Wi-Fi Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Which is better, Wi-FI or a wired Ethernet connection?

Posted on October 19, 2025

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Question from Kalin: I really love your blog Rick, especially how you answer people’s tech questions.

I know that most of the questions you answer are practical in nature but mine is somewhat theoretical so I hope you won’t mind answering it for me.

The question is this: If you have a choice, do you prefer using a wired Ethernet connection or Wi-FI to connect to the Internet? [Read more…]

Q&A: Should I let my neighbor piggyback off my WiFi network?

Posted on October 15, 2025

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Question from Mallorie: I need some advice Rick, and it’s sort of a touchy situation.

We live in a duplex and our neighbor has a 14 year old son who bought a Straight Talk phone from my daughter.

The thing is she didn’t reset the phone before she sold it to him because he said he’d like to just take over her phone number, and she said that would be fine.

This phone still automatically connects to our WiFi network, and I know for a fact that he uses our WiFi a lot because he told my daughter that he does.

My question is do you think he could cause us any problems by piggybacking off of our wireless network? [Read more…]

Q&A: Does my WiFi network really need a password on it?

Posted on June 11, 2025

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Question from Deborah: I’ve been using my wireless router without a password on the WiFi connection for some time.

My boyfriend told me I need to put a password on the WiFi connection but I don’t think it’s necessary because I don’t have any neighbors living close by to piggyback off of it.

I like being able to let guests connect to my network without having to hassle with a password.

Do you think it’s ok if I leave it without a password? [Read more…]

How to use a wired Ethernet connection with a newer MacBook

Posted on February 24, 2025

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These days wireless Wi-Fi connections are the norm, but there are still situations in which we need to connect our computers to a router with a wired Ethernet connection.

In fact, just last month three different people asked me how they can connect a recent MacBook Pro or MacBook Air that doesn’t have an RJ-45 Ethernet connector to their router via an Ethernet cable.

It can be certainly be done, and it’s actually quite easy to do… [Read more…]

Try this when your WiFi devices can’t connect to the Internet

Posted on July 17, 2024

If you’ve been using the Internet for a while, chances are you’ve had trouble getting your computer or a mobile device to make or keep a working Internet connection at some point in the past.

While they can be quite irritating, many Internet connection problems can be fixed with a simple reboot procedure.

It might take you a few minutes to reboot all of your Internet-related devices, but it’s a simple procedure that will fix most any transient glitch that happens to afflict your local network. Here’s how to do it the right way: [Read more…]