To connect to the Internet we can do it by cable or wirelessly. The latter has gained weight in recent years, as it has improved considerably and there are also more compatible devices. However, the former, at least on paper, is more stable, offers higher speed and there are no problems with distance. Now, why is wired internet sometimes slower than Wi-Fi ?
Wi-Fi vs cable, a current debate
Years go by and the debate continues. Is it better to connect via Wi-Fi or cable? Logically, if we talk about mobile phones, tablets and similar devices, the only viable option we have is to connect wirelessly.
However, when it comes to a desktop or laptop computer, we can connect both by cable and by Wi-Fi. Making use of one or the other option may depend on different factors, such as the distance to the router, the network card that each computer has, etc.
Now, the normal thing is to think that if we connect by cable it is better. At least on paper we should have better speed , more stability and signal quality. We are not affected by other devices that may be nearby, we do not depend on the wireless network arriving with a good signal due to the distance and other factors that make many prefer the wired method.
But this is not always the case. Sometimes surfing on Wi-Fi can be better than wired. We can achieve better speed. Why is this happening?
Why the Internet is faster over Wi-Fi than with cable
As we say, sometimes it is possible that surfing the Internet wirelessly is faster than doing it by cable. Something that can break with the logic we have in mind. There are several reasons.
Incompatible network card
One of the most common causes when we see that the Internet via Wi-Fi goes faster than via cable is that we are using an incompatible network card . Although it is becoming less common, there are still many computers that have a network card that only accepts Fast Ethernet.
The fact that it is not compatible with Gigabit Ethernet limits the speed to 100 Mbps. For this reason, if we have contracted 300 Mbps, for example, we would only receive 100. If we have a Wi-Fi card that supports more, the speed would be higher.
Outdated drivers
Another very present cause is that the drivers are outdated . This could cause very different problems, such as the fact that our equipment detects that card as Fast Ethernet, for example.
It could also generate glitches that limit internet speed. One more reason why we can have better speed if we connect via Wi-Fi at home.
Bad or old cables
Cables are very important for a good connection quality. If we are using one that is in poor condition, that has an internal problem, it could lead to problems to offer maximum speed.
But even a perfectly good cable might not be the right one. This happens if we use an old one, which only allows us to connect at a maximum of 100 Mbps. For this reason, browsing through Wi-Fi would be faster if we have a higher rate.
Router problems
The router is the fundamental piece for us to have the Internet. If there is an error in this device, we could have problems achieving maximum speed, stability or signal quality. It is possible that there are problems with the hardware of the equipment, with the connectors of the LAN cables, and therefore we have a lower speed than we should.
It is convenient to have the router in good condition, always updated and with all its connectors clean.
Bad software-level configuration
Finally, one more reason that cable Internet is slower than Wi-Fi is when we have a bad configuration at the software level. We may have limited the connection speed to 100 Mbps, for example.
It is important that if we notice speed problems in the network we analyze the configuration. We must take into account possible mistakes that we have made.