Yes, a power short or surge can lead to problems with the Ethernet port.
Yes, a power short or surge can lead to problems with the Ethernet port.
Backstory: I've noticed lights flickering when I leave a light on and then switch on the ceiling fan or plug in a vacuum cleaner. This has been happening for the past two years in my condo, and after some random PC problems, I think I might be experiencing power shorts or surges that could be damaging my computers.
Story: A few months ago, my "Gaming Desktop" PC connected via Ethernet to my router started having unreliable connections. After a lot of troubleshooting, I replaced it with a USB Wi-Fi adapter and it worked perfectly. Now, my other "Netflix" PC in another room, which only uses Wi-Fi, is behaving the same way—very unstable and intermittent. By connecting the USB Wi-Fi adapter from my Gaming Desktop to the Netflix PC, it now functions properly.
Question: Could these issues be related? Should I consider a surge protector for both computers or just upgrade to better ones? Any suggestions would be appreciated.