Why do I need a crossover cable to connect devices of the same Aug 28, 2016When you need crossover cables is often explained, but why is seldom explained. It has to do with the copper (often referred to as Ethernet) wire itself. In copper wiring, there are four pairs of two wires (eight total wires) pairs are numbered 1-4. The entire copper cable is full duplex, which means data can be sent and received at the same time.