Do I need an ethernet port on laptop?

[DonnyB]

I have fiber optic wifi at 100/100 DL/UL and am using an Asus AC-68U router. I am looking at a laptop that has no ethernet port, but does have a wifi radio that is wifi 6 (ax). Will I still get 100 Mb speeds with this laptop using wifi (and not ethernet)?

 

[Keith Gorham]

Yes an hard wired port is not really needed.

 

[L&LD]

Depends on your distance and obstacles between the laptop and the router, the load your ISP can absorb at peak times, and the server you're connecting to.

What is so important about getting 100Mbps over Wi-Fi through the WAN? Just curiosity, or is there a necessity for this level of performance?

 

[Moabdave]

I've got a couple of wifi-only laptops in my home office. The only issue I've ever seen is VPN tends to disconnect more on the Wi-Fi only machines than the Ethernet connected machines. However, i'm not a gamer, so the only real intense activity I use my laptops for is streaming video, and have never had a problem doing that.

 

[thiggins]

You should be able to get 100 Mbps unless you have a really crowded 5 GHz channel.
You can always add a gigabit Ethernet port using a USB3 adapter. I assume the laptop has one of those?

It's always good to have an Ethernet device around when you're trying to debug Wi-Fi problems.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Buy a USB - Ethernet adapter as Tim said when you are having connection problems nothing beats being able to take your laptop and plug it directly into your modem/ONT and see what you ISP is really delivering. The adapter, even if it USB 3 wont get you gig speeds but often faster than WiFi.

Also with an adapter you can also plug the adapter into a tablet or a phone.

If you happen to be in a hotel with poor Wifi and they still have Ethernet jacks in your room it makes streaming Netflix so much more enjoyable!

 

[ben1557]

I think if you don't have an ethernet port, then it's not a big deal, because you can buy an ethernet-to-usb 3.0 adapter for $ 10 or something like that. The main feature of laptops-mobility, ethernet and dvi ports-this is the last century: D