I am not running an ethernet cable to my streamer.
Occasionally, my wi-fi strength drops and that sometimes causes problems with the streaming, but generally that isn't an issue and the wi-fi usually remains in the "Excellent" range. When the wi-fi signal weakens, a quick reboot of the Node often fixes the problem, and that can be done with the BlueOS software.
The Node was described as a wi-fi streamer, and it may be designed to work better that way than other streamers, I don't really know. It is about 45 ft. from my modem, so I think wi-fi is the way to go rather than running a 45-ft. ethernet cable, although I could run a 10-ft. cable from the mesh extension to the Node if wi-fi didn't work well. I had to do that at one point with a so-called "Smart" TV that wasn't working well with my wi-fi network, but an update of the router firmware solved that problem.