Do You Need Wi-Fi 7?
There are benefits of utilizing Wi-Fi 7 over Wi-Fi 6 and 6E. However, is there a drastic enough improvement in Wi-Fi 7 for the average home user to make the switch?
Todays tech world makes it difficult to stay up to date. With such rapid advancements these days, adopting new tech can quickly turn obsolete in a blink of an eye. And, like many advancements, they require a whole new chipset to be used by devices therefore, only making the new tech available to the newest of manufactured products. Many haven't even adopted Wi-Fi 6 or even 6E into their home networks. Yet, here we are, with Wi-Fi 7 already hitting the mainstream market while Wi-Fi 8 (802.11 bn) is set to be certified by end of 2026/early 2027.
Do you need to upgrade to Wi-Fi 7? To answer this question properly it becomes highly dependent on determining how outdated your current Wi-Fi network is and whether your current mobile tech supports it. If you have recently just upgraded your mobile devices, it may already be Wi-Fi 7 capable however, if you have devices that are a year or more old, chances are, they will not support the full benefits of Wi-Fi 7.
Speaking of the benefits of Wi-Fi 7, let's take a moment and simply break down Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 in a way that's easy to understand, focusing on their key differences, including the pros and cons:
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) & 6E:
- The Basics:
- Wi-Fi 6 was designed to handle a large number of devices connected to a network at the same time. Think of it as a highway with more lanes, reducing traffic jams.
- It improves efficiency, especially in crowded areas like apartments, offices, or stadiums.
- The 6 GHz band provides access to more available channels, including wider 160 MHz channels. This increased bandwidth allows for faster data transfer speeds and higher throughput.
- Pros:
- Improved Capacity: Handles more devices without slowing down.
- Better Efficiency: Optimizes data flow for smoother connections.
- Reduced Latency: Less lag for online gaming and video calls.
- Widespread Availability: Wi-Fi 6 routers and devices are common and relatively affordable.
- Wi-Fi 6E: Takes the advancements of Wi-Fi 6 and further enhances them by providing access to a less congested and wider frequency band, resulting in a significantly improved wireless experience.
- Enhanced Performance: Wi-Fi 6E makes it ideal for bandwidth-intensive applications such as 8K video streaming, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR), which require high speeds and low latency.
- Cons:
- While a good improvement over previous protocols, it is now being superseded by Wi-Fi 7.
- Wi-Fi 6E has a far shorter wavelength compared to the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. This means that 6E GHz signals are more susceptible to attenuation (weakening) by walls, floors, and other obstacles. Consequently, the effective range of Wi-Fi 6E is far shorter than that of Wi-Fi 6. Devices utilizing 6E must have a clear line of sight to the router and not more than 15 feet away.
- While it improved speeds, it is not quite as fast as Wi-Fi 7.
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be):
- The Basics:
- Wi-Fi 7 takes everything Wi-Fi 6 does and cranks it up. It's like building super-fast express lanes on that highway.
- It focuses on extremely high speeds and very low latency, ideal for demanding applications like VR/AR and 8K streaming through wider channels (up to 320 MHz)
- Pros:
- Much Faster Speeds: Significantly faster than Wi-Fi 6 and 6E.
- Lower Latency: Even less lag, crucial for real-time applications.
- Increased Efficiency: Even better at handling many devices.
- Future-Proofing: Prepares you for the next generation of internet demands.
- Multi-Link Operation: (MLO) allows devices to use multiple frequency bands at the same time, improving efficiency and reducing congestion.
- Puncturing: A new feature, allows the Wi-Fi to bypass small areas of interference within a channel, allowing the rest of the channel to remain in use.
- Cons:
- Higher Cost: Wi-Fi 7 routers and devices are more expensive.
- Limited Availability: Wi-Fi 7 is newer, so compatible devices are currently far less common.
- For many average home users, the extra speed may not be needed.
Key Differences in Simple Terms:
- Speed: Wi-Fi 7 is significantly faster than Wi-Fi 6.
- Efficiency: Both are efficient, but Wi-Fi 7 is far superior in this regard.
- Latency: Both have low latency, but Wi-Fi 7 has even lower.
- Cost: Wi-Fi 6 is generally more affordable.
- Availability: Wi-Fi 6 devices are much more common.
As you can quickly see above, there are benefits of utilizing Wi-Fi 7 over Wi-Fi 6 and 6E. However, is there a drastic enough improvement in Wi-Fi 7 for the average home user to switch over? This now brings us back to our big question of whether you should upgrade your current network to Wi-Fi 7.
Which One Should You Choose?
- If you need a highly reliable, speedy and efficient network for everyday use, including streaming and gaming, and additionally want to save money, Wi-Fi 6 is a great choice.
- If you want the absolute fastest speeds, the lowest latency, and are willing to pay a premium for future-proofing, Wi-Fi 7 is the way to go.
- If you are a serious gamer, or someone that streams very high resolution content with multiple devices, then Wi-Fi 7 is a much better choice.
Wi-Fi 6 and 6E is highly efficient and lightening fast. I personally upgraded to this 3 years ago and am so glad I did. We have a household with heavy media streaming, gaming, working remotely and video calls - and more often than not, it's happening all at once and the network doesn't even minutely stutter. Also, at the time, we had recently upgraded a couple of our laptops and mobile devices which were Wi-Fi 6 and 6E ready so, it made perfect sense to make the switch as we would assuredly gain the full benefits that Wi-Fi 6/6E offered. To be completely frank, I can't even see how the network could perform any better as it handles everything we throw at it with complete ease.
That being said, if you are currently looking at updating some of your mobile devices, computers and network, due to the fact they are now aging by several years, it would make complete sense to upgrade to Wi-Fi 7 (assuming you have highspeed Internet). The upgraded devices you purchase now would, more than likely, be Wi-Fi 7 capable (make sure to research that) and you would be utilizing the most up to date technology. Wi-Fi 7 routers are still a bit pricey but if you have the budget, it makes all the sense to upgrade. But, if you are on a tight budget or only plan to gradually update devices over time, Wi-Fi 6 is an excellent alternative and trust me, it will be more than enough until we get to Wi-Fi 8!
If however, you are currently on Wi-Fi 6, there would be absolutely no need to make the jump to Wi-Fi 7. The average household user wouldn't even experience (nor, even need to experience) the extra oomph of Wi-Fi 7 - it would be complete overkill. However, if you are a heavily demanding Wi-Fi user, must have the latest tech and have a healthy budget to work with, then by all means, knock yourself out and upgrade to even better performance.
