The weird reasons why your ethernet cable might be slower than your Wi-Fi

It could be hardware, software or something else entirely.

By Lawrence Bonk Nov. 14, 2026 10:00 am EST Unsplash/2H Media Add Engadget on Google: Google Discover

Ethernet cables, otherwise called network cables, are supposed to be two or three times faster than Wi-Fi. That's one of the primary benefits of going with a wired connection. However, that's not always true in a real world setting. Many users have noticed that ethernet cables can actually be slower than Wi-Fi.