In this article, we're tackling the popular "tip" about using an Ethernet cable instead of Wi-Fi when booking appointments on the Italian Consulate's Prenotami system. Is it really a good idea?
Well, there's no easy answer, but we'll teach you how to figure out if it's the best option for you.
We see a lot of people saying to disconnect your Wi-Fi and plug your computer directly into the router with an Ethernet cable. This practice has some basis, but it comes from an outdated mindset where wired connections were always better and more stable than Wi-Fi.
First, we need to understand that computers that support both types of connections have different hardware for each, and each piece of hardware has its limitations. Basically, regardless of the connection, these devices are divided into 3 speeds: 10mbps, 100mbps, and 1000mbps.
Here's the first thing to watch out for. You might have a computer that supports 1000mbps on Wi-Fi but only 100mbps on Ethernet, or vice versa. However, it's more likely that your Wi-Fi connections will always be faster than your wired connections.
To test the speed, you'll obviously need an Ethernet cable. Just switch between the connections and use one of those speed test websites that are easy to find online (just Google "Speed Test"). If the speed is the same on both connections, then both your network card and Wi-Fi card have limits that are compatible with the internet speed at your home or work.
But if you've read our article on connection quality, you know that internet speed is the least of our concerns. What matters is stability and ping.
To test this, we'll check the quality of the connection between your computer and your home router.
Let's start with the Ethernet cable. Plug the cable into the router and your computer, turn off Wi-Fi on your computer, and go to a website to make sure the connection is working.
Now we need to find out your router's IP address:
Open a command prompt on your Windows machine (click on the search bar, type cmd, and hit ENTER). Note: These instructions are for Windows, but all operating systems have these commands.
Type ipconfig and hit ENTER;
You'll see a screen similar to this one, and you'll need to look for a section called "Network Adapter." Below that, you'll see a few lines with numbers, and you should look for the line that says "Default Gateway." The number next to it is your router's IP address. Write this number down. It'll usually be something like 192.168.0.X.
Now type ping router_IP_address -n 15 and hit ENTER.
Alright, it'll send 15 test packets to your router. Just like in the article on internet quality, you'll need to check two things here:
The time it takes for the information to travel between your computer and the router. This time is in the "time" column and is shown in milliseconds. It might say something like "<1" (less than 1 millisecond), 2ms, 10ms, etc. If you consistently see any value above 15 milliseconds, we consider that connection to be poor.
Stability. This time should always be the same and shouldn't fluctuate much. In 15 tests, if the time jumps from 2ms to 20ms and then back to 2ms, that's acceptable. But a really big fluctuation indicates interference in your connection, which could mess up your appointment booking.
Now you'll unplug the cable, turn on your Wi-Fi, wait for the internet connection to come back, and redo the test. The router's IP address will be the same, so just type the ping command again.
Finally, just compare the two connections. The Wi-Fi should have a higher ping time than the cable, but if it's up to 10ms, it's negligible, and there's no point in connecting with the cable, as long as it doesn't fluctuate too much.
With Wi-Fi, you can do another type of test: finding the spot in your house with the least interference. If you're using a laptop and usually try to book your appointment at a table in the kitchen, do the ping test there, save the result, and do the same test in another location as close as possible to the router. Keep testing possible locations and see exactly where your computer experiences the least interference.
Like I said, wired connections experience less interference, but most computers these days have network cards with more limited speeds. If the difference between the two connections is only up to about 10ms, it's not worth the effort to use the cable, and you even run the risk of losing internet speed if the network card can't handle your internet connection's speed.
If you didn't understand the process above, it didn't work for you, or you have any other questions, you can send us an email, and we'll try to help you: prenotami.help@gmail.com
Important: This will not guarantee your success in booking an appointment in any way. What will guarantee it are dozens of details, and we'll try to show you all of them here.
We'll always be sharing tips here from people who have been working with this for many years, as well as instructions that aren't usually found on the internet. If you liked this post, subscribe to our website to receive news and professional tips first-hand and get ahead in the fierce competition for Prenotami slots.
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