What is WiFi 6 and is it worth it?

What is WiFi 6?

WiFi 6 is one of the latest developments in WiFi technology, which aims to keep up with the demands devices put on WiFi routers. WiFi 6, the next version on from WiFi 5, offers greater speeds, less congestion, more security and can even help maintain device battery life.

How does WiFi 6 work?

First, let’s break down how WiFi works and how different versions have developed. The early versions of WiFi routers had a single stream that would connect to a single WiFi device. If you wanted to use another device or multiple devices, this single stream would be split up to connect each device to the internet. This resulted in speed and latency issues.

Jump forward to WiFi 5, and devices could now access dual band WiFi of 5Ghz streams and 2.4Ghz streams. No need for a stream to be split up when you wanted to use multiple devices at once. The increased bandwidth meant users could connect more devices without seriously damaging speeds — greatly improving their experience in high density environments.

Without getting too bogged down in the technical side of WiFi 6, the purpose of WiFi 6 is to increase network capacity and enable more of your devices to work seamlessly when connected at once. For this reason, WiFi 6 has increased the number of streams available for devices. On a simple level, more streams mean higher connection speeds, more routes to communicate with your router and less interference.

WiFi 5 vs WiFi 6 - The differences and the benefits

We briefly teased how WiFi 6 is a step up from WiFi 5 — it means faster speeds, decreased latency and a greater capacity to deal with multiple devices at once. All of this means a better end user experience. There are also some core differences that set WiFi 6 apart from previous WiFi variations.

Network security

WiFi 6 now supports the latest security protocol, WPA3. This improves authentication and enhances encryption standards, making internet browsing more secure.

WiFi 6 speed

WiFi 6 offers improved, genuine user connection speeds in comparison to WiFi 5.

Advanced Multi-User, Multiple Input, Multiple Outputs (MU-MIMO)

This might seem complicated, but it essentially means a WiFi 6 router is able to communicate with multiple devices at the same time using multiple antennas. This is a more efficient way of communicating to multiple devices, allowing for better speed and latency.

WiFi 6 dual band frequency

Unlike its predecessor, WiFi 6 operates in both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands – WiFi 5 only worked in the 5Ghz band and relied on legacy technology to offer streams in 2.4Ghz. With a WiFi 6 router you can utilise the very latest technology no matter the band frequency, meaning you’ll always get the benefits of WiFi 6, as long as your device is WiFi 6 compatible.

WiFi 6 latency

Due to the higher efficiency of WiFi 6 (and a lot of the other features previously mentioned) it’s great for high density environments, which means users experience far better latency speeds on WiFi 6.

WiFi 6 range

WiFi 6 has better range compared to WiFi 5. This is mainly due to its ability to operate across 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. WiFi 5 relies on legacy technology for 2.4Ghz which limits its capabilities, especially in its range.

Improved device battery efficiency

WiFi 6 makes use of Target Wake Time. This means your devices spend more time in standby and dictate when they ‘wake up’ to send and receive data from the router. This saves your mobile and IoT devices precious battery life.

Is WiFi 6 worth it?

All the benefits sound great and WiFi 6 may seem like a no brainer, right? Unfortunately, it’s never quite that easy. There are still many devices that are not compatible with WiFi 6, and we’ll go into this in more detail in the next section.

That said, an upgrade to WiFi 6 is still definitely worth it. An older device that’s not compatible with WiFi 6 will still connect to it — it just won’t get all the benefits. However, with devices constantly evolving to meet these new demands and the quantity of devices households have, a WiFi 6 router is a smart investment no matter the circumstances.

WiFi 6 Devices

While not every device is compatible with WiFi 6, most new devices are.

WiFi 6 laptops and desktops

Generally, all laptops released post 2020 will have WiFi 6 capabilities, but make sure to check all product specifications. For Apple products, WiFi 6 compatible products came when Apple moved away from Intel processor in Late 2020. So, if you’re after an Apple product that makes the most of WiFi 6 make sure it is a Mac computer with Apple silicon, not an intel processor.

WiFi 6 phones

As mentioned, you’ll find the latest tech supports WiFi 6. However, we know that a lot of people don’t always upgrade their devices every year, and if they do, they look to buy refurbished phones. If you’re an Android user, Samsung's first WiFi 6 compatible phone was the Galaxy S10. Most high-end Samsung phones now support WiFi 6 with the first mid-range phone in their range to support WiFi 6 being the Galaxy A52s. For those with Apple devices, WiFi 6 compatible phones began with the iPhone 11 and every iteration since is compatible with WiFi 6.

WiFi 6 for gaming

Currently the only major gaming console that is compatible with WiFi 6 is the Sony PlayStation 5.

If you prefer to game on a PC, then you’re more likely to reap the benefits of WiFi 6. If you game on a laptop, make sure it supports the technology. There are a host of gaming laptops available that support all the way up to WiFi 6e. If you prefer a desktop set up, then make sure you purchase a wireless network adapter that supports WiFi 6.

We know that gaming speeds and latency is integral for the best possible gaming experience. That's why we have an extensive guide on broadband for gaming that details everything you need to know.

Vodafone & WiFi 6

At Vodafone, we want to offer customers the best possible home broadband experience. That's why any broadband plan you take out will have WiFi 6 technology as the bare minimum. This is thanks to the introduction of the new Vodafone Power Hub. If you want even more, our Pro II plans utilise the very latest WiFi 6e technology.