There was a time when it was entirely normal to have to plug in your computer to get an internet connection—but Wi-Fi was a game-changer when it first went mainstream in the early aughts. The benefits of Wi-Fi are obvious: It lets you access the internet wherever you are in your house, not to mention allowing you to use mobile devices without the need for data plans.
But the fact is Wi-Fi connections are inferior to Ethernet in several ways.
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Why Ethernet is better
For starters, an Ethernet connection is just much faster. Depending on the type of cable you’ve got, you could theoretically reach a maximum speed of 10 Gbps (that’s on a Cat6a cable). Using an Ethernet cable ensures a more consistent internet speed when compared with a Wi-Fi connection.
If you’re big on streaming or gaming, using an Ethernet cable could give you a boost in terms of speed, which means less buffering and lag.
Read more: 60 best free streaming services around the world
However, the speed of your internet connection is significantly impacted by how powerful your router is. If your router isn’t built for maximum internet speeds, using Ethernet might not help as much.
Compared with a wired connection, Wi-Fi signals tend to receive a lot more interference, whether from objects or walls blocking the physical path to devices or from hardware issues. Dropped connections are much more common.
From a security standpoint, using an Ethernet cable makes your connection much more secure. To attack a device over an Ethernet connection, a hacker is going to need to gain access to its cable and router, whereas someone can much more easily intercept Wi-Fi traffic as it’s transmitted through the air.
But we still use Wi-Fi, and it’s improving
That said, a Wi-Fi connection makes it easier to go mobile and is often sufficient for daily browsing on your laptop, social media networking, and usually even video calls. It’s also necessary for “internet of things” devices like smart lights and fridges. Plus, let’s face it, with many of us working from home nowadays, we like to be able to sit in different spots throughout the day and not be tethered to a cable.
In recent years, Wi-Fi speeds have improved tremendously. The next generation of Wi-Fi—dubbed Wi-Fi 7—is expected to be launched in 2024 and is meant to reach an astounding 30 Gbps.
When to use Ethernet
It makes sense to use an Ethernet connection if your computer setup is stationary—for example if you use a desktop. You can also plug an Ethernet cable into your laptop every once in a while, such as if your internet connection often drops during video calls.
If you want to be as secure as possible when going online, Ethernet is the way to go. However, if you’re using Wi-Fi—and most of us do, especially on mobile devices—it’s worth keeping your connection secure with a VPN.
Do you use Ethernet? Let us know why in the comments below.
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Comments
Just a “security” comment, if it might be called like that : Besides the better speed of Ethernet, a Wi-Fi adapter that’s “alive” in your system serves to track down your real location, even if you’re using a VPN : It’s just a matter of simply looking at what *other* Access Points your Wi-Fi “sees”, i.e. your neighbors (if I get the access to your Wi-Fi adapter, of course, something that many services/apps/programs ask for). The only way to get rid of that is to disable your Wi-Fi Adapter and *only* use your Ethernet connection. Once I can see what your Wi-Fi adapter sees, to make a Radio triangulation takes very short. Just fyi.
Your home Ethernet cable probably wouldn’t be open to this type of attack, but here it is.
Back on the good old days of the Cold War, American submarines attached snooping devices to Soviet undersea cables up in the northern part of the USSR.
An American skipper had noticed signs in the U.S. warning of undersea / underwater cables and wondered if the Russians did the same. The U.S. Navy started looking for those signs up in the northern waters of the Soviet Union. They found some and promptly began planting listening/transmission devices on them.
While this probably won’t happen to your home Ethernet without your knowledge, it does show that “secure” communications methods may not be all that secure. I’m guessing that someone might be able to attach an innocuous-looking thing on your phone cable if it’s not buried, or on it even if it is buried as it comes out of the ground to attach to the TIE, which cannot be avoided.
You probably might be referring, and it’s just a thought, to the USS Jimmy Carter and/or the USS Parche submarines …. well, that tells me something about your age, must be around same as mine, though most probably thing it’s that you’re younger, everyone is by now….. Good to know that someone still remembers that. Thank you Sir.
I have fiber optic from my router to the internet and wifi for my local in-house network, including the printer. I get nearly the same speed for internet access with wifi as I do with ethernet connections to the router having tried both. Also there seems to be no great speed difference between using wifi and ethernet within my local network. The major internet slowdown? Response time by the bank, etc., when I attempt to access them when they are getting a lot of traffic.
It slows down a lot and the whole protocol is used but not good
It says “connected” but how do I know it really is?
Hi, here are articles on the several ways to check your VPN’s effectiveness:
https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/is-your-vpn-working-heres-how-to-test-it/
https://www.expressvpn.com/support/troubleshooting/check-expressvpn-is-working/
I kept getting a message that ExpressVPN was trapped at the New Jersey turnpike. I’m 81. What does it mean?
I prefer the Ethernet over the WIFi, yes it’s more convenient, but is it safer? How can you be sure no one else is interfering in your space. I have had this happen to me when I used wifi, my next-door neighbor kids were downloading games that I was not even aware of, so how can you determine really which is best?
I even play multiplayer games on WiFi. Cables are nice, but too inconvenient.
you are why online games lag
I noticed that a lot of big companies use Ethernet cables to provide work connections. But I absolutely agree that Wi-Fi is an easier way to use at home.
In a lightning prone area using wifi does mean one less connection to your PC that can carry any surges, especially if you use ADSL or cable.
I’m using Ethernet on a laptop for work in Ecuador. Electricity tends to go out about once a month for varying time periods. I have a UPS APC battery backup with only the router/modem plugged in. It’s supposed to provide 150 minutes of power. Ethernet should extend the time period of the battery. Hopefully, I’ll never have to find out.