We’ve all been there: you come home from work, take a shower, and settle in to stream a show on the kitchen TV while cooking, only for it to keep buffering despite a strong Wi-Fi signal.

Most people assume the aging router is to blame and immediately think about upgrading it. But in many cases, there’s an often overlooked fix that makes a bigger difference than a new router ever could: switching key devices to a wired Ethernet connection.

The easiest performance upgrade is switching to a cable

It beats having everything on Wi-Fi

One of the cheapest yet most effective drop-in upgrades you can make to your internet connection on a per-device basis is switching to a physical Ethernet cable. They only cost a few bucks, yet they tend to solve a large share of the connection problems you might be facing.

This is because, no matter how advanced Wi-Fi has become with protocols like Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7, a simple Ethernet cable still stands as one of the most reliable ways to connect a device to your network and the internet.

The speed of a wired connection depends on your exact router, but even in its most common and basic form, you’re getting at least a gigabit (125 MB/s) connection that allows for very fast internet speeds and local transfers between devices.

Speed is only one of the benefits you’re unlocking with Ethernet. The real advantage is stability and latency, which enable a far more consistent connection. A wired connection eliminates random, transient lag spikes caused by brief wireless interference or signal disruption.

Activities that rely on low latency in real time, like video calls and online gaming, can improve noticeably when you switch from Wi-Fi to Ethernet.

So, simply take a cheap Ethernet cable, plug one end into your router and the other into your device, and you’ve gained an instant networking upgrade for just a few bucks.

All of your devices can benefit from wired Ethernet connections

A single cable outperforms expensive router upgrades

Credit: Bertel King / How-To Geek

To get the most out of wired connections, you should switch every stationary device in your home that you can to Ethernet. Devices farther from your router will benefit the most, since unlike a wireless signal that has to pass through walls and degrades with distance, an Ethernet connection remains stable up to 100m with a simple Cat6 cable.

Desktop PCs are the obvious number one candidates, but there are many other devices that may also have an Ethernet port, such as laptops, smart TVs, streaming boxes, NAS devices, game consoles, security cameras, smart home hubs, and office printers.

If your device lacks an Ethernet port, like many modern thin-and-light laptops, you can simply use a USB-C to Ethernet adapter or, better yet, a USB-C hub that includes Ethernet. Just make sure it supports at least gigabit speeds.

Now, I’m not saying that you should sacrifice all the convenience that wireless offers. I’m just saying you should use wired connections as much as possible and wherever it makes sense, particularly for anything where a reliable connection is important.

If you’re deliberating whether to switch your laptop to a wired-only setup, I recommend leaving an Ethernet cable on your desk (or wherever you typically work from your laptop) and plugging it in when you’re there. If you sometimes like to take your laptop out to your garden to work from there, absolutely take advantage of Wi-Fi in those situations.

I haven’t even told you the best part about switching everything to a wired connection yet: your Wi-Fi performance is going to improve as well for the devices that still use it.

By taking those devices with Ethernet ports off Wi-Fi, you’re freeing up precious wireless capacity inside your home, as well as making your router work less hard.

If you had three or four devices connected wirelessly that you could switch to Ethernet and then moved them, you’ll likely see a noticeable improvement in Wi-Fi on your phones. Videos will stop buffering as often, you won’t get as many random dropouts, and you might even get slightly better range.

If your router runs out of ports, an unmanaged switch is an affordable upgrade

One cable in, many wired devices out

Credit: Corbin Davenport / How-To Geek

A typical router has three to five ports, with one of them being the WAN port that connects to the modem. That can still be enough for a smaller household with just a smart TV, desktop computer, laptop, and maybe a security camera.

However, many of us now have far more devices than a single router can comfortably handle. The good news is that you can pick up an ultra-cheap unmanaged switch to instantly add more ports to your network. No setup is required; simply plug the switch into your router and it will immediately extend wired connectivity to other devices.

If you care about local network speeds, you can also step up to a 2.5GbE switch or faster to take better advantage of high-speed transfers between devices like a desktop PC and a NAS.

If you’re using a mesh system, you already have an advantage, since each node can effectively act as a small switch for devices in that room. However, you’ll get the most out of it by using wired backhaul. Without it, you’re still limited by the quality of the wireless link between nodes, even if your devices are wired to the node itself.

When everything is wired correctly, your Wi-Fi can finally shine

Once you take high-demand devices off Wi-Fi, the wireless network stops being overloaded. Your wired devices get rock-solid stability, and your phones and laptops feel the difference almost immediately. Fewer interruptions, fewer slowdowns, and a noticeably more consistent connection overall.