Ethernet or wifi? Any preferences?

Configuration
1

I’ve had my RPi running HA setup to use a hard wired ethernet connection from day one.

I just recently needed to connect another device to the router using a hardwire but realized my router only has 4 connections available and they are all used.

The question is in the title.

Are there any real performance hits using wifi on a RPi3 over a hardwire?

Right now the only things I use network traffic for is external access to my frontend, MQTT, Emulated Hue and SSH into the Pi. well, aside from the occasional updates and such.

2

You want a switch. Hardwired will always beat out wireless

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3

I always use Ethernet wherever possible. Maybe not much performance hit in your case but switches are VERY cheap.

4

True. And I think I have one laying around somewhere but it’s just one more thing to clutter up the desk with.

5

The key thing to remember is that wifi is for convenience, not performance, or reliability. Do you want your Home Assistant to have a reliable connection?

6

depends on the wifi and hardware i guess.

if you have a router and or switch that has a slower speed and at the same time a high speed wifi, the wifi could be faster.
but in general, an ethernet connection is faster.

but even if your wifi is faster, you probably want your automations to be reliable.
and an ethernet connection is ALWAYS more reliable then a wifi connection.

7

+1 for switch. Think about it like this; a server (like HA) should always be connected via Ethernet. A client (like a laptop), can be wired or wireless, for convenience. That’s my $0.02.

8

Unless your switch is 10/100, WiFi is never faster. :wink: You cannot reach gigabit speeds with WiFi currently with hardware available to consumers.

9

Just remember the Pi is (I think) only 10 anyway - certainly not Gigabit…

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10

You know, I almost put that in my comment too, but was sitting here thinking the pi3 had a gigabit nic. LOL.

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11

hahaha!! easily forgotten

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12

Well, I definitely know the switch i have won’t be a gigabit switch. I’ve had it for years but never really had a use for it. Until now it seems.

The other device I need to connect is also a RPi3. So I guess those won’t be hurt by the slower switch.

…or maybe it’s a hub :thinking: I’ll have to dig it out to see.

What speed Is the RPI wifi adapter?

13

dear God, I hope not. If it is, just throw it away.

802.11n Wireless LAN

14

:laughing:

I agree. If it is I need to. Maybe that’s why its been in the closet for so long.

I really can’t remember anymore.

15

Why does it matters how the Home Assistant hub is connected to my home router? All the devices are on weak wireless networks (Z-Wave, ZigBee) anyway. I fail to see how the Ethernet or Wi-Fi make a difference here.

Furthermore, with Home Assistant you don’t have to have access to the Internet, so why does it matter how (if at all) is the machine running Home Assistant connected to my home router?

16

Unless you have some integrations that talk to the cloud. And don’t forget upgrades.

17

Thanks @francisp but my point/question was that the key is the network of devices inside my home and I trying to figure out if I’m missing something. That network of device wouldn’t get any better with Ethernet, right?

18

I think ethernet will always be better in terms of reliability than wifi. And if you add any device that requires a higher bandwidth then ethernet is the way to go.

But of course if none of the devices that you control from HA use ethernet or wifi (802.xxx protocol) and you don’t want to use a remote connection for managing your configuration and you don’t ever need to see your dashboard from any remote devices (even ones local to your own network) at the HA IP address or you never want to do any updates then there is no reason to ever connect your HA to the router. :neutral_face:

But as you can see there are many reasons why you need to have it connected for just practical necessity.

19

Thanks @finity.

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20

That’s why I always wire my RPi to a router. One thing is if some WiFi sensors drop off for a couple of seconds/minutes. And a completely different thing is when HA (with its DB and possibly MQTT broker) becomes unavailable.
To keep the story short - wired connection will save you plenty of nerves/effort in the long run so go that way if possible and you won’t be disappointed. :wink:

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