Hendrik Sejati/Shutterstock We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. If you’ve ever gone through Amazon looking for Ethernet cables or other networking hardware, you’ve likely come across Ethernet splitters at some point. However, while Ethernet cables can do more than you think, products like splitters aren’t at all what they say on the tin. In fact, you’re probably really looking for a network switch. Ethernet splitters, for the most part, slow down your connections because of the way they are built. Splitters turn an Ethernet connection into two by splitting the signal, but they halve the current signal instead of doubling it. Older splitters will almost certainly slow down speeds because they rely on 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps connections, forcing your speeds down to those levels. Newer devices, like those from UGreen, seem to get around this problem by serving as a pint-sized Ethernet switch rather than a splitter. When faster connections became the norm, the problem of Ethernet splitters became more significant. As speeds increased, Ethernet splitters physically couldn’t keep up, because the hardware has a maximum speed of 100 Mbps. As such, it is best to consider a network switch, capable of supporting a much faster and more modern connection without losing speed. Ethernet Switch vs Splitter Panumas Nikomkai/Getty Images Not only are internet splitters limited to two ports, but some brands also don’t support two connections simultaneously. This is, again, due to a physical problem: they are soldered together and all the pins go to both sources rather than separate connections, treating it as a single device. A network switch, on the other hand, is built so that each connection it provides is its own connection on the network. This includes assigning IP addresses, because the dispatcher will not be able to tell the router that each connected device requires its own IP address to avoid conflicts on the network. Other than that, a Gigabit Ethernet switch will handle modern home connections much better than a splitter. Since most home connections now operate at 100 Mbps or higher, the splitter cannot handle the bandwidth. The switches provide the full speed of the connection with negligible speed loss, since most daily traffic will not flood the connection. This comes in handy if you’ve turned an old computer into a server or home media center, because transferring files between your PC and your media center will be as fast as the connection allows. Post navigation USB hub vs. Docking station: what’s the difference? 4 laptops with the best battery life in 2026
Hendrik Sejati/Shutterstock We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. If you’ve ever gone through Amazon looking for Ethernet cables or other networking hardware, you’ve likely come across Ethernet splitters at some point. However, while Ethernet cables can do more than you think, products like splitters aren’t at all what they say on the tin. In fact, you’re probably really looking for a network switch. Ethernet splitters, for the most part, slow down your connections because of the way they are built. Splitters turn an Ethernet connection into two by splitting the signal, but they halve the current signal instead of doubling it. Older splitters will almost certainly slow down speeds because they rely on 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps connections, forcing your speeds down to those levels. Newer devices, like those from UGreen, seem to get around this problem by serving as a pint-sized Ethernet switch rather than a splitter. When faster connections became the norm, the problem of Ethernet splitters became more significant. As speeds increased, Ethernet splitters physically couldn’t keep up, because the hardware has a maximum speed of 100 Mbps. As such, it is best to consider a network switch, capable of supporting a much faster and more modern connection without losing speed. Ethernet Switch vs Splitter Panumas Nikomkai/Getty Images Not only are internet splitters limited to two ports, but some brands also don’t support two connections simultaneously. This is, again, due to a physical problem: they are soldered together and all the pins go to both sources rather than separate connections, treating it as a single device. A network switch, on the other hand, is built so that each connection it provides is its own connection on the network. This includes assigning IP addresses, because the dispatcher will not be able to tell the router that each connected device requires its own IP address to avoid conflicts on the network. Other than that, a Gigabit Ethernet switch will handle modern home connections much better than a splitter. Since most home connections now operate at 100 Mbps or higher, the splitter cannot handle the bandwidth. The switches provide the full speed of the connection with negligible speed loss, since most daily traffic will not flood the connection. This comes in handy if you’ve turned an old computer into a server or home media center, because transferring files between your PC and your media center will be as fast as the connection allows.
