I don't use my TV's Ethernet port for 3 very good reasons

By Eli Becht

Published Oct 7, 2025

Eli is a freelance journalist who lives in Detroit, MI. He got his start in journalism covering video games and sports for Heavy before branching out into greater esports coverage at Dexerto. He also has bylines at SlashGear, Sports Illustrated, and more.

He added technology coverage to his plate over his years of writing, and it's something he continues to cover at Pocket-lint. He's interviewed numerous game developers and covered several live events, such as the launch of Destiny 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 in Los Angeles.

He has written more than 5,000 articles and looks to continue adding to that number in the years to come. He has a degree in Journalism from Central Michigan University.

Summary

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Your TV is packed with ports you might not know about. Many of these ports are important, notably the eARC HDMI port, but some of them don't offer the same kind of value. It's a controversial take, but I don't think TV Ethernet ports are very useful. Yes, it gives you a more stable connection than Wi-Fi, but the benefits end there.

I don't want to run a cable through my house

Talk about a tripping hazard

Ethernet adapter connected to Fire TV Stick 4K Max.

If I had set up an Ethernet cable with my TV, I'd need to run it from my office upstairs to my living room. This means it would have to go down a set of stairs, around a corner, and then finally plug into my TV. I'd probably need at least a 50-foot cable, and I don't have any good way of hiding it or getting it out of the way of people walking. I can pull it off upstairs because I have a few rugs that a cable can run under into another room, but getting one downstairs is a different story.

Of course, this is entirely dependent on where you have your internet router or modem. If it's downstairs by your TV, then plugging in a cable is a lot easier and might make more sense. I'm not aware of many people who'd be willing to run a cable from their upstairs to their downstairs just for a stable TV connection, but they might be out there.

I use a first-gen Apple TV 4K

Can't use an Ethernet cable

Newer Apple TV 4K models have an Ethernet port included on them, but that's not the case for my third generation Wi-Fi model. It's a cop-out answer to an extent, but it's true because plugging a cable into my TV wouldn't make a difference, as I rely on an external streaming box for my viewing needs. You can plug Ethernet cables into boxes that have the port, and you'll get a better streaming experience by doing so. However, doing this leads to the same problems I had with the last point, where I'd have to run a cable through my home just to get to the box.

Even if you have an Ethernet port, you don't really need to use it unless you're experiencing notable slowdowns with your streaming. Internet speeds have gotten fast enough that buffering hasn't been a problem in recent memory, at least for me.

My connection is good enough

I haven't needed a cable for years

I used to do anything I could for a stable connection, and I'd even let my YouTube videos sit for a while so they could buffer and load the majority of the video. That hasn't been something I've had to do in a while, and it's a significant reason why I think the Ethernet port on my TV doesn't hold the value it once did.

If my TV were closer to my modem, I'd be a lot more willing to plug in an Ethernet cable, but I'm not sure if I'd notice a difference. Connection speeds have improved so much that I'm not sure if you've noticed a difference when you're plugged in. A cable would likely speed up your download times, but since I rarely download anything more than a streaming app on my Apple TV or smart TV, there's no sense in plugging it in to save a few minutes.