Home > Consumer Reviews > AmazonBasics RJ45 Cat5e Ethernet Patch Cable (50 Feet / 15.2 Meters) [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]

The AmazonBasics RJ45 Cat5e Ethernet cable is an excellent value when compared to name-brand cables from the likes of Belkin and others. You get the same quality cables but for less money. You no longer have to take the risk of buying random generic cables in order to find the best value. My only reservation is that Amazon's warranty is an anemic 1 year. Belkin typically offers a lifetime warranty on their cables. Every now and then cables go bad, but it's pretty rare unless you abuse the connectors.

The PVC shielding is flexible enough so that you can wrap the cables easier. The RJ45 connector clips have a snag-free design so when pulling your cable from the tangled mess of other cables, it will not snag or break off. They are also gold-plated to resist corrosion but I have never had Ethernet cables corrode on me. I have crimped thousands of feet of Ethernet cables for work but none as nice as these.

Cat5e is limited to 328 feet, just like Cat5. Cat5e however, will support gigabit Ethernet (1000Base-T) better than Cat5 because of stricter specs on far end crosstalk. Gigabit Ethernet was designed for use with Cat5 but is more typically used in 10/100Base-T networks.

I have no complaints about the frustration-free packaging. I disagree with the other reviewer about these cables being "unbreakable" but I do agree that Amazon could have just put a label on the box rather than wrapping the box with more cardboard.

If you are looking for pre-made Ethernet cables, I highly recommend the AmazonBasics cables without any reservation whatsoever. All my future Ethernet cable purchases will only be AmazonBasics cables with the hope that they offer more color choices.

What can you say about Ethernet cable? It works. The minimal packaging is a good idea. We use the cable for temporarily connecting an XBox 360 game console to the Internet. It's nice to have for that.

But it's hard to say much more about a commodity product like this. It's like reviewing an apple or an orange or a potato. Pretty generic, and hard to tell one from another.

Kudos to Amazon for entering the cable market and doing it right. This is a well constructed cable with a snagless connector. The packaging can be opened without tools though the double boxing for shipping seems excessive. Other vendors sell similar products for a similar price but none of them have Amazon's great website, easy ordering process and excellent customer service. I will be buying my cables from Amazon in the future.

Amazon's ethernet patch cable connects well and solidly, although the little rubber nub that protects the tab makes it slightly difficult to remove the first few times because, at least on my computer, the rubber nub jammed up against the computer. Once it softened a bit, it worked well, both to remove the cable and to protect my fingers.

At 50 feet, this cable is intended for hardwired connections in different rooms or to thread in the walls/under the floor. For most uses in wireless households, the length is overkill; however, many devices still require non-wireless connections to a router, and for those, this is perfect.

But it's still just a patch cable. Nothing special. The Frustration-Free packaging was welcome: the most difficult part to open was label that acted as a seal. You get a plain brown cardboard box containing a coiled cable secured with a single twist tie. No plastic bags or blister packs. The only strange part was that the cardboard box came packed inside another, fairly large cardboard box.

For an affordable, no-frills ethernet cable, this is a good choice.

-- Debbie Lee Wesselmann

This cable is sturdy and works just as it should. We've had no problems whatsoever since plugging it in.