Cable Matters USB to Ethernet Adapter (USB 3.0 to Ethernet) Supporting 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet Network in Black

UPDATE 8/29/2020: Failed again. Although there is a 1-year limited warranty (whatever that means) when I click on product support I’m told that window ended in May 2020 – 6 months after I bought it. There is no way to contact the seller, in my case Cable Matters – their home page has no contact information – so I’m not clear on how to contact them about the 1-year warranty. I’ll try asking them a question from the Amazon seller page. UPDATE 3/21/2020: I got the Apple thunderbolt adapter, used it for a while, but kept this one as a backup. About a month ago I decided to see if this one wanted to work again: it did! It’s more convenient because of the thunderbolt in on only one side of the computer, and it’s the inconvenient side. So I used this one again for maybe a month, and it was fine. Then yesterday it failed again. Maybe it needs like a rest? Regardless, the build quality is poor, and I’m back on the thunderbolt. Not sure why I’m bothering though – ethernet gets up to 325mbps, but wifi is getting 260-290, and I don’t think I can tell the difference, and being wired isn’t all that convenient with a laptop. The great thing about ethernet is that computer wakes up instantly; with wifi there’s a delay of several seconds sometimes, and since it’s a Mac I actually have to shake it to wake it up. UPDATE 12/18/2019: the replacement is a bit better than the original one, but it failed too today, then started working again, then stopped – you get the picture. The speed, when it’s working, is still great – 325mbps – which tells me the manufacturers have the right idea, but not the best execution. My wifi speed is 250mbps +/- so it’s not like I totally need the extra speed. So I’ll start looking for another brand I guess, though this one got the best reviews. UPDATE 11/21/2019: 2 stars for quality, 5 stars for performance. It started working again several hours after it failed; I reported it here and to Amazon, and Amazon sent a replacement that I’m using now. The original one that stopped working has been working ever since, but I don’t trust it to keep going so I returned it. Don’t trust the replacement either really, but I raised the rating from 1 star to 3 stars – the port is still too shallow to accept the full ethernet plug, there’s no click as it attaches securely, and it still can disconnect easily if I happen to move the laptop, and reliability is in doubt, so 2 stars for quality. But when it’s working, the speed is indeed awesome – again at 325mbps when my ISP plan is limited to 275mbps, so 5 stars for performance. I wish Cable Matters had a Thunderbolt 1 and 2 to ethernet adapter so I didn’t have to reserve one of my two USB 3.0 ports for this adapter. I never use the Thunderbolt port otherwise but I need the USB ports for other things like phone charging. UPDATE 11/19/2019: it failed abruptly this morning. Tested it on 3 computers; didn’t work on any of them. Diagnostics showed no ethernet connection. I’m returning it for a replacement, then I’ll keep updating. Meanwhile, back to sleepytime wifi speed. And on my birthday yet! UPDATE 11/14/2019: the adapter’s ethernet port doesn’t accept the full ethernet plug – it’s too shallow to allow the clip to click in signifying it’s secure in the port – and so the cable can pull out very easily. Most of the time it stays connected because I’m not moving the computer around, but I do take it off my lap frequently and that’s when it can disconnect. I don’t know if this is a fault of the device or the cable, but it’s the only ethernet port I have that does this, and I can’t do anything about the cable, which is wired throughout the house. I can understand if ethernet plugs have recently become shorter or something, but really, anybody who makes something to accept ethernet cable should make it so it accepts ALL ethernet plugs of any age – how difficult can that be? So I’m knocking off a star – as long as it’s securely connected, it works. Original review: Xfinity says we’re supposed to get 275mbps – I get that and more on my iMac with ethernet, but on my MacBook Air on wifi, 40 feet from the modem (mostly open, just one open door and one wall), I’m getting only 50mbps. Finally got one of these adapters – thankfully my MBA is old (2013) and still has an ethernet port – hooked it up, and instantly I was at 325mbps! Not that 50mb is exactly slow relatively speaking, and some sites still are in the dark ages when it comes to loading (that’s when you find out how long 3 seconds is these days). 50mb is fast enough that my annoyance with it was more on principle than practice – if the ISP says 275mbps then by god gimme 275! Sometimes at speeds even of 50mbps you can’t really tell if you go to say, 100mbps – but to 325? Yes, I notice. Really notice. A bonus is that something like this is no wifi complications, no pairing, no nothing, just plug and play.Read more

I have a laptop I use as my desktop computer. I have a USB hub that has 2 extra monitors, keyboard, mouse, webcam, that I use as a docking station for my computer. For a long time, I connected to the internet via WiFi with this laptop but the connection wasn’t as reliable as I would like. So I bought this thing, plugged it into my USB hub, turned off WiFi on my laptop, and it has been running this way ever since. Recently I took my laptop with me somewhere and couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t connect to the internet. Finally, I remembered that I turned off the laptop’s WiFi a looong time ago because I wasn’t using it. :-)Read more

So, let’s be clear from the outset, the fact that this product even needs to exist is extremely frustrating , as brands like LG, Samsung etc fail to put 1Gb Ethernet into their TVs. Yes I know all you tech geeks will say so one needs that speed etc but for those who backup their Blu-Ray or capture video in over 4K, 100mb just doesn’t cut the mustard. Enter this little beauty. I added this to my my LG OLED CX, and after previously getting buffering intermittently on my built in Plex app, (to the point of transcoding content to lower resolutions) I’ve fallen in love with it all over again. Simply plug j to your usb , add your cat5/6 and all was solved (note the LG tv says no connection as it’s looking at its own Ethernet port for connection, but it’s definitely online and working) This is a great bit of kit and should be an upgrade for any one who has 4K media streamed locally. It’s frustrating that the small cost of adding this feature isn’t in any TVs but it is what it is. THANK YOU CABLE MATTERS! If you have an LG OLED CX – HIGHLY RECOMMENDRead more

If any of you consume 4k or high res media at home, you’ll know that a lot of smart tvs only come with 100mbps network connections. Sure wifi can be more, but wifi is…. wifi, i.e. not as good as a cable. I installed it on my 4k LG TV 65UJ750V, and wow what a difference it makes to streaming! It doesn’t show up in the menu as a network connection, i.e. it’ll say “network not connected” but it lights up and transfers data – I can now stream netflix and all my local media server (I use Plex) without any buffering. I also used it on my laptop which has no lan connection, and it was achieving over 600mbps transfer rates – so all in all, very happy indeed.Read more

I bought one of these on the back of Vincent’s video (HDTVtest) to increase my LG OLED’s internet speed. Now my TV’s internet speed is not limited to 100mb/s but getting~150mb/s which is the max of my broadband package. Very happy with it. I guess similar items will work as well but decided to go with a tried item.Read more