News Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E Explained: More Bandwidth, Speed and 6 GHz

HideOut

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WIFI performance is limited by the slowest device. Getting a WIFI6E router won't improve your 5 year old phone's WIFI performance.
They covered that.

Im curious if we'll see quad band routers eventually so that you can still have 2 x 5ghz. I'm sure it'll be $500, if not more. I would assume something like this would likely be more of a comercial space item for coverying large busy lobbies in businesses.
 

kanewolf

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They covered that.

Im curious if we'll see quad band routers eventually so that you can still have 2 x 5ghz. I'm sure it'll be $500, if not more. I would assume something like this would likely be more of a comercial space item for coverying large busy lobbies in businesses.
If you look at the wireless networking section, too many posters think that a new router will magically change their performance. Unless they have an old 2.4Ghz only router, it probably won't change anything. BUT, because it is new, they incorrectly assume that coverage will be better and performance will double.
 
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May 16, 2021
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Curious how efficient the color coding works? Imagine in 10 years when nearly every 2ghz device is wifi6. Will the congested 2ghz get some revival? I suspect there are caveats.
 
From the article, "The higher wavelength of 6 GHz...":
The higher frequency implies a shorter wavelength, but you can't really say "higher wavelength". Wavelength is shorter or longer, not higher or lower. I find some people get confused when mixing higher or lower frequency with the inverse shorter or longer wavelength. 6GHz is a higher frequency, and thus a shorter wavelength.
 
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USAFRet

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If you look at the wireless networking section, too many posters think that a new router will magically change their performance. Unless they have an old 2.4Ghz only router, it probably won't change anything. BUT, because it is new, they incorrectly assume that coverage will be better and performance will double.
If I put premium gas in my base model 2010 Civic, it will go faster, right?
 
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spongiemaster

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WIFI performance is limited by the slowest device. Getting a WIFI6E router won't improve your 5 year old phone's WIFI performance.
Who is spending $100's on a new router while still using a 5 year old cellphone? Among people shopping for a Wifi 6E router today, common sense would dictate far more of them owning a Wifi6 capable cellphone than a 5 year old cell phone. Depending on the number of devices in your home, it is certainly possible, even with older devices, to see faster/more consistent performance if moving from a single band to a dual or triple band wifi router or even more so if moving to a mesh configuration. If you live by yourself and have one phone connected to your wifi, then you aren't going to see double the performance, but it would take someone pretty dumb to think that.
 

Eliad Buchnik

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If you look at the wireless networking section, too many posters think that a new router will magically change their performance. Unless they have an old 2.4Ghz only router, it probably won't change anything. BUT, because it is new, they incorrectly assume that coverage will be better and performance will double.
New or at least better tier router can make a difference. I for years used linksys WRT1900ac and netgear range extenders, I got good speed but I constantly got reliability and QoS issues, mostly because of high congestion with 15 or more devices connected wirelessly. in the recent months I got this router + asus ax6100 and rp-ax56 all of those connected in asus ai mesh. I can say without a doubt while speeds did not improve or improved slightly (because of the limited ISP speed I can get to my house), I rarely get any dropouts or other issues while coverage is definitely better with better signal in remote location in the house. In non ideal conditions you usually see the higher tier routers and the new technologies make the difference.
 
New or at least better tier router can make a difference. I for years used linksys WRT1900ac and netgear range extenders, I got good speed but I constantly got reliability and QoS issues, mostly because of high congestion with 15 or more devices connected wirelessly. in the recent months I got this router + asus ax6100 and rp-ax56 all of those connected in asus ai mesh. I can say without a doubt while speeds did not improve or improved slightly (because of the limited ISP speed I can get to my house), I rarely get any dropouts or other issues while coverage is definitely better with better signal in remote location in the house. In non ideal conditions you usually see the higher tier routers and the new technologies make the difference.

I can agree here. Better router with better antennas, MIMO support, better QoS etc. may make WiFi coverage in home better. However it heavily depends from particular home plan, used devices and surrounding WiFi congestion around. And nothing will help to make old WiFi client device without MIMO support faster.

If I put premium gas in my base model 2010 Civic, it will go faster, right?

With jet fuel your Civic will go supersonic.
 
May 26, 2021
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From the article, "The higher wavelength of 6 GHz...":
The higher frequency implies a shorter wavelength, but you can't really say "higher wavelength". Wavelength is shorter or longer, not higher or lower. I find some people get confused when mixing higher or lower frequency with the inverse shorter or longer wavelength. 6GHz is a higher frequency, and thus a shorter wavelength.

Good catch; this was a somewhat embarrassing typo on my part. I did indeed mean higher frequency and my brain evidently sent the wrong signals to my fingers. Much obliged.