Using Ethernet and Wi-Fi at the same time

Can you use Ethernet and Wi-Fi at the same time?

Which one your computer uses

It uses the connection with the best route priority, which is normally Ethernet on Windows, Ubuntu and macOS. Each connection that can reach the internet gets a default route, and each route has a priority:

• Windows uses the metric: the lowest number wins. It's automatic by default and based on link speed, so a wired connection usually gets a lower number than Wi-Fi.
• Ubuntu (NetworkManager) also uses a route metric: Ethernet gets 100 and Wi-Fi 600 by default.
• macOS uses the service order in Network settings: the first connected service in the list is used.

So in all three, Ethernet normally comes first. Traffic to devices on a local network can still go out through the adapter that is attached to that network, for example to reach a printer that's only on Wi-Fi.

Do the speeds add up?

No. A single download, a game or a video call uses one route at a time. Combining two connections into one faster link is called bonding or load balancing, and it needs either a router that does it or a service that tunnels your traffic through its own servers. Windows, Ubuntu and macOS don't set this up for you out of the box.

Is it worth keeping both connected?

Usually yes, if your Wi-Fi can reach the internet in a different way than your cable (a phone hotspot, a second provider, a separate access point) or if you just want a backup that is already connected. The cost is small: the Wi-Fi adapter stays on and keeps its address.

What it won't do by itself is switch when the cable is still plugged in but its internet has stopped. The system ranks connections by link, not by whether the internet behind them works. See when the first one fails.

Prioritize Ethernet over Wi-Fi on Windows 11 and 10

Windows already prefers Ethernet unless someone changed the metrics. To check, run in PowerShell:

Get-NetIPInterface -AddressFamily IPv4 | Sort-Object InterfaceMetric |
  Format-Table InterfaceAlias, InterfaceMetric, AutomaticMetric

If Wi-Fi is on top, use one of these two options in PowerShell as administrator, with your own adapter names.

To let Windows rank them again:

Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -AutomaticMetric Enabled
Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias "Wi-Fi" -AutomaticMetric Enabled

Or to fix the order yourself (the lower number wins):

Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -AutomaticMetric Disabled -InterfaceMetric 5
Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias "Wi-Fi" -AutomaticMetric Disabled -InterfaceMetric 100

The Settings app has no metric option; the graphical way is ncpa.cpl → adapter Properties → Internet Protocol Version 4 → Properties → Advanced → Interface metric. More detail, including why a metric change sometimes seems to do nothing, is in the Windows guide.

Prioritize Ethernet over Wi-Fi on Ubuntu

Give the Ethernet profile a lower route metric than the Wi-Fi profile; the lower number wins. Check the current routes with ip route show default. To fix the order in the saved profiles (use names from nmcli connection show):

nmcli connection modify "Wired connection 1" ipv4.route-metric 100
nmcli connection modify "MyWiFi" ipv4.route-metric 600
nmcli connection up "Wired connection 1"

The Ubuntu guide covers temporary changes and NetworkManager's connectivity check.

Prioritize Ethernet over Wi-Fi on a Mac

Move Ethernet above Wi-Fi in the network service order. In System Settings:

1. Open System Settings → Network.
2. Below the list of services, open the … (action) menu and choose Set Service Order.
3. Drag your Ethernet service above Wi-Fi and choose OK.

In Terminal you can see the order with:

networksetup -listnetworkserviceorder

and set it with sudo networksetup -ordernetworkservices, which needs every service name in the new order, exactly as the list shows them. An Ethernet adapter may appear under its own name, such as a USB LAN adapter.

macOS falls back to the next service when the first one's link goes down. If the Ethernet keeps its address but the internet behind it is gone, people report that the fallback is slow or doesn't happen.

When the first one fails but stays connected

Usually nothing changes on its own, because the cable's link is still up; Ubuntu's connectivity check is a partial exception. All three systems handle an unplugged cable well. The hard case is a cable that stays connected while the router or provider behind it has stopped working: the link is up, so the ranking doesn't change. Fixing that needs something that tests the internet through each connection and changes the order when the first one stops answering, then changes it back.

LAN Wi-Fi Manager does that on Windows, Ubuntu and macOS (macOS as an untested preview). It keeps both connections up, pings through each adapter every 30 seconds by default, moves your traffic to Wi-Fi after 2 bad checks of the LAN, and moves it back after 2 good ones. It changes the same settings described above: the interface metric on Windows, the route metric on Ubuntu and the service order on macOS.

Related guides

• Switch from Ethernet to Wi-Fi automatically on WindowsInterface metrics and the manual fix on Windows 11 and 10.
• Ubuntu: use Wi-Fi when Ethernet has no internetNetworkManager route metrics and the connectivity check.