Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7: What's New?
Understand the improvements in Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) and Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) including OFDMA, MU-MIMO, MLO, and what they mean for your home network.
The Wi-Fi Generation Timeline
| Standard | Name | Year | Max Speed | Key Innovation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 802.11n | Wi-Fi 4 | 2009 | 600 Mbps | MIMO, dual-band |
| 802.11ac | Wi-Fi 5 | 2014 | 3.5 Gbps | MU-MIMO (downlink), wider channels |
| 802.11ax | Wi-Fi 6 | 2020 | 9.6 Gbps | OFDMA, uplink MU-MIMO, WPA3 |
| 802.11ax | Wi-Fi 6E | 2021 | 9.6 Gbps | 6 GHz band (more spectrum) |
| 802.11be | Wi-Fi 7 | 2024 | 46 Gbps | MLO, 320 MHz channels, 4K QAM |
What Wi-Fi 6 Brought
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) focused on efficiency in crowded environments rather than raw speed:
OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access)
Previous Wi-Fi standards served one device at a time per transmission. OFDMA divides each transmission into smaller sub-channels, serving multiple devices simultaneously. This is transformative in homes with many IoT devices.
Uplink MU-MIMO
Wi-Fi 5 supported Multi-User MIMO only for downloads (router to devices). Wi-Fi 6 added uplink MU-MIMO, allowing multiple devices to send data to the router simultaneously.
Target Wake Time (TWT)
Devices negotiate scheduled wake times with the router, sleeping between them. This dramatically improves battery life for IoT sensors and mobile devices that only need periodic connectivity.
BSS Coloring
In apartment buildings where dozens of networks overlap, BSS Coloring marks transmissions from your network to reduce false collision detections with neighboring networks. This improves throughput in dense environments.
What Wi-Fi 7 Brings
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) targets high-bandwidth, low-latency applications like VR/AR, 8K streaming, and cloud gaming:
Multi-Link Operation (MLO)
The headline feature. Devices can simultaneously transmit across multiple bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz) using a single connection. This provides:
- Aggregated throughput — Combine bandwidth from multiple bands.
- Reduced latency — If one band is congested, traffic instantly shifts to another.
- Seamless failover — No reconnection needed when switching bands.
320 MHz Channels
Wi-Fi 7 doubles the maximum channel width from 160 MHz to 320 MHz in the 6 GHz band, doubling peak throughput. This requires the 6 GHz spectrum introduced by Wi-Fi 6E.
4096-QAM
Wi-Fi 7 uses 4096-QAM (compared to 1024-QAM in Wi-Fi 6), packing 20% more data into each transmission. This benefits devices with strong, close-range signals.
Should You Upgrade?
| Current Router | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Wi-Fi 4 or older | Upgrade immediately — major improvement |
| Wi-Fi 5 | Upgrade to Wi-Fi 6 — better efficiency and IoT support |
| Wi-Fi 6 | No rush — Wi-Fi 7 devices are still limited |
| Wi-Fi 6E | Wait — 6 GHz already provides the biggest benefit |
The best time to upgrade is when you notice performance issues, not when a new standard launches. Wi-Fi 6 routers offer excellent value today, while Wi-Fi 7 makes sense only if you need bleeding-edge performance and own Wi-Fi 7 client devices.