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Ever wonder what Wi-Fi 6E or 7 actually means?
Wi-Fi standards aren’t just numbers, they shape how well your devices talk to your router. Understanding them means more confidence when it’s time to upgrade your gear, and as the honorary tech expert, helping your family upgrade too.
Wi-Fi standards are the rulebooks that routers and devices use to communicate. Each new version brings faster speeds, better performance, and improved handling of multiple devices.
They’re created by the IEEE, short for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. This group sets the global technical standards for things like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Ethernet.
Wi-Fi standards usually have two names:
These versions act like generations. Each one builds on the last to improve how your devices connect and how well your network handles traffic.
Since they are built on top of older generations, Wi-Fi is also backwards compatible. This means older devices can still connect to newer routers, but only using the highest version they both support. For example, if your phone supports Wi-Fi 6 and your router supports Wi-Fi 7, they will connect using Wi-Fi 6.
Each new Wi-Fi standard typically brings improvements in a few key areas:
From early dual-band setups to today’s multi-gigabit stars, Here’s Wi-Fi’s greatest hits.
| Name | Year | Bands | Typical Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) |
2007 |
|
~70-90 Mbps | |
| Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) |
2013 |
|
~400-700 Mbps | |
| Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) |
2019 |
|
~600-1200 Mbps | |
| Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) |
2021 |
|
~800-1500 Mbps | |
| Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) |
2024 |
|
~2000-5000 Mbps |
Wi-Fi is one of the most-used technologies in homes. As we add more gadgets and rely on faster connections, your Wi-Fi needs to keep up.
Wi-Fi standards determine how well your devices talk to your router. Each new generation allows more devices to connect without sacrificing speed or reliability.
Even if you’re not chasing top speeds, newer Wi-Fi standards help everything run more reliably.
Wi-Fi signals travel through the air using radio waves, and just like radio stations, they use different frequencies.
The three main bands you’ll see are 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz.
Each frequency band comes with trade‑offs in speed, range, and how well it handles interference:
| Band | Speed | Range | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Lower speed | Longest range | Smart home devices and faraway rooms |
|
|
Moderate speed | Medium range | Streaming, gaming, and video calls |
|
|
Fastest | Shortest range | Wi-Fi 6E or 7 devices close to the router |
Your device and router work together to pick the best band depending on your location and what you're doing, whether it's streaming, video calling, or just browsing.
Think of frequencies as the lanes your Wi-Fi travels on, and standards as the driving rules your devices and router follow. You need both to have a fast, reliable connection.
Here's how they team up:
Your device and router choose which frequency to use based on distance, signal quality, and what they both support. The standard determines how well they manage the connection.
If both your router and your device support a newer standard and a higher frequency band, you get the best of both: faster speeds, less lag, and smoother performance.
Only if the hardware already supports it. If your device doesn’t have the right specs, no update will make it work with Wi‑Fi 6 or 7. Most older devices will need to be replaced to get those features.
Older devices will still work to a certain point, it depends on how old they are. Wi-Fi is backwards compatible, letting your devices connect with the highest version they support, but some devices may be old enough there are no standards they are able to connect to on your router.
If you're looking to bring your own router, there are a few specs you should keep an eye out for.