3 devices I’ll never use an Ethernet cable with

• I don’t plug in game consoles anymore
• My TV isn’t plugged in either
• I don’t plug in streaming boxes even if I have the port

I have plenty of extra Ethernet cables lying around my house. I also have more than enough ports on my devices to plug them in if I want to, but the issue is that I don’t want to. If you asked me 10 years ago whether I’d want to plug Ethernet cables into things, I would’ve told you to do it for everything if you could. If you fast-forward to today, I see less of a reason to do so. I have my PC plugged into a cable since it’s right next to my modem and doesn’t have Wi-Fi, so I don’t have a choice there. When it comes to my TV and game consoles, I rely on wireless connections.

That might sound strange to a lot of people, but ever since I got fiber internet, I haven’t felt the need to be plugged in all the time. To be fair, that’s a good thing because it’s a lot easier not to have to worry about where I’m going to run a cord, and it led me to unplug a lot of my devices.

I don’t plug in game consoles anymore

I don’t see the point

Video games have ballooned in size and take up giant chunks of your hard drive, so I forgive you if you want to plug your PS5 in while downloading just to speed up the process. Outside of that, however, I don’t have much of a reason to stay plugged in. I don’t play a lot of multiplayer games anymore, and when I do, it’s typically on my PC, where I am hardwired. If I’m sitting at my desk with my laptop, I’ll also plug that in if I feel like it.

Once a game is installed, I don’t really need the best connection anymore. My Wi-Fi is more than good enough to ensure a stable connection while playing a single-player game. It also doesn’t help that my game consoles are in my living room where an Ethernet cable doesn’t make a lot of sense. Plugging in my consoles means I’d have to run a cable down my stairs, and that’s not something I’m willing to do.

If you play a lot of fast-paced shooters online, you may want to stay plugged in.

My TV isn’t plugged in either

I don’t even use the TV’s features

My TV has an Ethernet port that will certainly give you a more stable connection when streaming your favorite shows, but I have the same problem as my game consoles. I’m not willing to run a cable through my home just to reach my TV, especially since I don’t have any problems with what I’m watching at the moment. It’d make more sense if my shows and apps were laggy, but that’s not happening. A TV doesn’t have to deal with lengthy downloads either, so I don’t get any benefit from the increased speeds a cable can provide.

The other reason I don’t use an Ethernet cable for my TV is that I try not to keep my TV connected to the internet when it doesn’t need to be. I use an Apple TV 4K with my TV, so there isn’t a need to plug my TV. Higher-end Apple TV 4Ks have an Ethernet port, but I’m using a lowly first-gen model that doesn’t have one, so there’s nothing to plug in. Thankfully, this hasn’t been a problem.

I don’t plug in streaming boxes even if I have the port

My Roku Ultra doesn’t need it

Although my Apple TV 4K has Ethernet port, I don’t use it. With fiber internet, I haven’t noticed any drops in connection or slowdowns, so I don’t know what being plugged in would even do. I also have the excuse of not using one because of my Apple TV 4K being downstairs, but I don’t have that excuse with my Roku Ultra.

I could easily run a cable from my home office into my bedroom to get my Roku Ultra plugged in, and I could even hide it underneath rugs so it’s not a tripping hazard. Again, it comes down to me already having a fast connection where I just don’t see the point in plugging my device in. Netflix only recommends speeds of 15 Mbps for 4K streaming, and my Wi-Fi easily surpasses that. Hardwiring would create more stability, but I haven’t dealt with any unstable connections in the past, so I don’t feel like it’s worth the time for me to get a cable running into my bedroom.