Ethernet cables are the best way to get a stable connection, and I don’t fault anybody for doing that. I like a stable connection as much as the next person, but I’ve found myself using Ethernet cables less and less over the years. It was surprising to realize, considering how much I relied on these cables in the past. Currently, the only thing I have plugged in is my PC, and that’s because Wi-Fi isn’t an option for it.
The strange part is that I haven’t missed Ethernet at all. It doesn’t feel like I have any interruption in my connection, and my devices feel like they’re still moving fast. Even massive game downloads don’t take a lot of time. Part of this might come down to my having fiber internet, but I’ve also noticed that Ethernet just isn’t the right solution for me anymore. There are quite a few reasons for this, but I think I know the main ones.
Connection speed makes Ethernet redundant
I don’t need the stability
Ethernet used to be a way to make my Xbox 360 downloads go faster, but those days are long gone. A 20 GB download flies by now, all over Wi-Fi. I don’t need the speeds of Ethernet now that my Wi-Fi is fast enough to cover me. Now, you might argue that a cable still offers superior stability, and I won’t argue against that. What I will argue about is whether you actually need that. In my scenario, I don’t need stability because I don’t have any issues with Wi-Fi.
None of my streaming devices or game consoles is connected to an Ethernet cable, and I don’t have issues with any of them. Of course, your mileage may vary depending on location. For example, rural areas don’t have access to fast internet speeds all the time, and that’s a situation where being hardwired for both speed and stability is important.
Many devices can’t use a cable
No Ethernet for my smart home
I’m using the internet for more things in my house than ever before. My light bulbs need it, my Google Home needs it, my Nest Hub needs it, and my thermostat needs it. What all these things have in common is that they don’t even have Ethernet ports. This means that if I want to plug any of them in, I can’t. That’s arguably the biggest barrier I have to getting things plugged in. The good news is that none of these devices really need to have an Ethernet connection to work, but it feels like another example of Ethernet cables being left in the past.
What feels like just a decade ago, I’d have any device that needs the internet plugged into Ethernet, but it feels like speeds have caught up in a hurry. It’s either that, or I finally got to move out of an apartment that comes with the internet included in the rent, compared to something where I have control over the speed. Whatever the case may be, I find that Ethernet isn’t as valuable as it once was. I mean, I use devices every day over Wi-Fi just fine, like my phone, tablet, laptop, game consoles, etc., and they work great. It applies both to devices that accept cables and those that don’t.
It’s hard to justify running cables
A tripping hazard all over the place
I’m far too lazy to do any cable management on my PC, so there’s no way I’ll do it anywhere else. This means that if I want to run an Ethernet cable from my office, where my router is currently located, to my spare bedroom, I need to run it along the floor. I’ll admit that I have done this for my Xbox 360, and all I had to do was hide my cable underneath some rugs. The result is a perfectly fine way to get Ethernet, but then I just split my Wi-Fi bands to get a 2.4Ghz connection, and the Ethernet cable was unplugged.
It gets far trickier when I even think about plugging in any of my devices that are on a different floor. My living room is just about off limits as it gets. I have no plans to run a cable down my stairs, so it means everything in that room will be running on Wi-Fi — which includes my TV, receiver, Apple TV 4K, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch 2. Again, just a decade ago, this felt like something that would be unheard of in my house. I would usually figure out a variety of ways to get at least something plugged in, but now I don’t even sweat it.
Many people have ways to run cables through their walls, and others are a lot more patient than I am. If that describes you, then more power to you. I won’t deny that it would be nice to have some added stability, but it seems like I’m just fine without it.
