Why should I move to Wi-Fi 6/6E?

[jsmiddleton4]

In banging around to learn about this HT160 thing, of course takes one to next gen routers both AX and 6E, the value/performance equation for the R7800 is undeniable. Why would I bother spending so much MORE money on the next wave of routers?

 

[OzarkEdge]

In banging around to learn about this HT160 thing, of course takes one to next gen routers both AX and 6E, the value/performance equation for the R7800 is undeniable. Why would I bother spending so much MORE money on the next wave of routers?

Don't. Wait until you need it and will actually use it and can't live without it or have no other choice.

OE

 

[thiggins]

If Wi-Fi 5 (AC) is working for you, there is no compelling reason to move right now. You need Wi-Fi 6 devices to take advantage of the standard's benefits. Same goes for 6E. 6E devices are not common now and it will take a year or two until smartphones and laptops have it. Longer probably for tablets.

My testing has shown none of the promised effects from OFDMA, the key technology in Wi-Fi 6/6E. This Qualcomm whitepaper shows you need a lot of devices presenting a heavy simultaneous load on a router to get a benefit.

Does OFDMA Really Work? Part 1 - SmallNetBuilder

We resume our quest to find OFDMA's promised benefits, by first trying to find a good benchmark test.

www.smallnetbuilder.com

Does OFDMA Really Work? Part 2 - SmallNetBuilder

Our test of six Wi-Fi 6 routers found no significant benefit from OFDMA.

www.smallnetbuilder.com

6E does provide a practical benefit of more non overlapping channels and provides up to seven 160 MHz wide channels that are not in DFS frequencies.