version, as the internal battery is usually the first thing to die. One question about continuity mode - are the connections being repeatedly tested and the display continually updated, or is this a one-shot test that’s done hen the button is pressed, and then the display is static until sec is pressed? Any chance you can check removing a strand and punching it down again while the test is on screen? The reason I ask is we have one location where it’s a dead tight squeeze between one rack and a wall. I’ve found trouble with damaged patch cables that are intermittent, presumably because someone has tried to squeeze past and has snagged a cable at some point. If the test shows live updates on the screen, then I can potentially check that by waggling suspect cables.
Interesting. I bought the non-S version from Amazon which is powered by AA batteries but critically doesn't have the QC function which seems like it would save me a lot of time. Don't know if it existed at the time but I wish I'd bought the S version!
Would be nice to see some budget certifiers come onto the market... ie measure NEXT, etc
I have found that tone injection is better if you use alligator clips across conductors that are on different twisted pairs.
One question: does the digital locator work with cables that are connected at the other end? Sometimes it is a pain in a neck when you need to identify a cable, but since it is connected somewhere at the end you won't be able to do this...
Looking to replace that old grey "dumb" tester, probably gonna take the NF-8209S, thanx fot showcasing the unit.
This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you! Do you mind sharing what ethernet jack crimping tool you're using? Klein tools pass-through? Something else?
I just use a relatively cheap "Amazon Special" brand one although I generally avoid crimping connectors wherever possible and stick to premade patch leads. I used to use passthrough connectors but I've gone off them slightly as I don't like the way the bare ends of the wires are exposed outside the connector on the end. Nowadays I use the 2 part connectors with the separate "load bar" - almost as easy as a passthrough as you can pass the excess through the load bar then cut it off flush before inserting it into the connector, but once crimped, the bare ends of the wires are contained inside the connector.
I love it.
I still wonder does it have a calibration mode for length? My previous tester had that, just connect both ends of 1000 feet cable package and calibrate?
I wish more cheaper devices just used a BL-5C nokia battery. it's so handy being able to swap batteries, and charge them outside of the phone.
if I recall, the cable type (CAT5 vs CAT6) can impact the accuracy of length calculation: CAT5 = 22AWG - 24AWG (26 for short distances), CAT6 = 22AWG - 26AWG, plus frequency differences yea, I got spoiled with my fluke network cable testers but they are pricey but hot dang....their NF-8508 seems really awesome (not just copper but fiber/optical) 🤔
A while back I was searching for a cable break/reflectometer type device to find a fault in an underground power-cable. I wonder if this device could be used for such an application, since it gives individual pair length readings? Perhaps one can make a "breakout-cable" for such a task? Or can the included alligator clip things be used for that? Thanks for the video!
It wouldn't be very accurate unless the velocity factor of the cable was the same as cat5 or cat6. Signals travel at different speeds through wire depending on the insulation. The testers measure wire length by sending a pulse down the wire and measuring how long it takes for the reflection to come back.
Haven't tried to open it up and see, how easy it'd be to slap on those missing CC resistors on the USB-C port? How much room is there to mess around in, are there any easily accessible pins for that, could one get by with TH resistors or would one have to resort to SMD resistors and magnet wire? Can you even open it up without breaking the case? Inquiring minds wish to know!
Question. If i do port flash on operational switch hubs, will it disturb other connections?
How does the toning perform when the cable you're trying to trace is plugged into a poe switch?
The USB cheap-out makes me wonder what other economies are in the unit. Thanks for the excellent review though :-)
Flash mode not only flashes the port but actually attempts a link and shows you the negotiated link speed after a couple of seconds.
Very nice gadget! I've just got a basic grey tester for testing cables at clients houses. Usually electricians install the cable and then I configure the rest. Only once so far has an electrician wired the Cat6 wrong and I had to fix it. This machine looks way better. I am intrigued how it finds the length. It obviously pings the cable like a radar but if there's nothing to ping to how does it get a return signal?
It measures the cable length using a "TDR" test - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-domain_reflectometer. I don't really understand the science side of things but that page seems to explain it reasonably well.
Greate Video !
Tester seems very useful, but prices are wildly different for me (I'm in EU). Amazon is like 80 €, even AliExpress is like 65 (with 10€ of that being shipping). That's a bit much compared to the other one that was free with my rj45 crimper.
I just bought one 5 mins ago on AliExpress for £43 including shipping, just went back to the exact page I bought it from and it's now £49 with shipping lol
It works if ther is a pc connected on the other end?
still a decent price on Aliexpress - just ordered!
Strange that each pair are the same length. Typically they do differ, as there are different TPI (twists per inch). The blue and green pairs typically will have more TPI than the brown and orange. Also the different between cat5 and cat6 on length is actually the TPI of each cable overall. 👍🤠 Great video by the way.
I noticed that too but forgot to mention it - my higher end "CCTV Tester" does show the difference - suspect this device is somehow adjusting the numbers slightly to all show the same if they are close together (maybe to reduce people contacting them confused about why the pairs are different lengths) but it does at least show the difference if it is significant (e.g. a break in the cable) - not ideal I suppose but still usable for finding breaks or the rough location of a fault.
@@camerongray1515 Thats for sure, for the price its a good buy and tells much more than the blinking lights version. 💯👍
I'm a little late to the party, but that USB-C charging issue is common with these cheaper devices. It has to do with the manufacturers not conforming to the standard fully. IIRC there are supposed to be some resistors in the device that tell the USB-PD charger to send 5v.
I got one of those cheap ones on sale for £1.60 recently. You could probably speed it up, likely just a capacitor...
What is the method for measuring long wires?
Was 'Length' spelt correctly on yours instead of 'Lenght' as shown on the Ali listing? I'm really tempted to replace my very basic tester with one of these, even make an Ali express account at last to achieve that; but, seeing that misspelling every time I use it would really, really do my head in.
Yeah, thankfully it's spelled correctly on the device itself!
A feature i would love is for it to do testing on the cable to see if it meets spec. I have tested many so called cat6 cables fresh out of the packet that fail the cat6 test but pass the 5e test on a fluke. Its bloody annoying when you pay good money for the cables and they fail. Also using LLDP or CDP to show the switch port number on the screen is a must for me.
That would be a dream although I haven't found any affordable option that perform any sort of actual cable certification/verification - just the high end Fluke/Trend testers. For DIY/smaller installs, the only really affordable option to fully test the cables meet spec would be to hire a proper tester for a couple of days. In the absence of one of those testers I generally just make sure to only ever buy cables from major well known brands and none of the "Amazon Special" brands that exist.
@@camerongray1515 I have seen excel cables fail out of the bag ! Could have been a bad batch. That was some 6 stuff , never seen any of there 6a fail , and i should hope not at that price !
How does it work on a live environment? I have found these to be useless trying to trace if there is POE. Binned mine and went back to my ancient tone set.
What do you use then?
Awsome😊
with the basic you can see broken pairs in both ends.. and it have two speeds. you just use the slow one.
Are there any cheap cable tester which can test the cable speed eg 1Gb/10Gb…etc Been beaten by some questionable 6e cable a few time
Unfortunately at that point you're looking at professional verification/certification type testers that cost thousands. I've generally ended up just using a laptop on each end of the cable and transferred a bunch of traffic using something like iPerf then looked for transmission errors. If you're doing occasional large installs, it may end up being a case of using a basic tester while doing the install and then hire a high end tester for a few days to do some final checks.
If you're looking to certify up to 1Gbps then you can pick up some older devices at sensible prices. JDSU Validators come up frequently at decent prices. Fluke CableIQs come up frequently but are usually a lot more. For 10Gbps then they will be much more expensive and as Cameron mentions, it would probably make more sense to hire one in! Over the years I've picked up quite a few different devices from cheap to expensive, Noyafa to Fluke, and I keep meaning to get their features into a table for comparison... One day it'll happen!
Will this work with Cat7?
Is it safe to plug poe into all ports on it? My colleagues keep breaking the cheap ones by plugging something with poe into the non poe test port..
active POE only sends voltage after request by the device, just like USB PD or QC. Only passive POE is dangerous , it send voltage (usually 24V injected) all the time including to the wrong devices.
7:31 I believe you should plug the cable into the devices, rather than the other way around.
Can the units of measure be changed to Imperial when measuring the cable? great video btw I just purchased mine after watching the video.
Prices on Aliexpress have shot up for this item since this video was recorded. Note typically over €60. Amazon in the UK now at £70.
Would this work for Cat 7 and Cat 8 cables? I see it only specifies Cat 5 and Cat 6....thanks.
I can't see why not although I suppose there's a chance the length might not be quite as accurate due to different characteristics of the cable. That said, be very wary when it comes to CAT7 and CAT8 cables. CAT7 is an oddball standard that actually predates CAT6A and isn't meant to be used with standard RJ45 connectors (instead the standard stipulates TERA or GG45 connectors) and CAT8 is intended for short (30m or so) runs in datacentres for 40gbit applications and is rarely used in practice. Many of the "CAT7" and "CAT8" cables you'll find on places like Amazon are generally fake, low quality cables targeted at people who think "higher CAT number means faster internet". Outside of extremely specialised applications, there's really no need to go beyond CAT6A and even then, 10Gbit is often fine with CAT6 for shorter runs (up to around 35m) and Gigabit is even fine with CAT5e.
@@camerongray1515 Thanks. Super informative and appreciate the quick reply. Its channels like you that I like to subscribe to, because its obvious you know what you are talking about vs someone who spent an hour on youtube researching a subject and then makes a video about it. Great stuff. Thanks
Thanks! Yeah, there's a lot of networking things that other channels push that bug me, pushing CAT7 and CAT8 as normal standards that average people should consider is very much one of them. I keep meaning to get around to making a video on the fundamentals of network installation.
Many cheaper USB C devices won't properly support USB C charging, If I want to use a C to C cable, I have to use a C to A and A to C adapters to get some devices charging. it's rare but it does happen.
What brand or which type of Cat Cable do you recommend for home. Using it for CCTV and networking? (I'm looking at Cat 6 and Reel of cable) Please help Cameron. YOUR THE BEST! THANKS.
Cable brands generally vary heavily between countries so I can't really recommend any worldwide brands, in the UK I tend to use cable from Connectix, Excel or Ultima amongst a few others. Generally what's important is looking for a known brand name that links to an actual cable company and not those "Amazon Brands" with random, made up names that have no real online presence. I'd also recommend buying cables directly from specialist network hardware or electrical wholesalers rather than places like Amazon or eBay. Also ensure that the cable you buy is pure copper and not "CCA" which stands for "Copper Clad Aluminium" and is a sure fire way to identify a fake/low quality cable. As for the type of cable, generally I use CAT6 as standard nowadays since the price increase over CAT5E is minimal and it'll handle the vast majority of installations - it'll even go as far as handling 10 gigabit ethernet on runs of up to around 35M and HDBaseT 2.0 video distribution. If you're looking to run 10 gigabit over longer distances or want to use things like HDBaseT 3.0 then the next step up would be CAT6A. Don't go near anything related to CAT7 - it's an oddball standard that actually predates CAT6A and specifies special connectors rather than regular RJ45 ones. Any CAT7 cables you find with RJ45 connectors are not standards compliant and only exist to satisfy the "Bigger CAT number means faster internet" crowd. Likewise, while CAT8 can be terminated using RJ45 connectors, it's designed for relatively short distances in places like datacentres and isn't really suitable/necessary for any normal domestic/office environment. If you're needing the 40Gbit speeds that CAT8 offers, you'd almost certainly be running fibre instead. Finally, if you're buying cable - while reels are available in shorted lengths so can be cheaper, you may want to look into buying it in a box as the box allows the cable to very easily be pulled out from a distance while running through a building rather than needing to manage a reel of cable.
The USB C charge issue is really irritating. Months ago I bought a USB C charging block for my bedside, but I find that cheap USB C devices won't charge from it because they're badly designed. I finally gave up and went back to a USB A charging block this past week.
If it is not a phone most of the time you need a cable usb a to usb c cable
@@GSAproductions True but that's only because they cheap out and don't put any negotiation chip or even programming resistors in the device to be charged.
I just ordered one just like this, maybe the same. Every cheap tester/toner keeps getting fried by poe. Even the klien one fried instantly, really disappointing, especially since there's no warnings against using it into poe. Hoping this one can handle it
This can handle PoE into the "Flash/Length/PoE" port but not sure about the others such as the one used by the continuity or the scanning. Personally I'd look into your PoE setup since if it's frying devices, that sounds like some sort of passive PoE from either a basic injector or an oddball switch. Proper 802.3af/at PoE negotiates with connected devices and will only output power if the connected device requires it. If you absolutely have to use passive PoE, then it's worth ensuring that any network run that's being fed power is clearly labelled since, not only could it fry a tester but it could also fry laptops.etc if they were ever connected. At least with this device being able to detect PoE, it's probably worth first using the PoE test feature to check if a cable has passive PoE on it as a matter of course before you then use any of the other functions.
@@camerongray1515 just the cheap toner/tester's that are not hardened against the 50v of poe, fries transmitter, either right away or after a few times.
What sort of equipment are you using to produce the PoE? With a proper PoE switch, the switch and the device negotiate whether PoE is required before the switch outputs the full voltage. I'd be surprised if a regular PoE switch would be able to cause such damage, unless for some reason the tester was doing something that was causing the switch to misinterpret it as being a PoE powered device. Definitely a strange one.
@@camerongray1515 I do freelance internet technician work, so I deal with many switches, many of which are poe. the scenario would be, using the klein ethernet tester/toner to find where in a poe switch a certain device is connect to trouble shoot issues. most switches are cisco. cant say why the switches provide power constantly, just know it kills these testers rapidly
"Sexty pounds" - that's what I call an attractive price!
People don't realize CCA wire will measure shorter due to higher resistance
Box> Version: Version 1
Sometimes your videos and my life line up way too much. A little freaky. I just got a cheap tester that had the same menus. Must be made in the same place. Before this video, I was searching for a portable kvm, as I work on the road often supporting branch offices. Anyway it seems our professions and interests are just very similar.
Sometimes it can work to charge with PD, but not QC or vice versa ... BTW, it wasn't that cheap, £56 on AliExpress and if i want to get it from Europe i have to pay another £10 ...
So they went through the effort of adding a USB-C port, but were too cheap for two resistors on the CC lines? I don't understand these manufacturers
the difference between the $40/60 is one comes with lithium batteries
@camerongray1515 unrelated to this video, but in one of your previous ones you mentioned what softwares you were using for documenting your configurations and network - I looked at it at the time and thought it would fit my needs, but now im getting round to it I cant remember what it was, and can't find the video where you mentioned it! Care to remind me? 😁
I have this cctv tester but also buy noyafa because noyafa is faster
For continuity testing shown between 10:10 and 11:10 you say that the big benefit is not having to wait (the 2 seconds) for the result to show up. But doesn't it take way more time to walk from the commander to the slave and back to read the result anyways? and then back again to collect the slave?!? Being 15 meters or more apart? That part made not so much sense. No back to the rest of the video...
£10 vs £ 60 .. not a small price ... if your cable is broken the cheap one is perfectly capable of detecting that, and if you have to replace the whole cable then you have saved nothing Replacing the whole cable is much much cheaper ...the battery on the low end cheaper tester will last for years ... no charging needed ..
It entirely comes down to what you're doing, if all you're doing is running a couple of cables very occasionally then the cheap tester is fine, but there have been many scenarios I've found myself in where this tester would have saved me well more than £50 worth of my time by speeding up the tracking down of an issue. In practice it's extremely useful to be able to work out which end of a cable is badly terminated or to determine if the break is somewhere in the middle of the cable. Then, if the cable is broken somewhere in the middle and it isn't practical to replace the entire cable (for example, if it's plastered into walls) then this tester can help track down an approximate distance to the break to allow a repair to be made in the middle of the cable.
@@camerongray1515 If you are required to replace the entire cable .. then the more expensive tester is not going to save you anything .. this is the case in most cases ..
I'm not referring to patch cables if that's what you're thinking of, I'm referring to running structured cabling within a building. I think in my time, I've only come across one or two cables that were actually broken in the middle and needed replaced, every other time the basic tester has shown a break, it has been due to a bad termination on one end where a tester such as this comes in extremely useful as it can tell you which end has the issue rather than forcing you to remove faceplates, take apart patch panels or re-crimp jacks unnecessarily.
Not budget already. Compare 100 Euro tester, with 10 Euro and 1000 Euro.. Strange choice.
Not sure what you mean? The point of this video was to take a look at a tester that was the lowest cost possible option that also supported TDR cable length testing, a feature that is very worth having for any sort of reasonable network install.
@@camerongray1515 Okay. I might misunderstand you.
If USB C to C cable will not work it is defective and should not be purchased. ANY device like that I return as defective and look for something else!
I saw this on line, now i'm glad i didn't buy it.
I must urge you to try to speak slower when you make videos for youtube. I had a hard time hearing what you said when you went zooooooom. It's like you start saying the next word before the previous is finished :D
i watched it at 0.75x speed. :))
@@orange11squares Good idea
Don't waste your money. Mine worked great for a month then chips on the mainboard literally burnt up. I replaced it with another one and it did the exact same thing. Fluke costs significantly more for a reason but you only have to buy it once. I do love my Pockethernet though.
I have issues with cables not being the max speed they are rated for, as if they don't meet their spec. This just checks for correct connections so I can not spot issues with that, correct?
Correct, this is just a continuity and TDR tester so it doesn't actually validate the cable in terms of its bandwidth. To properly test that a cable meets spec you'd need a much higher end certification tester where you're looking at costs around £10k plus! Without one of those, your cheapest bet would likely be to just run some high speed transfers over each link and look for transmission errors. If you really need to properly certify a link, you may get away with using a cheap tester like this to verify the initial connection when you install them and then at the end of the job hire a high end tester for a couple of days to perform the final checks.