Benefits and Drawbacks of Wi-Fi 6E? (2024)

FAQs

What are the downsides of WiFi 6E? ›

The key difference between the Wi-Fi 6 standard and the new Wi-Fi 6E extension is that Wi-Fi 6E essentially creates a "fast lane" for compatible devices and applications. The result: faster wireless speeds and lower latency.

While both Wi-Fi 6 and 6E offer improvements in speed and efficiency, Wi-Fi 6E stands out with its exclusive access to the 6 GHz band. This leap forward means you can handle more devices, experience less interference, and enjoy faster connections.

Wifi 6 offers faster speeds, handles more devices, and extends its range, making it ideal for crowded spaces. While powerful, WiFi 6 may involve installation and device upgrade costs. End-users need to comprehend the differences between WiFi standards.

The good news: Wi-Fi 6 routers are completely backward compatible with all older Wi-Fi devices that support earlier versions, including 802.11 ac/n/g/b/a. The catch: Not all devices support Wi-Fi 6. Many devices may still work properly on the network using Wi-Fi 6, but not all devices will support the new standard.

WiFi 6 works across the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, while WiFi 6E also works around the 6 GHz band. The 6 GHz band provides more channels and less interference, leading to improved performance and reduced congestion. WiFi 6E can offer faster data transfer speeds compared to previous WiFi versions.

WiFi 6E is an upgraded version of WiFi 6 and uses an extended implementation of 802.11ax. It operates on a more powerful wireless spectrum, the 6 GHz (gigahertz) radio-frequency band. This type of broadband internet delivers much faster speeds with less signal interference.

Since each version brings with it greater speed, data is transmitted faster so the device is not consuming as much energy. However, Wi-Fi 6/E will make even more improvements in battery savings with a feature called Target Wake Time. This feature lets the device enter a low-power mode until its turn to transmit data.

The higher the frequency, the faster the throughput, which means anyone installing Wi-Fi 6E products like the new Nest Wifi Pro will enjoy combined speeds of up to 5.4 Gbps – twice as fast as Wi-Fi 6.

The “E” in Wi-Fi 6E stands for “Extended” since Wi-Fi 6E extends the capabilities of Wi-Fi 6 to the 6 GHz band for more capacity, wider channels, and less interference. View the infographic.

What devices can use WiFi 6E? ›

As game consoles take years of planning to put together, it makes sense that neither the PS5 or Xbox Series X support Wi-Fi 6E which was adopted the same year they both launched. However, including Wi-Fi 5 over Wi-Fi 6 in the Xbox Series X does seem like a missed opportunity on Microsoft's part.

If you don't have a Wi-Fi 6 router already, you might need to upgrade to Wi-Fi 6 for these reasons: Too many devices. The more devices you have, the more congested your network. If your router's hooked up to multiple laptops, phones, tablets, and smart TVs, you'll definitely benefit from a Wi-Fi 6 connection.

Drawbacks or disadvantages of WiFi 6

➨OFDM subcarrier spacing is narrower at 78.125 KHz. This means good phase noise oscillators and highly linear RF front ends are essential. ➨As 1024-QAM is used to achieve higher data rates, EVM specification is tight.

Wi-Fi networks that use Wi-Fi standards older than the newest standard will not offer you much more speed. However, if you're using a wireless network with an older standard and want to connect devices that support WiFi 6, then it's worth upgrading your router so those devices can get the fastest speeds possible.

With increased bandwidth, WiFi 7 is able to reduce latency by more efficiently managing how data is transmitted via its channels. It also uses multiple channels simultaneously to ensure data reaches devices quickly. WiFi 6E can only use one channel per device at a time.

Whether deployed in a new or existing building, Wi-Fi 6E APs require more power than previous generations, typically around the 25.5 Watts limit of PoE+. The reason for this is the third radio, as each new radio increases the energy consumption linearly.

Ethernet cables can give you a consistent speed of up to 10 Gbps. On the contrary, the latest WiFi 6E gives 5 to 8 Gbps. Hence, it's crystal clear that Ethernet is faster than WiFi.