this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2023
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The confusing alphabet soup of Wi-Fi versions got renamed. 802.11n became Wi-Fi 4, 802.11ac became Wi-Fi 5, and 802.11ax became Wi-Fi 6. Wi-Fi 7 is still in development so 6 is the best in-use version.
Technically 6E is the best in-use version for compatible devices. Same as WiFi 6 but adds the 6GHz spectrum that was recently unlocked by many regulatory agencies around the world. The 6GHz range is significantly less congested and would have better real-world performance in dense residential areas.
Edit: A few months ago I stumbled upon this site where the author goes quite in-depth about WiFi and does so in a way that is easy to understand. They debunk/corroborate claims and technologies advertised by manufacturers so it really helps demystify the process of selecting the right WiFi gear.
That is a wonderful website, very well written. Thanks for sharing.
6E is great, but basically nothing supports it. I got a 6E capable AP from Ubiquiti, and looking at my devices table, basically nothing has ever used the 6GHz radio. My house has a wide variety of devices, many new. The only thing that's used it is my MacBook
WiFi has literally gone the opposite of USB.
It used to be obvious what USB speeds were, whereas WiFi was 802.11b or whatever.
Now we have WiFi 5 or WiFi 6. And we have USB-C PD 10gbps with AltMode
USB has gotten more complicated and does way more now in more contexts. It charges laptops now, it carries multiplexed displayport signals, it does its own handshake and performs hardware level initialization protocols.
Meanwhile we've been wanting the same thing out of wifi since the start. Nothing's really changed, we just want it to go faster.
You’re thinking of USB-C, not the USB standard. USB PD, Alternative Mode and Thunderbolt aren’t part of the USB spec.
No, I'm thinking about the port. Which is what we are talking about. Usb-c, usb-pd, thunderbolt, etc, all use the same port. I can use the same cable in the same port for all of these.
I'm more confused now than before. I always knew what b, g, n and ac were, but now when people say Wifi 5 or Wifi 6 I don't know which of the standards it corresponds to.
Just count them, that's what I do. 1 is a, 2 is b, 3 is g, 4 is n, 5 is ac, 6 is ax.
pre-numbering, it was almost like trying to decipher Sanskrit when going out to buy a router.
5
4
3
2
1
D:
It means it is only 1/3 evil
That's... Not how any of this works 🤔
Show it for marketing. Not that this WiFi standard would matter much to most users, but if you show it there, you can still make them want it.
This isn't a wrong answers only post so lets make sure everyone is aware of Internet Protocol versions 4 and 6.
Most internet addies look like this 001.002.003.004
That's IPv4, the current common standard. And were running out of addresses.
To fix this some systems are using IPv6 which adds two more numbers (and more bits per number) as well as a whole batch of protocol improvements.
I'm pretty sure that's what the WiFi ⁶ enumerator is about.
...or maybe I'm wrong. All the interne6 suggests its the WiFi protocol version 6. Sorry.
c/confidentlyincorrect
Not only are you correct, your description of ipv4 and ipv6 sounds like if 8 year old looked at the wikipedia page of ipv6 for five minutes, and was asked to explain it in-depth a month later. I'd recommend just deleting your comment, it's awful in so many ways.