5 Reasons You Should Consider Upgrading to a WiFi 6 Router
If you’re suffering from buffering and latency on your wireless network, make sure that your router is not the reason! Get on the super-fast highway with the latest WiFi 6 technology. Designed to increase network capacity and improve the performance of your home network, WiFi 6 (802.11ax) is the new standard of WiFi. It will empower you with faster WiFi speeds and will reliably support WiFi connections so you can enjoy buffer-free streaming and faster downloads, and add more smart home devices without slowing down your internet experience.
Built to deliver the fastest WiFi throughput to all your connected devices of today and tomorrow, here are the reasons why your next router should be a WiFi 6 router.
Update: In 2021 WiFi 6E launched, unlocking a new 6ghz WiFi band and supporting over 1 Gig internet plans. Learn more about WiFi 6E - 6 GHz WiFi.
Update: Are you wondering about Wifi 7 vs wifi 6? Get the latest scoop on the next WiFi standard.
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WiFi 6 provides the highest level of performance in busy multi-device households
The newest WiFi standard, WiFi 6, builds on the already great WiFi 5 (802.11ac) technology. While WiFi 5 brought gigabit speeds to our WiFi connections, it falls short of delivering the best WiFi experience as smart homes keep getting smarter, with more devices on the network. WiFi 6 uses orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), a key feature that increases overall network efficiency to allow several devices with various bandwidth requirements to connect to your WiFi. WiFi 6 new features include multi-user, multiple input, multiple output (MU-MIMO). This system represents a significant advance over single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO), generally referred to as MIMO. The technology increases the number of connections a single access point can support simultaneously.
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WiFi 6 provides the fastest real-world speeds and range
In WiFi technology, each frequency band (2.4GHz or 5GHz) is made of component streams. It is on these streams that our WiFi data travels. WiFi 5 and WiFi 6 carry the highest number of streams, thus allowing for faster gigabit WiFi speeds. WiFi 6 increases the number of streams to a new high of 12 across the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, whereas WiFi 5 has a limit of 8 in a dual-band configuration.
This increase in streams provides greater functionality and higher gbps connection speed, and your client devices have more paths to communicate with your WiFi router. In fact, WiFi 6-enabled client devices enjoy a 40% increase in speed over their WiFi 5 counterparts.
Check out our blog post on Why WiFi Streams Matter.
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WiFi 6 is designed for the Smart Home
Smart Home devices and IoT applications are proliferating. As a result, WiFi-connected devices in the average home are growing from around 10 devices to as many as 50 or more. Each WiFi-connected light bulb, smart switch, door lock, appliance, or camera is a load on your WiFi network. WiFi 6 has been designed to be able to handle an increase in devices without negatively impacting your WiFi speeds. This results in a smooth streaming experience while providing uninterrupted connectivity of lights, switches, thermostats, and any other IoT device you may add to your smart home.
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WiFi 6 routers are ideal for 4K/8K UHD streaming
Streaming 4K or 8K resolution video requires a consistent high-speed connection. In households with multiple users, ethernet connections get messy, and streaming high-definition video puts an even greater load on the network. With a combination of ultra-fast processors, increased memory, longer battery life, target wake time (TWT), and an increased number of radiofrequency streams, WiFi 6 routers are up to the task of delivering faster speeds for streaming multiple high-definition video sessions without stuttering, buffering or other annoying hiccups you will see with older WiFi technology.
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WiFi 6 clients are available now
6GHz band WiFi 6 products are already here, so if you’ve bought the latest Samsung Galaxy smartphone (which is the first in the upcoming family of WiFi 6 smartphones with other tablets and laptops to follow), you’ll benefit from the faster WiFi speeds that the new NETGEAR WiFi 6 routers offer.
Recognizing the challenge of delivering seamless WiFi coverage to the typical home, NETGEAR designed new WiFi solutions that eliminate the pitfalls of the previous methods. The results are whole home mesh WiFi from Orbi and Nighthawk. Mesh router WiFi provides a seamless and broadened WiFi range without the login disruptions, bandwidth issues, or setup complexities characterized by traditional extenders and additional routers.
Until now, WiFi has been confined to dual-band or tri-band WiFi signals. With WiFi 6E, we gain a whopping 1,200 MHz of new router spectrum, spanning 5.925 GHz to 7.125 GHz, in the UNII-5, -6, -7, and -8 bands. This potentially translates to 59 new channels at 20 MHz wide, while also presenting more potential for various wider channels.
WiFi 6E home mesh system solutions from NETGEAR include WPA3 security and lots more family-friendly and user-friendly features. If, on the other hand, you are a minimalist who needs lightweight and portable WiFi solutions wherever your travels take you, the Nighthawk® AXE3000 WiFi 6E USB 3.0 Adapter might be exactly what you are looking for.
2023 will truly be a banner year for home WiFi 6- enabled devices, as mainstream companies are recognizing the importance of this latest WiFi technology and gearing up to present their latest WiFi 6 portfolio of products.
Make your WiFi internet connection young again! Check out the best-in-class NETGEAR Nighthawk suite of WiFi 6 routers and Orbi Mesh Whole Home WiFi. Our products are supported by the WiFi Alliance and are recommended WiFi devices worldwide.
Learn more about Nighthawk Routers, featuring a range of WiFi 6 Routers including the Fastest WiFi 6E Router available, the RAXE500! Discover our 'What is a WiFi Router' page to gain an understanding of routers and how they work.
