<p>I'm an incoming freshman ('17) and I bought a macbook pro last month, but not through CCI. I didn't include an ethernet port adapter in my options and didn't think much of it. However, while looking through old threads, even some as recent as 2011, I've been reading that wifi isn't great or highly accessible everywhere on campus and most classes provide ethernet cables for students instead. I'll be living in Koury if that factors in to wifi access.</p>
<p>I've got a two-part question. Will it be a major problem to not have an ethernet port on my laptop? If so, will getting a hotspot/microcell or a thunderbolt-to-ethernet adapter suffice?</p>
<p>Wifi will probably be slower and might cut off… Cheapest way will be USB to ethernet adapter… they are like 5-10$</p>
<p>I thought Macbook Pros come with ethernet ports? Anyway, I have a Macbook Air with no ethernet port, so I bought a wifi adapter to connect to ethernet and the internets good now. Don’t rely on dorm wifi because its based in the lounges, so if your room is far from a lounge its gonna suck.</p>
<p>The only time you’ll need an ethernet port on your laptop is if you’re in some of the chem labs where you carry your laptop and they don’t have wifi. You can buy a USB-ethernet adapter later when you need it.</p>
<p>Wi-Fi in the dorm was very poor (Horton) so we set-up a router/network in the room for wireless connectivity with the help of the dorm computer guy.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies. I talked to the IT guys today in Chapel Hill.</p>
<p>I’m right by the lounge in my dorm, but I might invest in a wifi adapter of some sort. I’ll definitely buy some kind of Ethernet adapter. My MBP only has 2 USB ports, one of which I use for a wireless mouse, so I’m leaning towards the thunderbolt adapter for Ethernet. </p>
<p>Again, thanks so much for the advice, I really appreciate it.</p>