Is your computer's internet connection wired or wireless? (Poll)

My broadband connection ended recently so I switched to 500Mbps for the same price… but my router only gives me 300Mbps wirelessly, hence wondering whether I should run an ethernet cable now that I have a desktop machine again (partly for the speed, partly for the health (slowly move away from wireless altogether)).

At home: wired (400MBPS).

On the road: wireless (Starlink - speed varies depending on obstructions - with clear sky > 100MBS)

Always run a wire if you can… You never know when you’re gonna have an important Zoom call. You don’t want to be dropping packets like an amateur!

And if you can’t run a wire… Get a MoCa or powerline adapter and run a wire!

If my MBP had ethernet ports, I’d go fully wired. But even my dongles don’t have ethernet, so it’s wireless to my modem/router, and then wired to the greater world via a HFC connection.

Wired at my desktop. I had Ethernet drops installed in every room in the house. The idea is to wire everything possible and leave wireless available for true mobile devices.

I have Eero mesh wireless and each WiFi router is on a wired connection.

And yes, I want rock solid reliability when I’m in a business meeting or streaming. I don’t want to have to even think about it.

I have gigabit Ethernet and gigabit internet. At some point I’ll upgrade my LAN to 2.5 gigabit or higher to get smoother screen sharing.

Nice! Are you close to the router or did you install sockets?

I keep forgetting about those! Are they prone to interference? Been a while since I looked at them, but heard that was a downside?

Get a better/different dongle?

Is that the same as an ethernet socket or something else? : /

I’ve got two of those… still in the box! They came with my last broadband deal but I carried on using my Asus router (plus I don’t trust Amazon!)

PS I forgot to say I get full 500Mbps using the router that came with my broadband package, but I find ISP routers give me a headache so I feel apprehensive about using it, hence thought this would be a good opportunity to get a wired connection installed (or upgrade to a better Asus router - have had the last one about 10 years now I think!)

Yep - the Eeros came with the house. They’re kind of annoying, needing the mobile app to configure them. But they’ve been reliable for 3 years now. So I’ve stuck with them, even buying a couple more, refurbished from Amazon.

Yep - I guess Drop is slang for a socket, which is actually named an “RJ45 Jack”. You’ll see it called that.

I have two drops in my 12’x12’ office, but I didn’t think to get one in the floor straight to the basement. That’s also on the list, to hide all the wires.

You can see one of the the ethernet ports on the left wall. I have a piece of furniture there now to hide the wire.

There’s a Mac Mini hidden under the Ikea desk surface, and the shelves on the wall are Ikea too:

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I am currently wireless with both laptops, which are used mostly stationary, though I run them wireless as doing something else is not easily possible, due to the way the house is built and the relative position of the computers to the router.

And the situation here is weird anyway. Our landlord who lives in the same house is afraid of the radiation, but at the same time doesn’t allow drilling holes, such that I could do proper cabling.

I do have a cable at the router ready to fetch, long enough to connect any of the 2 computers or the PS4 if needed for larger downloads or when running my monthly speed test (a special one “blessed” by authorities, whichs results have some lawful meaning).

I do count my work laptop, my sons computer, and the printer as “wireless” as well, as there is a WiFi repeater on that side of the house, connected to the router, and then a switch plugged into it, which then connects those 3 devices.

And the work computer is of course used on travel or occasionally from random places, where usually there is no cable at all.

I keep forgetting about those! Are they prone to interference? Been a while since I looked at them, but heard that was a downside?

I have personally never had to use one, but I have a friend who swears by them.

I understand that their success rate is very subjective, as each home is wired differently. The only way to really know is to try it out and see if it works where you live.

The issues I commonly hear are that 1) They don’t work well (see the previous paragraph), and 2) They do not provide very high bandwidth (see previous paragraph again, also newer models apparently have much improved bandwidth over recent generations).

If you are in a situation where you are stuck on WiFi, I would encourage you to at least try them out, particularly if you are able to return them if they do not work out for you.

I’m very pro-wire. Wired-mice and wired-keyboards all day every day for this guy! However, due to several factors, my coding computer is a laptop that is never wired for internet. The most important reason is that I’m usually happier and more focused sitting on my couch next to my dog and my router is in a very inconvenient place to facilitate this (it is wired for power, though). This means that I use my laptop’s keyboard and a trackpad so do with that what you will—technically they are not wired!

Piggy-backing off of @dogweather’s photo sneaking in his dog, I thought I’d share a pro tip which is that if you have a dog that never stops shedding and yet you need him/her close by while you work on your couch, get a couch that is the same colour as the dog

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