Why Wired Ethernet Connections Still Make Sense Today

• Ethernet is faster, more reliable, and more secure than wireless Internet.
• Few laptops these days have an Ethernet port, but you can add one.
• It's worth using an Ethernet connection for your home server, gaming consoles, and TV.

Wired is faster, more reliable, and more secure than wireless, so why don't we use them?

Wi-Fi is so ubiquitous that we don't even think about using wired networks, but even if you don't want to connect your iPad or laptop to an Ethernet cable, you may still want to use the cable for other purposes. According to the latest data from speed testing company Ookla, Wi-Fi speeds are still less than half the speed of home Ethernet at best.

“Wireless internet in isolation can never be as fast and reliable as wired internet, simply because of the first-order physics involved,” Jay Akin, CEO of Mushroom Networks, told Lifewire via email. “Wireless transmission, by definition, is not a fully controlled and predictable environment and is therefore prone to performance fluctuations.”

Wired Ethernet, not tired Wi-Fi

As soon as the internet comes to our homes via fiber, cable, ADSL, or even 5G connections, we’ll be using Wi-Fi to connect. As we all know, Wi-Fi doesn’t always work well. Many people have a corner of their home where they can’t get a good signal, and besides thick walls, there are many other things that can interfere with the connection. For example, I used to live in a house that would lose Wi-Fi connectivity when I used the microwave.

On the other hand, if you transmit that data over wires, it's not affected by interference. According to a report published by Ookla, the typical home Wi-Fi network in a US home runs at just 42% of the speed of a wired connection. And that's at best. Around the world, people are not upgrading to Wi-Fi 6-compatible routers as quickly as they should, with that number dropping to 27.2% in Germany and below 30% in the UK and France.

Ethernet is also more secure. While Wi-Fi is just out in the air, waiting to be sniffed, hacked, intercepted, or simply plugged in by someone who can crack your password, Ethernet transmits your data over wires. Therefore, an attacker would have to get into your home to access it (although there are some possible remote attacks).

Wireless networks can also become congested. For example, if your entire home is streaming videos or playing online games, and your home automation gadgets are all communicating with each other, and your TV is grabbing a big HD movie from your home server in the basement, then speeds can slow down. When a device on a Wi-Fi network can't receive data, it has to send it again, resulting in more network traffic.

But Wi-Fi is just so convenient. Who wants to tie themselves down? Especially when you need a special USB-to-Ethernet dongle to connect to most laptops, and Wi-Fi is good enough for most situations.

“While wireless connections are unlikely to match the throughput of wired connections, for many applications and use cases, wireless networks provide more than enough speed and reliability,” NetBeez CEO Stefano Gridelli told Lifewire via email.

Wired and wireless connections

If you work from home, one option is to run an Ethernet cable to your desk and connect it to a USB-C or Thunderbolt dock with an Ethernet port. Then, whenever you connect to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, you'll get a much better connection. This will have a huge impact on the quality of video calls, for example. If you're a podcaster or do online interviews, you know that you experience far fewer audio glitches and dropouts on cable TV.

Another option is to keep Wi-Fi for laptops, tablets, and phones, but run cables to everything else, essentially uncluttering your Wi-Fi network to reduce congestion.

“In the home, it’s convenient to connect certain data-intensive devices, like network-attached storage, gaming consoles and security cameras, to ensure more availability, but also to reduce the strain on the wireless network that clients (tablets, laptops and phones) are connecting to,” Gridelli said.

It's not glamorous, and hiding the cables is a bit of a pain, but wires are still the best option for some things. Even if you love Wi-Fi and hate wires, Ethernet is probably still the best way to put a wireless access point in that Wi-Fi dead spot in your bedroom.