Question Can I use wifi 6 router as an access point and still get wifi 6 support?

[WrongRookie]

My main router is TP-Link Archer A7 1750 and the one that is an access point is Asus RT AC-53 . I'm thinking of changing the AC 53 to a wifi 6 router while serving as an access point as not only do I get support on wifi but also get wifi 6.

I just want to know that if my main router doesn't support wifi 6, can I still get wifi 6 support from the secondary router? Or does the wifi 6 support only work for the main router?

 

[RealBeast]

My main router is TP-Link Archer A7 1750 and the one that is an access point is Asus RT AC-53 . I'm thinking of changing the AC 53 to a wifi 6 router while serving as an access point as not only do I get support on wifi but also get wifi 6.

I just want to know that if my main router doesn't support wifi 6, can I still get wifi 6 support from the secondary router? Or does the wifi 6 support only work for the main router?

Yes, I use several Wifi 6 routers in AP mode and they work well and they do provide wifi 6 connection speed and quality. In AP mode they do not rely on the router for their radio functions. The potential problem would be if the AP was attached with a sub-optimal cable to the router, or a very slow powerline adapter for example.

 

[bill001g]

Be careful not to cheap out on the wifi6 router. Many wifi routers only support 80mhz radio bands, this is a problem for many end devices also. You need the 160mhz radio support or you will not see much difference from your current AP.
The bad news is even if it has 160mhz radio support it may not work where you live if there is a lot of interference from neighbors or worse if there is active weather radar on part of the band. If the router detect radar or some other types of traffic it must drop back to 80mhz.
You might consider wifi6e since it uses the 6ghz radio band where there is lots more bandwidth and no restrictions for things like radar. Problem is of course your end devices must be able to use wifi6e to take advantage of this.

 

[WrongRookie]

Be careful not to cheap out on the wifi6 router. Many wifi routers only support 80mhz radio bands, this is a problem for many end devices also. You need the 160mhz radio support or you will not see much difference from your current AP.
The bad news is even if it has 160mhz radio support it may not work where you live if there is a lot of interference from neighbors or worse if there is active weather radar on part of the band. If the router detect radar or some other types of traffic it must drop back to 80mhz.
You might consider wifi6e since it uses the 6ghz radio band where there is lots more bandwidth and no restrictions for things like radar. Problem is of course your end devices must be able to use wifi6e to take advantage of this.

Looking at wifi 6 routers this one seems good for my use.

Amazon.in

Asus RT-AX53U

Will this one do fine?

 

[bill001g]

Looking at wifi 6 routers this one seems good for my use.

Amazon.in

Asus RT-AX53U

Will this one do fine?

It will function but it is highly likely it will not be any faster than your current ac53.

There are 2 main things that make wifi6 faster. First and most important is the support of 160mhz radio channels. The router you selected only does 80mhz...just like the ac53. Next wifi6 allows more dense data encoding but that only works well at short distances. So if you were in the same room it might run a bit faster. The more common situation is that it will run at the same speed as your current router/ap.

 

[bill001g]

You are going to pay a premium for asus brand. If you look for cheaper wifi6 routers that support 160mhz these will work. This tplink support 160mhz radio channels.

https://www.amazon.in/TP-Link-Supported-HomeShield-Archer-AX53/dp/B09NC4SSSQ

These 2 also support 160mhz but HUAWEI is not sold in the USA and I don't know about the other brand.

https://www.amazon.in/HUAWEI-Dual-Band-Gigabit-Internet-Router/dp/B09Q5JPQFR

https://www.amazon.in/MERCUSYS-Dual-Band-Wireless-2402Mbps-MR80X/dp/B09YWMBR2Y

Note these are better than the router you list BUT you are going to have to get lucky for it work better. There is a lot of interference on the 5g radio band.
You may not see much difference from your current ac53. I can't tell if the government approved wifi6e in india so maybe that is why it is hard to find devices for sale on amazon.

 

[WrongRookie]

Thanks @bill001g but I decided to go with Asus

I bought this one.

https://www.amazon.in/ASUS-Router-Supporting-Technology-AiProtection/dp/B081PQR52W/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?crid=3PQZHCIRQZV5S&keywords=ax3000&qid=1683686131&sprefix=ax3000%2Caps%2C557&sr=8-7

It's Asus rt ax3000. My concern is that this router I believe was released on 2019 but then there are revisions that got released later on with different years. How can I tell which one I got and does it matter in this case in terms of life support?

 

[bill001g]

I wish router manufactures didn't do this. TPLINK is even worse than asus about keeping the name the same and changing the part numbers.
Asus has 3 different models the RT-ax3000, GS-ax3000, rt-ax58u which all appear to be the same they use exactly the same parts and have the same fccid. The GS one is their so called "gamer" router they charge more for because it has fancy leds I think.

In addition there are now "V2" models of all those routers. These have a new FCC number from 2022. The main difference appears to be it now has a 2.5g WAN port...along with a higher price tag. They might also use a different/newer broadcom radio on the 5G band but it is unclear the hardware wiki thing I search you can't 100% trust.

This is one of those things you many times need to see the actual box...especially with the tplink models. Most online retailers do not clearly tell you the hardware revision.

The asus one should be a bit easier since it has a 2.5g port so you can tell the newer model.

The performance though will be pretty much exactly the same when they use the same wifi chips. Asus is better than most at getting firmware updates so you can download the latest software. The actual firmware that runs in the radio chips comes from broadcom and is the same even between different brands.