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Wi-Fi or Hard Wired connection?

Is WiFi better than a Hard Wired connection?

Yes and No 😀

If only it was that simple. It really depends on the device, the Wi-Fi version/speed, and the Ethernet speed.


Not that long ago, Ethernet speeds were as low as 10Mbits per second, then we got a speed upgrade to 100Mbits per second and now the standard (though not the fastest) is 1000Mbits per second (also known as Gigabit). You can also get 2.5Gigabit which is becoming the new standard, with 5Gigabit, 10Gigabit and even faster available on high-end equipment.

If you use a laptop or tablet (or anything that you move about with) then Wi-Fi is really the only option you have as you really don't want a cable holding you back.

A desktop PC, or TV are normally in a single place, so you can run a wire from the router to the device (I know that sometimes it isn't that simple).


As you can see in the chart above, the theoretical maximum data rate for Wi-Fi is getting very high (with Wi-Fi 7 saying 46Gbps which is more than 40x that of standard Gigabit ethernet) BUT what you have to remember is that is in an ideal setting.

Personally, if I have a device that sits in one place all the time (like a desktop PC) then I will always run an Ethernet cable to it, my laptop is connected via Wi-Fi as I may move where I am using it.

Something else to remember is even if you have a Wi-Fi 7 device connected to a Wi-Fi 7 router, you are not going to get a 46Gbps connection to the internet as currently our internet speeds are nowhere near that speed.

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