Have a internet speed less than expected when we connect via Wi-Fi, we can say that it is usual. You may be too far from the router or be in an area with interference, for example. On the other hand, connecting by cable and seeing that the speed is not good, that is not so common. It can occur for different reasons and it is advisable to correct them. We are going to talk to you about why you should take action if you have less than a certain speed when you connect via Ethernet cable.
Specifically, that speed we are talking about is 100Mbps. If you do a speed test and you see that you have less or just that speed, it may be due to one of the reasons that we are going to mention. It will be a problem, since you would not be taking advantage of the fiber optics that you probably have contracted.
Be careful with Ethernet cable speed
We can say that connecting by cable will allow us to reach the maximum contracted Internet speed. At least, that’s how it should be. If you have a good ethernet cable and your equipment is adequate, you should receive the speed that reaches your home. For example, if you have contracted 500 Mbps symmetrical fiber optics, you should achieve a speed close to that. The problem is that, sometimes, when doing a test we see that it is limited to 100 Mbps or slightly less.
What happen? A common reason is using the wrong network cable. You may be using one that you had at home from when you had ADSL and not fiber. An old cable, lower than CAT 5e. That means it will be a Fast Ethernet cable, which will limit your connection to 100 Mbps.
Another reason you might have less than 100 Mbps is because you have a network card other than Gigabit Ethernet. The same thing happens with Fast Ethernet cables: they will not be able to operate at more than 100 Mbps, even if you have much more contracted. When you do a test, you will see that you get that speed.
But be careful, although these two are the main cases, it could also happen that you have a new cable or a network card that does reach up to 1 Gbps, but that one of the two has a problem. For example, you could have pulled the cable and damaged the network card connector. It’s something that can happen.
Check other causes
These are the reasons why you may not go over 100 Mbps when you connect by cable and which are usually the most present. However, there are other causes that you should also control. The goal should be to find the reason why you do not have good Internet speed and thus be able to take action.
There could be a general problem with the network and what you have contracted does not arrive. To check this, it is best to connect with different devices and do a speed test. If you connect via Wi-Fi, make it right next to the router. This way you will know if it is really a failure of a specific device or of the entire network.
It could also happen that you have a problem with that specific device, at the software level. You could have some malware or have the outdated card drivers, For example. There are possible causes that you should check to achieve a good Internet connection and have adequate speed.
Therefore, if you have less than 100 Mbps when connecting via cable, there is something wrong in most cases. Normally it is due to having an old network cable or a limited network card, but there are other reasons that could also affect it. It is important to choose a good network cable.
