File transfer speed: Differences between USB, Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth and other cables

In the modern world, the technology relies entirely on the transfer of data and files across different systems, which can be wired or wireless. Today there are many ways to connect different devices, you can transmit from PC to TV using Wifi, listen to smartphone music on bluetooth speakers, transfer data between computers using an Ethernet network cable or a USB cable, with differences in speeds that can change according to the version and also according to the length of the cable itself.
Today it is no longer scary to transfer even large files between computers or other devices and it is also possible to watch 4K videos streamed without any difficulty, provided that the type of support used, via cable or wireless, is fast enough. It therefore becomes interesting to see what the file and data transfer rates of the cables (USB, Ethernet and others) and the wireless solutions (Wireless and Bluetooth) and the differences are .

File transfer speed of

• USB cables
• Ethernet network cables
• Wifi
• Bluetooth
• Firewire and Thunderbolt cables

USB transfer rate

USB is one of the most common ways of data transfer, which can also pass electricity to recharge devices and smartphones. USB, which stands for Universal Serial Bus, has undergone multiple changes over the years with different versions, improving transfer speeds:

• USB 1.0: 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps)
• USB 1.1: 12 megabits per second (Mbps)
• USB 2.0: 480 megabits per second (Mbps)
• USB 3.0: 5 gigabit per second (Gbps)
• USB 3.1: 10 gigabit per second (Gbps)

The USB 3.0 and 3.1 ports are now mounted on all modern computers, often also together with the USB 2.0 ports, which are still very common. Unfortunately, it will be noted that by transferring a file via USB port, the speeds are lower than the theoretical ones seen above. This is because the same devices slow down this speed, even when you connect a cable to two USB 3.1 ports. The USB data transfer rate is also affected by the type of cable used, which may not be fully performing.
Also, the USB transfer rate can become much slower if you use too long a cable. According to the specifications, for USB 2.0 the cable length limit is about 5 meters, while for USB 3.0 it is 3 meters . However, you can extend the length of a cable using a self-powered USB hub or an active USB extension cable.
READ ALSO: Which USB cables to have for each function

Ethernet transfer rate

Ethernet cables are the standard network cables, those that are used to connect computers to the internet if there is no WiFi. Although Wifi is significantly more convenient and cleaner, wired connections via Ethernet are still better, they reduce the delay and offer significantly higher transfer speeds than wireless connections. For example, those who play online video games will certainly prefer to connect their PC or console to an Ethernet cable to minimize the lag.
See also: Better a Wifi network or Ethernet cables "> differences between Ethernet, CAT5 and CAT6 cables and which ones to use, indicating how these cables can be up to 100 meters long.

Wi-Fi file transfer speed

Like and more than Ethernet, Wi-Fi, that is the wireless network connection, has been greatly improved over the years, becoming faster and more reliable. Speaking of the IEEE 802.11 wifi transmission standard, we see here the speed differences in data transfer.

• 802.11b Wi-Fi: 11 megabits per second (Mbps)
• 802.11a, g Wi-Fi: 54 megabits per second (Mbps)
• 802.11n Wi-Fi: 450 megabits per second (Mbps)
• 802.11ac Wi-Fi: 1, 300 megabits per second (Mbps)
• 802.11ax Wi-Fi: 3, 500 megabits per second (Mbps)

However, these speeds are only theoretical and for Wi-Fi this fact is more valid than for the others. The speed of the Wifi is in fact negatively affected by the applications that use it, by the receiver installed inside the device, by network interference and also by the power of the router that creates the connection. In real-world applications, speeds close to those shown are rarely seen. While Wifi is perfect for small file transfers, for HD video streaming and for transferring large files, the wired Ethernet network is definitely better.
In other articles we talked a lot about the speed of Wifi:
Wifi speed test: how to do it right
How to increase and improve the speed of WIFI
What slows down Wifi network speed and internet connection
Why WIFI is slow and how to fix it

Bluetooth transfer speed

Bluetooth was not designed to transfer files and large amounts of data at any given time, but only to transfer data over short distances. The data transfer speeds of the different versions of Bluetooth are:

• Bluetooth 1.0: 700 Kilobits per second (Kbps)
• Bluetooth 2.0: 3 megabits per second (Mbps)
• Bluetooth 3.0: 24 megabits per second (Mbps)
• Bluetooth 4.0: 25 megabits per second (Mbps)

FireWire and Thunderbolt speeds

Less used methods for data transfer are those through FireWire and Thunderbolt connections. These connections are alternatives to USB and have, respectively, these data transfer rates:

• FireWire 400: 400 megabits per second (Mbps)
• FireWire 800: 800 megabits per second (Mbps)
• Thunderbolt: 10 gigabits per second (Gbps)

There are newer versions of FireWire intended to be released in the future. It is assumed that FireWire 1600 and FireWire 3200 will provide 1600 Mbps and 3200 Mbps speeds respectively.
For Thunderbolt, the speed of 10 Gbps is meant per channel and the latest version (Thunderbolt 3), which supports up to 40 Gbps, will probably be the basis of the USB 4 version.
READ ALSO: Differences between types of computer cables, ports, sockets and connectors