Mobile operators have spent millions and millions of dollars to deploy the network infrastructure that allows us to have 5G connections on our mobiles, in addition to promoting advertising campaigns on the benefits it brings to connections .
It is true that devices spend many hours connected to these networks in order to serve content on diffusion or activate the operability of applications. However, have you stopped to think about the time we spend connected to a Wi-Fi network?
There are more and more devices that connect to the home Wi-Fi network and therefore it is worth paying attention to the type of connection that the device offers us. router. Additionally, most mobile connection hours are offered over Wi-Fi.
So we’re going to tell you everything you need to know about the new Wi-Fi 6 mode and the benefits it brings to your device’s connections.
Wifi 6 as a big upgrade
Wifi 6, also known as the 802.11ax standard, is the latest mode to hit the market. So the router Wi-Fi 6 has been technically available since late 2019 but, as usual, the technology didn’t make its way to cheaper routers right away.
In fact, you probably don’t have router in your home of type Wi-Fi 6, unless you bought one in 2021 or 2022. If you continue to use the model provided by your Internet service provider when you signed up for the connection, it probably does not support support Wi-Fi 6.
In any case, know that this is an important update. Wi-Fi 5 is fine, but Wi-Fi 6 improves it by offering new RF channels that provide more bandwidth.
Wifi 6 also uses a few technologies to highlight, such as MU-MIMO and OFDMA, which help improve the capacity of a router to manage traffic between devices and prioritize if necessary.
The speed difference may be noticeable. The TP-Link Archer A7 it can offer speeds of up to 450 Mbps in my tests. The TP-Link Archer AX50and router Basic Wi-Fi 6 can deliver speeds of up to 680 Mbps under the same conditions, which is a 50% improvement.
These numbers are far from the maximum performance guaranteed by Wi-Fi 6, but it’s a much more useful comparison than quoting theoretical bandwidth. most people buy routers economic.
Fortunately, this shows that choosing a cheap Wi-Fi 6 model rather than a cheap Wi-Fi 5 model has its advantages, and still generates an additional gain and speed in connection speed performance.
The most notable jump is from a router wifi 4 (says 802.11n) to one of which we speak of wifi 6. The bandwidth for the first is 300 Mbps, but in real life, connected computers usually do not exceed 100 Mbps.
Upgrading directly from Wi-Fi 4 to Wi-Fi 6 is like upgrading your computer’s graphics and switching from using the built-in Intel chip to equipping your computer with a powerful dedicated graphics card such as the Nvidia RTX 3060.
speed ranges
But beyond the speed benefits, Wi-Fi 6-style networks also extend signal coverage, providing a stronger signal in places where there’s typically less coverage or in dark areas with no signal. .
These router They shine especially in the reliability section. I had the opportunity to test several models of router wifi 6 from different brands such as AVM, Linksys, Netgear or TP-Link and they all deliver a much more consistent signal.
Such is the case that with a router previous generation, I felt the need to add Powerline wireless access points to deliver the signal. With him router In Wi-Fi 6, the coverage is much higher to the point of being able to do without some of them.
What about the Ethernet connection?
I mentioned that Wi-Fi 6 is the latest standard for wireless networks. That’s actually half the truth, as Wi-Fi 6 recently received an update that brings us to Wi-Fi 6E, a modality that offers even better performance.
And it is that the wifii 6E is almost the same as the wifii 6, but it adds a new wireless frequency band of 6 GHz. If you buy a router with wifi 6E and you use a compatible device, it will appear in the list of available networks as well as the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands that you are used to managing.
This new band has a very high frequency which provides very high bandwidth, but may pose more problems when addressing long distances. This turned out to be true in my tests.
And router Netgear RAXE500 connected to mobile Galaxy S21 Ultra from Samsung allowed me to reach Wi-Fi speeds of up to 827 Mbps and exceeded 780 Mbps in several rooms of the house. However, in a larger office, the 6 GHz band was slower than the 2.4 GHz band.
Speeds this high can replace Ethernet in most homes. I have a Gigabit internet connection which in practice tends to reach around 900 Mbps when connected to a PC via Ethernet, which is close to 827 Mbps for Wi-Fi.
What router do I need to get Wi-Fi 6 speeds?
opt for a router of this type in 2022 is a good choice, since enough time has passed for us to have access to models at a fairly affordable price, far from the highest prices that occurred during the year of its launch.
Router prices have come down and unlike some consumer electronics and chips, so far it’s not hard to find products in stock.
One of our main recommendations is the model TP-Link Archer AX73, but if you are looking for a cheaper model, you should consider alternatives such as the Honor Router 3 or the TP-Link Archer AX10.
For professionals looking for greater customization in their home or even deploying a Wi-Fi 6 network in an office or small office, they should appreciate an advanced router such as the Fritz!Box 7590 AX with endless customization and management possibilities.
This manufacturer also has a router kit combined with a Wi-Fi signal repeater with which to deploy wide Wi-Fi 6 coverage. This is the case of the Fritz! mesh set the one based on the operating system Fritz!OS It is possible to manage the main functions from the smartphone.
Other alternatives in terms of combination products are the mesh system Netgear Orbi 6E, or, the kit sold by Amazon as a Eero Pro 6Ea very fast and economical option in systems that support Wi-Fi 6E mesh.
How to get the best Wi-Fi 6 at home?
Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E connections are backward compatible. This means that a current router can connect to older devices that only support standards from years ago, and vice versa.
However, performance will be limited to the slower standard between the two devices. Try connecting a Wi-Fi 5 laptop to a Wi-Fi 6E router, for example, and you’ll still get Wi-Fi 5-like connection speeds.
Support for Wi-Fi 6 is common on modern computers, but not guaranteed on cheaper systems. If you buy a new laptop like the Dell Inspiron 3000, for example, you might end up with an older Wi-Fi 5 wireless adapter.
The same goes for most laptops and desktops sold on Amazon for less than $500. PCs that support Wi-Fi 6 currently use Intel AX200/201 or Intel Wi-FI AX1650 adapters (this includes AMD Ryzen laptops).
They both work well. The Intel Wi-Fi AX1650 adapter tends to achieve higher speeds, especially in the higher frequency range, so it’s worth picking up whenever you can and will use it.
How to upgrade PC to Wi-Fi 6 connections?
Upgrading a PC to Wi-Fi 6 is harder than you think. There are USB Wi-Fi 6 adapters, but they are quite expensive and can be hard to find in stores.
The D-Link Wi-Fi 6 USB Adapter AX1800 it sells on Amazon for $60, about three times more than a typical Wi-Fi 5 USB adapter. I also read that this D-Link model uses a Realtek adapter which does not support the fastest wireless channels available for Wi-Fi 6, so it may not work as well.
Desktop computers have more options for adapter upgrades and are generally less expensive. An internal Wi-Fi 6 adapter from any brand can cost around $40 in Amazon.
Most desktop adapters use the same Intel wireless adapters found in laptops, which work well and have an external antenna that can be moved to a better position.
However, installing an internal adapter means that you will have to open your PC case, which could prevent more than one from maintaining their PC’s warranty if it turns out that it is not. not from a PC clone.
It is possible to replace the internal Wi-Fi adapter on some laptops. However, this is a harder practice for most people, to the point that many current 2022 laptops aren’t designed to be opened.
How to upgrade PC to Wi-Fi 6E?
Support for Wi-Fi 6E has only just begun to make its way to PCs. Intel’s AX210 adapter is starting to make its way to laptops like the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 whose current price is $2,339.10.
Intel has also announced an AX1675E Wi-Fi adapter, although it’s not found in any currently available machine. Expect these adapters to be common on high-end desktops as early as mid-2022.
The Intel AX210 is also starting to hit stores as internal wireless adapters for all types of PCs and laptops. They are not expensive, although availability seems quite limited.
In this way, it seems that nowadays finding a Wi-Fi 6E compatible USB adapter seems like a complicated task. In any case, the down payment is generally less than $100, well below what the purchase of a new graphics card or a new PC component entails.
If you’re not ready to upgrade to Wi-Fi 6 just yet, you may be able to get some extra performance out of your Wi-Fi network with some tips we’ve compiled in this Wi-Fi article. how to speed up wifi and your home network.
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