# Is it alright to squeeze or squash (in a way) the ethernet cable at all?



## theonethattime (Apr 21, 2009)

My wireless internet connection is quite unstable sometimes, therefore I've decided to switch back to using cable, however, some questions arise: 
1: is it alright to squeeze or squash (in a way) the ethernet cable at all? 
2: and will squeezing affect the connection? 
3: also, will the length of the cable affect the connection? 
4: is there a difference between ordinary ethernet cable and the flat ethernet cable?

Because the router is not on the same floor as my laptop, therfore, I will require at least 15 meters of the cable to connect with, and by doing so, some part of the cable will have to be squeeze through the door and there is not much gap from my door and the doorframe. It would be very nice if someone could kindly answer my questions for me, thank you.


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## Cirx (Apr 21, 2009)

theonethattime said:


> My wireless internet connection is quite unstable sometimes, therefore I've decided to switch back to using cable, however, some questions arise:
> 1: is it alright to squeeze or squash (in a way) the ethernet cable at all?
> 2: and will squeezing affect the connection?
> 3: also, will the length of the cable affect the connection?
> ...


1) As long as you don't harm any of the wires, it's perfectly ok.
2) No, as long as the wires inside are fine
3) Yes, the longer the cable the longer it takes to transmit data to and from the router/pc.
4) Don't know what you are talking about -.-


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

There is no difference in performance for Ethernet cables as long as 100 meters. Length will not affect the performance at all. The difference in propagation time for a short cable and a 100 meter cable would be measured in nanoseconds. :smile:

You do not want to crush the cable, because that's not going to be good over the long run, especially if you actually open and close this door at all.

There used to be some flat cable with RJ-45 connectors on it, but that is not really Ethernet cable, even though folks used it. Ethernet connections REQUIRE twisted pairs for the connection over the entire length of the cable. A run of truly flat cable for any distance for Ethernet will most likely not work, and even shorter runs result in a lot of packet corruption.


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## theonethattime (Apr 21, 2009)

Thanks for all your reply, I think I will stick to the ordinary cable and see how it goes. My friend had a very similar situation like mine and she just used ordinary cable for her internet connection, and for years, there has not been a problem with it. So I guess it will be okay for me too.


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