# How long can an Ethernet cable be before speed drops?

> The 328-foot rule is real, but the cable category matters more than the tape measure.
- Title: How long can an Ethernet cable be before speed drops?
- Summary: The 328-foot rule is real, but the cable category matters more than the tape measure. Up to 328 feet, Cat5e, Cat6 and Cat6a all hold their rated speed. The…
- Keywords: ethernet, networking, cables, home network, internet speed, technology, long, cable, speed, drops, Engadget
- Source: Engadget — https://engadget.com/2252864/ethernet-cable-length-drops-lower-speeds
- Author: Thomas Godwin
- Published: 2026-09-14T00:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: ethernet, networking, cables, home network, internet speed, technology
## The 328-foot line
That odd number is 100 meters, the distance a rated Ethernet speed can travel reliably. Installers use it to budget for signal loss, interference and timing drift.

> An Ethernet cable won't always work perfectly at 328 feet and drop off into oblivion at 329 feet.
## It is not all cable
The 328 feet covers the whole run. A typical setup is 295 feet of solid-core cable in the walls plus up to 33 feet of flexible patch cable at each end.
## Your 50-foot cable is fine
A 10, 25 or 100-foot run on solid Cat5e or Cat6 carries a full gigabit without breaking a sweat. Length only starts to matter once you push past gigabit.
## Category beats distance
Cat5e and Cat6 both do 1 Gbps for the full 328 feet. Cat6a does 10 Gbps for the full 328 feet. Cat1 through Cat4 are phone-line relics you can ignore.
## Cat6 is the trap
Cat6 can run 10GBASE-T, but only to about 180 feet. Past that you get errors and flaky throughput, and the fix is Cat6a, which sustains 10 Gbps to the full 328.

> As you can see, Cat6 can catch you off guard.
## Don't buy more than you need
If your ISP plan tops out at 1 Gbps, Cat8 buys you nothing. Your router ports and your computer have to support the speed too.

> That would be like purchasing an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 so you can play Roblox.
## Going past 328 feet
Drop a switch at the midpoint to split it into two copper runs, or swap the long stretch for fiber with a media converter. For Power over Ethernet, check that a long run still delivers enough power.
## Key takeaway

Up to 328 feet, Cat5e, Cat6 and Cat6a all hold their rated speed. The one trap is Cat6 at 10 Gbps, which only holds to about 180 feet.