Wi-Fi vs. Ethernet: Is Wired Connection better than Wi-Fi?
This is a widely regarded question for most of us about Wi-Fi vs. Ethernet. While no one will debate on the fact that WiFi is any day more convenient than using an Ethernet cable, does this apply to every scenario? You most certainly will not be connecting an Ethernet cable to your smartphone and you might prefer using WiFi when using a laptop for general purposes. What if you have a desktop PC or a laptop that’s never moved? Let us go through some parameters to judge the better of the two.
WiFi as most would have experienced has become pretty fast over the years with standards such as 802.11ac and 802.11n being able to give us speeds of 866.7 Mb/s and 150 Mb/s, respectively. That is pretty fast and meets most of our needs, especially when it comes to using the internet. What about the capability of an Ethernet cable? The maximum speed will vary based on the cable you are using, but most cables in common use give around 1 Gb/s speeds and it can go all the way to 10 Gb/s if you have a Cat6 cable. Ethernet is faster, there’s no denying the fact.
However, this speed only comes in handy if you are transferring data between two computers that are physically attached by a cable. As we all know, the speeds by out internet providers are always slower than these speeds and will likely never hit the maximum limit. If you’re using multiple devices – such as a server where all your data is stored or for LAN gaming – you might want to consider switching to an Ethernet cable.
Connection Reliability
It's easy to see why WiFi is the less reliable of the two. A number of things can affect a wireless signal, from other wireless devices to physical objects and walls. This interference can cause dropped signals, higher latency, and even lower speeds at times. While it doesn’t matter much when all you need to do is stream content over the internet but for any other purposes, Ethernet takes the prize.
Speed
WiFi as most would have experienced has become pretty fast over the years with standards such as 802.11ac and 802.11n being able to give us speeds of 866.7 Mb/s and 150 Mb/s, respectively. That is pretty fast and meets most of our needs, especially when it comes to using the internet. What about the capability of an Ethernet cable? The maximum speed will vary based on the cable you are using, but most cables in common use give around 1 Gb/s speeds and it can go all the way to 10 Gb/s if you have a Cat6 cable. Ethernet is faster, there’s no denying the fact.
However, this speed only comes in handy if you are transferring data between two computers that are physically attached by a cable. As we all know, the speeds by out internet providers are always slower than these speeds and will likely never hit the maximum limit. If you’re using multiple devices – such as a server where all your data is stored or for LAN gaming – you might want to consider switching to an Ethernet cable.
Connection Reliability
It's easy to see why WiFi is the less reliable of the two. A number of things can affect a wireless signal, from other wireless devices to physical objects and walls. This interference can cause dropped signals, higher latency, and even lower speeds at times. While it doesn’t matter much when all you need to do is stream content over the internet but for any other purposes, Ethernet takes the prize.
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