Ethernet cables are about as simple as they get. They’re the easiest, most reliable way to connect a desktop PC to the internet. In the vast majority of cases, you just have to plug the cable into your PC, and just like that, your computer is connected, no configuration necessary.
However, things can get a little complicated when an Ethernet cable isn’t up to snuff. Logically, you’d think that they either work or they don’t like virtually any other computer cable, but that’s not always the case. Ethernet cables can work just fine on the surface while quietly throttling your speeds. That’s exactly what happened to me, and thankfully, it was actually quite easy to troubleshoot.
It all started as a “simple” cable that should’ve taken five minutes
A quick upgrade that didn’t go as planned
If you’re curious why I wanted to “upgrade” my Ethernet from one gigabit cable to another, it mostly came down to moving my router from my bedroom to my kitchen. A router’s Wi-Fi signal is only as good as its placement, and since my kitchen is pretty much the center of the apartment and where the ISP’s modem is located anyway, it was the most logical place to relocate the router.
The only problem was that I had to fish a new, longer Ethernet cable from the kitchen all the way to my bedroom, and the only way to do that in an apartment with concrete walls was by routing the cable under the kitchen carpet, sofa, through the wall directly, and then next to my bed to reach the PC.
Quiz
Home Networking & Wi-Fi
Think you know your routers from your repeaters — put your home networking know-how to the ultimate test.
Wi-FiRoutersSecurityHardwareProtocols
What does the ‘5 GHz’ band in Wi-Fi offer compared to the ‘2.4 GHz’ band?
That’s right! The 5 GHz band delivers faster data rates but loses signal strength more quickly over distance and through walls. It’s ideal for devices close to the router that need maximum throughput, like streaming 4K video.
Not quite — the 5 GHz band actually offers faster speeds at the cost of range. The 2.4 GHz band travels farther and penetrates obstacles better, which is why smart home devices and older gadgets often prefer it.
Which Wi-Fi standard, introduced in 2021, is also known as Wi-Fi 6E and extends into a new frequency band?
Correct! 802.11ax is the technical name for Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E. The ‘E’ variant extends the standard into the 6 GHz band, offering a massive swath of new, less-congested spectrum for faster and more reliable connections.
The answer is 802.11ax — that’s Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E. Wi-Fi 6E adds support for the 6 GHz band, giving it far less congestion than the crowded 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. 802.11be is actually the upcoming Wi-Fi 7 standard.
What is the default IP address most commonly used to access a home router’s admin interface?
Spot on! The vast majority of consumer routers use either 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 as the default gateway address. Typing either into your browser’s address bar will bring up the router’s login page — just make sure you’ve changed the default password!
The correct answer is 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. These are the most common default gateway addresses for home routers. The 255.x.x.x addresses are subnet masks, and 127.0.0.1 is your own machine’s loopback address, not a router.
Which Wi-Fi security protocol is considered most secure for home networks as of 2024?
Excellent! WPA3 is the latest and most robust Wi-Fi security protocol, introduced in 2018. It uses Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE) to replace the older Pre-Shared Key handshake, making it far more resistant to brute-force attacks.
The answer is WPA3. WEP is completely broken and should never be used, WPA is outdated, and WPA2 with TKIP has known vulnerabilities. WPA3 offers the strongest protection, and if your router supports it, you should enable it right away.
What is the primary difference between a mesh Wi-Fi system and a traditional Wi-Fi range extender?
Exactly right! Mesh systems use multiple nodes that talk to each other intelligently, handing off your device seamlessly as you move around your home under one SSID. Traditional range extenders typically broadcast a separate network and can cut bandwidth in half as they relay the signal.
The correct answer is that mesh nodes form one intelligent, seamless network. Range extenders are actually the ones that often create separate SSIDs (like ‘MyNetwork_EXT’) and can significantly reduce speeds. Mesh systems are far superior for large homes with many devices.
What does DHCP stand for, and what is its main function on a home network?
Perfect! DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is the unsung hero of home networking. Every time a device joins your network, your router’s DHCP server automatically hands it a unique IP address, subnet mask, and gateway info so it can communicate without manual configuration.
DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, and its job is to automatically assign IP addresses to devices on your network. Without it, you’d have to manually configure a unique IP address on every single phone, laptop, and smart device — a tedious nightmare!
What is ‘QoS’ (Quality of Service) used for in a home router?
That’s correct! QoS lets you tell your router which traffic gets priority. For example, you can prioritize video calls or gaming over a family member’s file download, ensuring your Zoom meeting doesn’t freeze just because someone is downloading a large update.
QoS — Quality of Service — is actually about traffic prioritization. By tagging certain data types (like VoIP calls or gaming packets) as high priority, your router ensures latency-sensitive applications get bandwidth first, even when the network is congested.
What does the ‘WAN’ port on a home router connect to?
Correct! WAN stands for Wide Area Network, and the WAN port is where your router connects to the outside world — typically to your cable modem, DSL modem, or ISP gateway. The LAN ports on the other side connect to devices inside your home network.
The WAN (Wide Area Network) port connects your router to your ISP’s modem or gateway — essentially your entry point to the internet. The LAN (Local Area Network) ports are for connecting devices inside your home. Mixing them up can cause your network to not function at all!
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To keep things clean, I opted for a flat Ethernet cable rather than a traditional round one, so it would be barely noticeable under the carpet.
Routing the cable under the carpet and sofa was easy enough, but I ran into some difficulty pushing it through the hole in the wall, which was just barely wide enough. It took a few minutes, some bending, and a bit of force to get the cable through, but when I was done, nothing appeared damaged on the surface. I plugged it into my PC—and I was off to the races. Or so I thought.
- Brand
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CableGeeker
- Length
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10ft (pack of 2)
CableGeeker’s Cat6 Flat Ethernet Cable is convenient and can easily pass through narrow spaces. It also comes in multiple sizes.
Something felt off, but nothing was obviously broken
Subtle slowdowns are easy to miss
I didn’t notice the slowdown at first. I honestly just assumed the cable was working fine because I had an internet connection, and regular web browsing felt fine for the most part. My internet speed tops out at only 200 Mbps, so I’m already used to mediocre speeds anyway.
The first time I noticed something was off was when I started downloading a video game upgrade on Steam the day after swapping out the cable.
I rarely pay attention to download speeds, since they can vary depending on a number of factors, but what felt strange was that web browsing practically slowed to a crawl—slower than the usual loading speeds I get while downloading something. Another hint came when I was transferring images from my phone to my PC using Microsoft Phone Link.
These transfers normally take around a second per image because their speed is only limited by your LAN setup (which is around 700Mbps for my 5GHz Wi-Fi connection), but for some reason, ten photos took about a minute. Needless to say, something was off with my internet connection, and the brand-new cable quickly became my first suspect.
Testing my internet speed and checking network settings helped me pinpoint the problem
A missing digit revealed the truth
The first thing that came to mind when inspecting my internet connection was, of course, to run an internet speed test. It’s far from the most reliable way to check an Ethernet cable (or even internet speeds), but I figured it’d give me a rough idea of where I was standing—and it did. Instead of sub-200 Mbps internet speeds, I only got sub-100 Mbps.
To confirm that my Ethernet cable was bad, I headed over to Start > Settings > Network & internet > Ethernet. And there it was. Instead of seeing 1000/1000 (Mbps) under Aggregated link speed (Receive/Transmit), I was limited to just 100/100 (Mbps).
This effectively meant that my Ethernet cable was defaulting to the ancient 1995 Fast Ethernet standard, which is a tenth of a gigabit network.
The reason this happened is most likely because I twisted the flat cable too much when I was routing it through the wall. The ultra-thin copper wires inside an Ethernet cable can break easily, and if even a single wire of the eight (four twisted pairs) that an Ethernet cable has is damaged, the cable drops speeds to 100Mbps, as Fast Ethernet can work on only four wires.
Please stop using Cat5 cables (do this instead)
Is your network slower than a snail? The culprit might be hiding in plain sight…
Replacing the cable was cheap and easy
The world’s easiest fix
Although flat Ethernet cables are great for hiding under carpets and furniture, they’re significantly less durable than traditional round ones. Of course, the quality and thickness of the insulation and the wires inside matter as much as the cable form factor, and my flat cable was among the cheapest I could find. If you opt for a flat Ethernet cable, avoid sharp bends and kinks, particularly near the connector.
Since Ethernet cables are very cheap, I bought a new one as soon as I discovered the problem to replace the broken cable. Just like that, I was back to gigabit Ethernet speeds.
Basic checks are all you really need
While I wasn’t happy about breaking a brand-new cable that I had spent twenty minutes installing, I’m glad I didn’t have to spend big bucks on an Ethernet cable tester just to identify the problem.
While those tools are a great investment because you can troubleshoot without relying on a PC, and you can also use them if you want to fix a broken cable instead of replacing it, sometimes the tools built into the operating system are all you really need.
Annoyed by constant Wi-Fi drops? Here’s the fix you need
Say goodbye to Wi-Fi frustration with these troubleshooting tips.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
