Why do I need a switch?

@jeffstrick 

what fiber setup do you have?

Thanks

OP:

Tp-Link makes them for $20 each, plus the fiber.

The outside coax surge protector I use is this one:

https://amzn.to/3FO9KIg

I you have adequate ports and are satisfied with your WiFi performance, you do not need a switch. No switch, regardless of their claims will make better zeros and improve your 1s. Those who make that claim are preying on the ignorance of their customers. Noise is the enemy of sound quality, certainly, but digital, or quantization noise occurs in the analog to digital conversion process as a function of accumulated rounding errors that result from mapping a near infinite dataset into a finite space, e.g. 16 bits deep sampled at 44.1 KHz (CDs). And that has nothing to do with the Layer 1 and Layer 2 data transmission that is Ethernet, wired or wireless. Other noise, from cheap power supplies or poor analog circuit noise rejection, for example do not exist in the digital realm unless they preexist in the input signal and are quantized in the ADC process. Again, nothing to do with Ethernet.

You need a switch in case you wanted to turn off the lights 

for me a nicer switch made a difference, but as part of a more extensive setup with various items helping with noise suppression, improved clocking, and superior power management -- the switch was but one element

that said, i would say that for most, the improvement the switch brings is fairly subtle, and thus one needs a pretty sensitive ear and/or highly resolving system for the difference to be quite apparent

if one cares to dive into the details of what matters and why it matters ... watch this... dry delivery, hang in there, it is an excellent explanation and quite complete in covering the relevant bases

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-StTplQZys