Hot off the heels of the latest "New" WiFi 6e. WiFi 7 has already been announced with new devices and routers on their way.
WiFi standards can be confusing. In this article we take a look at all the different versions of WiFi, what they actually mean and most importantly why it should matter to you.
So firstly what are the WiFi standards and how can you tell which standard your devices and router support.
The WiFi standards
What to look for on your router/ device
If all the above wasn't confusing enough, your device and router then has a slightly different way of showing what it supports. Instead of listing each standard on it's own they will instead show what they support by adding them all together for example:
WiFi Standards: IEEE802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax
Ethernet Standards: IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3u, IEEE 802.3ab
Note that the above doesn't advise if it is WiFi 6e only that it uses the "ax" standard.
WiFi 6 or WiFi 6e
Comparing WiFi 6 and WiFi 6e is annoyingly necessary for the home environment. However it is a very simple comparison.
Choose a system that supports WiFi 6e.
Whilst systems that are WiFi 6 will be faster than their WiFi 5 counterparts. These devices will be hamstrung by the fact, they do not actually currently allow mainstream devices to take advantage of the new standard.
Should I wait for WiFi 7?
Short answer is no, the WiFi 7 standard will be coming in 2024, but mainstream devices will take time to filter through.
As such your current devices will more likely be upgraded to WiFi 6e in the foreseeable future. Add to the fact that WiFi 7 will be backwards compatible, then you're better off upgrading to a WiFi 6e system than waiting.
So what do I do now?
Now you know the most important differences between the WiFi standards, you can decide which is best for your setup.
At Home Network Specialists we can help you with design, implementation and optimisation of your home network.