🔥 REVEALED 🔥: Why Has The NEW Fire TV Cube Only Got a 10/100Mbps Ethernet Port?

[@csimet]

A year on and I just bought the cube myself (Gen 3). 100 Mbps is plenty for a box that can only stream one source (uncompressed 4K HDR needs ~25-50Mbps). Wired Ethernet is still way more reliable than WiFi, even if WiFi speeds are greater. No interference or loss of speed with distance. I'm more than happy with the performance and have never noticed an issue. My cube, BR/DVD, TV and AVR all sit on a switch in my AV cabinet and have a shared 1Gbps uplink to my router for Internet and access to my media server.

[@glephil]

This was the most informative explanation on the why the ports are what they are. Thanks

[@cwtek1]

Your welcome!

[@argiodsilvertongue3589]

Actually, this is how we market just about everything (at least in the US); we sell you the lowest form of a thing, then make you buy the upgrade. BTW: I have a Roku TV that also has a built in ethernet port that maxes out at 100Mbps.

[@cwtek1]

Yes that’s right, clever marketing. I did not know that about the Roku too.

[@leeholloway7971]

Really helpful video. Thank you. What I did was disconnect the ethernet cable and connect via WiFi. I am now receiving speeds of 500mbps

[@cwtek1]

Thanks for letting us know.

[@ttube111]

I have an ethernet connected from the new fire TV cube to the Virgin media hub 3 and get around 270mbs. How can I tell if my cube is connected via ethernet or the wifi?

[@cwtek1]

@@ttube111 Go to settings then Network and it will tell you.

[@thewolfydragon1989]

How does that work? WiFi is faster? Is this for gen3 as my gen 2 ethernet is 95mbps and WiFi is 30mbps (5ghz 4ft from router) I have 1gbps (1000mbps) and plugging in/using firecube is slowing everything else down on my mesh network. Unplugging makes everything normal (my ISP keeps sending engineers saying they detecting speed issues and it's all related to both my firecubes. (bedroom and living room)

[@Rspenesmit]

I've tested many ethernet gigabit connectors & most don't improve it much if at all, the way I found to more than double or triple your 100 if you have that much speed your paying for, for example I have 500 speed but on my test with my older Cube not the new one, but I assume this should work also with the new model is I bought a Ugreen USB C type 3 port adapter, a Ugreen USB C to Ethernet Gigbait adapter then a single adapter & connected all 3, for whatever reason all 3 together gave me the 350mb speed, using 1 or 2 did not, and Ugreen brand because I like them best.

[@cwtek1]

Thanks for the information.

[@roadsafegb8740]

You'll never get much more than around 400Mbps with USB 2. If this model uses a USB 2 port, that'll explain the max of 350Mbps that you are getting.

[@robertpoteete8154]

You can get more if you buy a ethernet adapter like what we used on 2nd gen. I'm getting way more than 100 as people think

[@cwtek1]

As the video shows no streaming service needs any more than 30 atm so buying something faster would be a waste.

[@robertpoteete8154]

@@cwtek1 but you should still put it in videos to let people know they have options.

[@cwtek1]

@@robertpoteete8154 The video was made to explain the reason why Amazon did not include a faster Ethernet port.

[@Mr01dschool]

@@cwtek1 Then why bother including WiFI 6E? Actually people who stream local high bitrate 4k remuxes can make good use of a Gigabit Ethernet port because some of those videos need more than 100Mbps to stream. Again no matter how Amazon or anyone else wants to spin this, there was absolutely no legitimate reason to include obsolete port standards on their supposed premium flagship device. Nvidia and Apple offer premium streaming boxes, while Amazon does not. It is simple as that

[@robertpeterwhite7581]

Also why only a 2.0 USB Port and not a 3.0 or 3.1 USB Port

[@cwtek1]

Because of the small amount of memory it has the transfer speed is really irrelevant.

[@Mr01dschool]

Again making excuses for big companies keeping obsolete hardware alive.

[@MiguelTorres-bc7qe]

Muy buen video Chris, yo también pensé que lo hicieron así porque no era necesario, para un dispositivo de este tipo.

[@cwtek1]

Yes I think by Gen 4 they will need to upgrade the usb and Ethernet.

[@tcap7917]

Its economics. Paying pennies for outdated hardware. They need to leave something to make people to want to upgrade to the Cube 4th gen.

[@cwtek1]

Yes that’s right, in 3 years time when we are being offered 8k streaming then gigabit will probably be needed and most people that bought the gen 3 will go and buy the gen 4. win win for Amazon.

[@Mr01dschool]

Good luck with that. Anyone who wants a premium streaming box wouldn't take a 2nd look at a gimped box like the Cube.

[@K1NG_EDWARD]

@@Mr01dschool which one do you think is best. I was thinking of the Nvidia

[@joenhre]

@@K1NG_EDWARD Yes, right now I would say the Nvidia Shield Pro is still the best.

[@K1NG_EDWARD]

@@joenhre thank you 👍

[@manti1923]

And why is it running a USB 2.0 port in 2022 and this is meant to be current!!!!

[@cwtek1]

USB 2 is perfectly adequate for streaming TV shows and movies to any device, USB 3 is handy if your copying lots of stuff from the USB device to the device itself but the fire TV cube 3 only has 16 GB of internal storage and only around 11 or 12 gigabytes of that is usable so you're not going to be able to transfer that much anyway so speed is really irrelevant at the moment.

[@manti1923]

@@cwtek1I have two Nvidia Shields hooked up to Solid State Drives for my games emulators Kodi builds and as well as standard games for the unit as well as large hard drives with all my movies and music and that USB 3.0 makes a big difference!!!

[@Mr01dschool]

@@cwtek1 USB 2.0 is an obsolete port standard. Should have been phased out years ago. USB 3.0 has been around for almost 15 years, It is the current standard with USB 4 just starting to be adopted. There is absolutely no logical reason for any company to be releasing a device with a USB 2.0 port in 2022.

[@cwtek1]

@@Mr01dschool With only 12gb of usable storage, its not going to take much time to transfer that sort of information on a USB 2 or 3.

[@Mr01dschool]

@@cwtek1 You are ignoring the fact that you can use USB for media storage. With Android TV you can also use USB for expandable storage. USB 3.0 being more than 10x faster it makes accessing apps almost as fast as using internal storage. USB 2.0 for such usage can cause issues. My main point here is that USB 2.0 is over 20 years old and the cost between adding USB 3.1 as opposed to the obsolete USB 2.0 is next to nothing. So when a company like Amazon uses obsolete hardware when the cost difference is negligible, it is a slap in the face to the consumer.

[@Skualo-77]

Nvidia Shield TV Pro ver.11 plus the USB 3.0+T7 nvme 3GB ram vs 2 GB ram and I still short .06 yeah made in 2019 not 2022 😉🔥

[@cwtek1]

I did read that the Gen 3 was 20% more powerful than the Nvidia shield.

[@Mr01dschool]

@@cwtek1 More powerful in what way? The processor may be a little faster but other than that, most of the hardware in the Shield is still superior even though it is an older device. There was absolutely no excuse for Amazon to use all that obsolete hardware in their newest Cube no matter how anyone wants to spin it

[@Mr01dschool]

The Apple TV 4K and Nvidia Shield TV Pro are high end streaming devices. The Fire TV Cube is a gimped overpriced box. Not sure why so many rush to defend Amazon for skimping on hardware and software.

[@thewolfydragon1989]

I was thinking changing my living room firecube to the gen 3 but as its still 100mbps while my Internet is 1000mbps (1gbps) it effects my router and slows down my pc to 750mbps. So no point me upgrading from gen 2 at all, while I agree streaming services don't need that high, when you have ALL devices on I get buffering a lot on my firecube as the 100mb connection slows everything (unplugging it makes everything speed up back to 1gbps)

[@TheHandsomeman]

Cost cutting!

[@cwtek1]

Everyone seems to be at it these days!

[@pjdavidson94]

Additional HDMI can be a good addition as this can free up HDMi on your TV. Is it worth £139... definitely not

[@cwtek1]

Not just for a HDMI passthrough definitely not worth it.

[@philipperostin]

Most tv's have only 10/100 ethernet anyway

[@cwtek1]

Yes it’s cheaper for the manufacturer and at the moment it’s just overkill to have anything faster.

[@jaja5870]

ONLY a single USB 2.0 so you can't even power an external mechanical Hard Drive unless it is flash memory or SSD.

[@cwtek1]

I have powered a mechanical 1tb hard drive without any problems on a usb 2

[@jaja5870]

@Chris Waite Interesting, thanks for letting me know. I tried two different hard drives and both struggled to spin up on the cube. These hard drives work fine on my laptop usb2 ports. Will have to try some different hard drives to see what works.

[@jamiejones6685]

People really annoy me and P - Me Off, not many people are going to have gigabit internet in the UK, if you want more than 10/100 use the Wi-Fi 6 to get fast internet speeds, what are you going to use gigabit internet for anyway, Fire Cube Fire Sticks are streaming devices for streaming content not for downloading movies, if you want to download movies use your computer.

[@cwtek1]

Here here, we’ll said.

[@Mr01dschool]

You do understand that a wired connection is always going to be more reliable and more secure than Wireless. If speed isn't that important then why bother offering anything faster than WiFi 4? Why do you accept using advanced WiFi standards but not current Ethernet standards? Why support a big company like Amazon skimping on hardware ?

[@Mr01dschool]

Fire sticks are low end streaming devices, so using lower end hardware on those is somewhat understandable. The Cube is Amazon's flagship streaming device. Using obsolete port standards on a supposed premium flagship device is not understandable.

[@cwtek1]

@@Mr01dschool I think you are missing the point, Amazon are saying at the current time there is no reason to have a port which can handle any more than 30mbps as there are no services that require anymore than that. Amazon can sell the Cube 4 with that when its needed, for them its a great marketing tack tick!

[@Mr01dschool]

@@cwtek1 As a consumer I look at them skimping on hardware as a huge negative. Don't really care for their reasoning. All I know is they lost a customer as I have no desire or reason to buy their gimped device. I have no respect for companies using outdated hardware whether it is some marketing tactic or them just being cheap.

[@martinbonner2585]

Because 100mb is more than enough for streaming and so is USB 2

[@cwtek1]

Exactly right.

[@richardvacanti9428]

Usb 2.0 is not enough for apps like Cody

[@cwtek1]

@@richardvacanti9428 It works fine for me!

[@Mr01dschool]

Fast Ethernet 10/100 and USB 2.0 are obsolete standards. It is foolish to reward companies for skimping on hardware by paying for their gimped products.

[@Bambam21476]

A gigabyte is just bragging rights. Just like a car with 500 hp. Neither is really needed so ya, a 100 Mbp port is just fine for everything we'll ever need.

[@cwtek1]

That's exactly right! I don't know of any service that needs more than 35mbps for streaming at the current time!

[@twosawyers]

It’s truly not needed.

[@cwtek1]

Yes that's right, not at the moment but it will be one day!