OK, so why shouldn’t such a person go with a powerline adapter kit? Well, while powerline adapters certainly work great for many people, they are very dependent on your home’s electrical system.

Perhaps your living situation prevents you from running an Ethernet cable to the router, or you have too many devices to have them all directly plugged into the router. This is why it is commonly suggested to use Wi-Fi as a fallback, or strictly for mobile devices, rather than a default.ĭespite this, there are still reasons to go wireless. These factors -as well as the fact that Wi-Fi by its nature can only move data one direction at a time -make Wi-Fi much slower and less predictable than directly hooking up to a router or a powerline adapter in ideal conditions. Wi-Fi is limited by range (itself influenced by the building you’re in and any objects in the way), has a higher latency (you will see a higher ping with Wi-Fi compared to a wired connection), and, being wireless, is open to interference from other routers and wireless devices. Wi-Fi is known to be less reliable than a wired connection. The router spits out radio waves, and a wireless adapter receives them and does the same. Meanwhile, a wireless connection is accomplished through Wi-Fi. You have what you need right on the motherboard. This makes a wired connection effectively cost-free in regards to support -you won’t have to buy anything extra for your PC other than the cable itself. The powerline adapters then work by running the network’s signals back and forth across your home’s electrical wiring, offering the ability to connect one or (potentially, depending on the specific kit) more devices in a wired connection with much smaller Ethernet cables.Įvery modern motherboard will support a high-speed Ethernet connection, allowing you to connect to a network by plugging in. You connect the router and one adapter plugged in to an outlet nearby, and plug in the other adapter where you need a convenient wired connection. Powerline adapters allow you to skirt around the need for a long cable. Even a 100 foot (30.48 meter) cable can be bought for relatively cheap. For plugging in to the router directly, very long Ethernet cables upwards of 328 feet (100 meters) can be bought and used with minimal performance loss.

What wifi adapter do i need