Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E: Which type of router you should pick and why

Netgear Nighthawk RAX50 Source: Netgear

Best answer: Wi-Fi half-dozen is your best bet until Wi-Fi 6E routers and devices become widely available.

Wi-Fi six or Wi-Fi 6E: What's the deviation?

Wi Fi 6e Certified Phone Source: Nick Sutrich / Windows Cardinal

To understand why Wi-Fi half-dozen is still currently a better option than Wi-Fi 6E for most people, you have to empathise how Wi-Fi 6 routers work and why they're still early in their lifespan. Wi-Fi half-dozen is like a performance patch to Wi-Fi 5. It but does a lot of things ameliorate and more efficiently, making your internet connection as invisible equally possible. It essentially doubles the maximum speed throughput from Wi-Fi and uses that power to saturate connections to devices with more information. Again, put only: It'due south just better than what came before.

Wi-Fi 6E isn't called Wi-Fi 7 for a reason. It's almost the same thing but with a big benefit that, for well-nigh people, is more hereafter-proofing than anything. Wi-Fi 6E gets exclusive access to the 6GHz ring. Not the 5GHz band that other Wi-Fi standards become. In comparison, the 6GHz ring has a central departure. Although it technically performs at the same speeds as 5GHz, the 6GHz band allows advice with your devices on more channels. More pathways to your devices means less overlap, which ways faster existent-world speeds.

Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E: The problem with early adoption

Dell XPS 13 9300 Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Fundamental

While an improvement to our electric current Wi-Fi technology, Wi-Fi 6E is still extremely new, and therefore has a long route alee of it before it becomes ubiquitous enough to matter. Many people nevertheless don't apply the benefits of Wi-Fi half dozen. Add to that the importance of having devices, similar a phone or a laptop, that benefit from Wi-Fi 6E, and you accept a technology that's too early on in its infancy for anyone but the virtually dedicated enthusiasts to consider.

It'due south merely also early to really make utilize of information technology. And because of that the prices of routers and devices that even back up information technology are absurdly high. Unless money isn't an object, there'southward no reason to invest in a Wi-Fi 6E setup right at present. There are much better ways to better speeds if that's your issue.

Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E: Looking forward

How to play Oculus Rift games on Windows Mixed Reality Source: Windows Key

All of this said, Wi-Fi 6E has potentially huge benefits for the future. Devices that demand loads of bandwidth that can be next to your router or signal are becoming more common. Think of something similar VR headsets that rely a lot on wires. If yous could transfer that sort of information at high speeds via Wi-Fi 6E, it might make the unabridged engineering more attainable for people in different environments. The just issue is that the trend for this engineering science to fluctuate is so loftier that it'due south hard to tell what this will expect like in even v years.

Regardless, Wi-Fi 6E is a very promising characteristic for the future. If enough people kickoff to pick upwardly routers capable of it, you'll starting time to run across fifty-fifty more than devices that actually function in tandem with them. For now, it'south simply hard to see that condign a reality.

Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E: Choosing a router now

Netgear Orbi Ax6000 Wi Fi 6 Mesh System Hero Source: Netgear

For now, stick with Wi-Fi half-dozen. In that location are many routers out there that make use of it, and in that location are many more coming. Wi-Fi 6E will be something to worry well-nigh several years for now. For the biggest benefits to your connexion speed, look into Wi-Fi half-dozen routers. Chances are, you have a lot of devices that would happily slurp upward that information if you had one. And fifty-fifty if y'all don't, it'southward worth making sure you accept information technology for whatever devices you buy downwards the line.

It's also good to note that Wi-Fi 6 route pricing is starting to normalize as the technology becomes more normalized. Information technology'due south not cool to pick i up because many of the products are comparable to Wi-Fi five versions. And for some companies, like in mesh networks, information technology's well-nigh hard not to get Wi-Fi 6.

Our choice

Netgear Nighthawk RAX50

A stiff, fast, reliable Wi-Fi half-dozen router

The Nighthawk RAX50 is exactly what you lot desire from a Wi-Fi half dozen router: fast and reliable. Information technology too comes with plenty LAN ports and a USB three.0 slot.

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