Wired network vs wifi network

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Dec 26, 2006
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Tampa, Florida
I am working on a single family, 2400 square foot house in which it would be fairly easy to run ethernet cable. When it's finished the home network will connect to about a dozen devices, two each: phones, computers, TVs, Airplay receivers, etc. No gamers live there and the most demanding devices will be the 2 TVs used for streaming. Would there be an advantage to wiring the two TVs, with the rest of the devices connecting to the same network via wifi?
 
Yes, wired is always preferred to wireless. Specific to your TVs, wiring them will ensure the best connection they can have while lessening the amount of data running over your WiFi which is a shared medium. That your biggest data consuming devices can be wired would be huge advantage for your whole network
 
Is it better ? Yes. Is it worthwhile ? Hardly.... Just locate the wireless router in a good location. The fact that it's for streaming makes it less necessary. While not ideal, streaming devices and the software (apps, i.e. Netflix, etc) adjust on-the-fly to changes in speed.

Don't bother
 
Personally I would run the ethernet and run a bunch of cheap access points from those ethernet jacks. Ubiquiti sells a great little PoE (Power over Ethernet) system with a central switch, a firewall and as many access points as you wish after that.
 
I use my wired connections that I put in 15 years ago but WiFi and xG get faster every generation. I was worried when one of my phone lines didn't work in my new house. Landlines. LOL.
 
WiFi 6 AX is a much improved standard. It has a few teething pains but it's still early. I would do a wired backhaul mesh network instead of running eternal to a few TV's or streaming devices.
 
If I was building a house now, I would run at least Cat 6A cable to Ethernet ports in every single room in the house, multiple to some rooms. Cabled is always better for stability and latency. Leave the WiFi for mobile devices.
This. And as the shift to work from home increases, it's much better to have a wired connection. Routers crap out way more often than switches...
 
If you’re in a congested area with a ton of other wifi networks I’d go wired. If you’re more rural, wifi for ease and simplicity. I live in a rural area and never have issues with my wifi, but where I used to live where we were all piled on top of each other I occasionally ran into interference.
 
Land lines will still be around for a while, at least for business. Cell quality is still a crapshoot. I can barely understand some people when they are on a cell and I'm on a land line. It's like they have a bucket over their head.
 
We have 4 TVs streaming wirelessly and simultaneously to Amazon Fire sticks via an AC router. Plus all of the extraneous devices (phones, Ipads, laptops, etc). Never a problem. We haven't used hardwired connections in over 15 years.

I can't see why you would want to string CAT6 in this day and age. Wireless is that solid.
 
Cat 6 wiring also works for landline phones. Thus its common to pull at least two cables to each outlet location, one for Ethernet and one for what the future (or the past) may demand.
 
I can't see why you would want to string CAT6 in this day and age. Wireless is that solid.
They don't always penetrate walls and floors very well. You can have meshes and it will bounce around better than before but the lag is bad if you do remote desktop or video conferencing sometimes.

And you know remote desktop and video conferencing will eventually becomes important in work or school from home right?

For existing homes it make sense not to fish wires but if it is going to be remodeling or new build just do it. For existing homes I'd use powerline ethernet to go between difficult places as backhaul and have multiple access points along the way.
 
At most, I'd run Ethernet to a few locations in a home, not for direct hook-up, but to locate an access point (WiFi extender) if needed.
 
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