Monoprice1FT 24AWG Cat6 550MHz UTP Ethernet Bare Copper Network Cable - Blue

This Cat 6 Ethernet cable is of good quality and rated for "in wall", installation. I used it to run a permanent wire in the ceiling to a media room. It feeds an Amazon Fire Stick 4K and works well.The tabs on the plug are strong and covered under rubber boots. In my case, where I do not plug and unplug the cable with use, that works out great as I never have to worry about the cable coming loose. Unplugging it can be a bit of a challenge going "bare hands". The trick is to use a small flat screw driver that enables you to fully push in the locking tab to release the plug; I think it is the rubber boot that covers the release tab that limits how far in you can push the tab making it seem impossible to unplug. If you have a need to frequently unplug the Ethernet cable then perhaps you may want to consider a different cable to avoid potential frustration; perhaps a cable without the rubber boot or one with a softer rubber boot. If you are using it for a more permanent setup where you do not unplug it after installing then this is a great value and it works well. Giving 5 stars for permanent use application which is my experience. For frequent unplug need, I would rate it 4 stars because of the rubber boot on the plug making it difficult to unplug; use of a small flat screw driver does help.

What we have here is a long patch cable. The Monoprice products I've used have been good quality for the money and this cable is no exception. When I need more cables, Monoprice will be among the brands I consider.

I bought 2 half foot patch cords and based on a reviewer's suggestion, was ready to file down the top nub of the clips based on all the past reviewers comments about how hard these were to remove. I compared the flexibility and profile compared to other brand patch cords that are easy to remove and saw no difference. So testing out, these came out easily when pressed. Maybe Monoprice directed the Chinese factory to fix the problem. No slowdown with Mbps speed as they performed as advertised.

The shroud around the clip on the plugs makes it difficult to nearly impossible to remove from devices without using a screwdriver or similar object to get around the shroud and depress the clip.

Exactly as described..."STRANDED" Cat6 which makes it a very flexible patch cable.(edit) - Other reviewers mention the difficulty in removing the cable once plugged in. While this is true, I make up smaller patch cables (3' 6' and 12' lengths) and use my own RJ45 connectors and boots. The included connectors and boots are discarded. So, for me it's a non-issue.

I was surprised how thick and stiff these cables were, compared to my previous Cat 5 cables. But they pulled easily through the wall once I carefully unrolled them, and they're working fine for my switch-switch patch. I probably won't think of them again after I finish writing this review. And that's the point, right?

Good

The price on these is very good and they probably work okay electrically. But that doesn't matter to me because they are so difficult to remove. I won't buy these again. I purchased 3 other brands from Amazon and they do not have this problem. One was so difficult to remove that I had to remove the adjacent connectors and I needed a tool to release it. For a minute I thought I was going to have to replace the component that the cable was plugged in to. This is apparently caused by the stiff rubber shroud that covers the connector release. I remember seeing this design may years ago but I thought all cable companies abandoned this design. I could probably cut the shroud off with a razor blade but I am not 100% sure that's the cause of the problem. Even when I press directly on the release, which requires a small screwdriver, it still seemed difficult to remove. Also - I purchased two colors - and the black cable is worse than the red cable.After this experience I ordered several cables from Amazon - in a different brand. The other brand was more expensive so this cable may still be a good value - if you don't mind the hassle with removal of the connector.