Appearance Differences between CAT6 and CAT6A

Appearance Differences between CAT6 and CAT6A
Note: The appearance can only be a preliminary judgment. Counterfeits may imitate the appearance. The final performance needs to be tested with a Fluke tester.

1. Outer skin printing (the simplest method, no need to peel off)
CAT6: Bandwidth marked as 250 MHz
CAT6A: With an additional "A", bandwidth marked as 500 MHz, some may have "10Gigabit" (10 Gigabit) written on them
Warning: CAT6E is a domestic counterfeit label, not an international standard, and it is a fake product.
Net cable outer skin ink printing
2. Cable outer diameter (the thickness of the entire net cable)
CAT6 (six types): Outer diameter approximately 5.6 - 6.5 mm, relatively thin, easy to pass through the pipe
CAT6A (super six types): Outer diameter approximately 7.5 - 8.5 mm, significantly thicker, if the pipe is small, passing through the pipe will be difficult
Compare with the same brand, you can visually tell that the super six types are thicker.
3. Unwrap the outer skin to see the internal structure
CAT6 (six types) UTP (non- household model)
There is a cross-shaped plastic frame to separate 4 pairs of wires；
Common copper core is 23/24AWG；
Twisted pair has a relatively loose twist ratio；
There is no aluminum foil overall shielding layer (except for the shielding model).
CAT6A net cable internal structure
CAT6A UTP (super six types) non-
It also has a cross-shaped frame， but the material is thicker；
The twist ratio of the wire pairs is denser， each pair of wires is twisted more tightly；
The copper core is thicker， standard 23AWG；
Some new non-super six types models have eliminated the cross-shaped frame and rely on a special outer skin structure to suppress external crosstalk. This cannot be distinguished by looking at the internal frame alone； it must be seen from the CAT6A label on the outer skin.
CAT6A shielded model (SFTP/FTP)
Unwrap the outer skin and directly see a layer of aluminum foil overall shielding layer， some also wrap each pair of wires with aluminum foil； the ordinary non- UTP of CAT6 does not have this layer of metal foil.
4. Crystal head appearance
CAT6 crystal head： 8 holes arranged in two rows with a slight offset， the hole diameter is small
CAT6A crystal head： Same offset arrangement， but the hole diameter is larger， suitable for thicker wire cores； shielded crystal head has a metal shell for grounding.
Quick Comparison Table
Table

Feature CAT6 (six types) CAT6A (super six types)
Outer skin printing CAT6， 250 MHz CAT6A， 500 MHz， can mark 10G
Outer diameter of the cable 5.6 - 6.5 mm 7.5 - 8.5 mm， thicker
Cross-shaped frame Yes， slightly thinner No， thicker； some without frame versions
Twisted pair twist ratio Relatively loose Tighter twist
Shielding layer UTP without shielding； shielded models are calculated separately CAT6A with aluminum foil layer； UTP version without
Important tips
Judging only by the cross-shaped frame is not accurate： Counterfeit CAT6 cables may also have a cross-shaped frame to imitate CAT6A， the core is to look at the CAT6A label on the outer skin；
Don't believe in "sawtooth outer skin"， many are false labels， the wire core is reduced， and the performance does not reach 10 Gigabit；
Pre-installed wiring， prefer to choose big brands， if possible， it is best to do link testing.