Connect your Laptop with Ethernet to Internet (Detailed Guide)

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WIFi can be a pain sometimes when it starts to drop out, provide inconsistent speeds, and results in high latency when playing games online. An ethernet port can help solve all these problems by providing you with a stable and fast connection with minimal latency.

 

Why do laptops no longer have ethernet ports?

These days focus on making laptops slimmer and thinner to not only making lightweight but also make them easier to carry.

 

To achieve the goal of making laptops slimmer, laptop manufacturers slowly started removing as many ports as possible. 

 

And since WiFi does the job for most people, manufacturers removed the ethernet port to save as much as possible.

 

How to connect a laptop to the internet with Ethernet?

Depending on the laptop you have, you might have to take a bit different approach.

 

So am going to go into detail on how you can connect your laptop to the internet with an ethernet port.

 

If your laptop has an ethernet port

top laptop shows a Ethernet port located on the rear. Bottom laptop shows ethernet port located on the side.

 

This would be pretty straightforward if your laptop already has an ethernet port. 

 

Locate the ethernet port on your laptop, usually, it’s located on the side of your laptop. 

 

Sometimes it’s located on the rear of your laptop, especially if you have a gaming laptop.

 

Plug in your ethernet cable in your laptop’s ethernet port

 

Then plug the other end of the ethernet port into your router or plug the ethernet cable into a LAN outlet near you.

 

And that’s it. Your laptop should automatically connect to the internet via ethernet. If your laptop is still using WiFi after connecting to ethernet, then just turn off the WiFi and your laptop would default to the ethernet port. 

 

If your laptop does not have an Ethernet port

If your laptop lacks an ethernet port then you would need to buy a USB to Ethernet Adapter.

 

They are fairly inexpensive so you wouldn’t have to spend much money on them.

 

However, you need to buy the correct one according to the USB ports your laptop has.

laptop side with USB C and USB Type A ports

 

If you have a USB C port, then you can buy the Benfei Type C to Ethernet Adapter.

 

If you have a USB Type-A port, then you can buy the TP-Link USB to Ethernet Adapter.

 

After getting your respective ethernet adapter, plug it into your laptop’s USB port. 

 

Your laptop should automatically detect the adapter and load it in the necessary drivers. The adapter will work without any additional setup.

 

Once you plug in the adapter, plug the ethernet cable into the adapter and plug the other end of the ethernet cable into your router or a wall LAN outlet.

 

And you should be done! Your laptop will now work with an ethernet cable.

 

FAQs

Is Ethernet faster than WiFi?

Ethernet usually tends to provide a faster connection than WiFi. Allowing you to transfer files locally between two computers at much higher speeds. 

 

However, you might not notice a difference if your internet speed is not fast enough to bottleneck WiFi.

 

Do all computers support Ethernet?

Yes, all computers support Ethernet. Even if your Windows or Mac laptop does not have an Ethernet port, they still support an Ethernet connection via an adapter.

 

Will the laptop run faster with an Ethernet cable?

You will feel that your laptop is running faster with ethernet compared to WiFi if you are doing something that is network-dependent. 

For example, if you are browsing the web, transferring files locally over the network, streaming video, or playing games online, you will experience a noticeable improvement in speed and responsiveness.

 

However, it would not improve the performance of your laptop itself, meaning that you won’t be able to run games at a higher frame rate all of a sudden or do other demanding tasks that weren’t possible before on your laptop.

 

Is it better to use ethernet or wireless for a laptop?

It’s better to use wireless for your laptop as it allows you to freely move around without being bound to a single place in your room.

 

However, if you prioritize speed and stability, then we would recommend you connect your laptop to ethernet.

 

Is Ethernet better than WiFi for gaming?

Ethernet is always better when it comes to gaming. It provides you with a stable connection and helps you lower your ping. 

 

WiFi, on the other hand, can be susceptible to interference which can affect the speed of your internet connection and also increase latency.

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