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What does the 6 mean?
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2023
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Technically 6E is the best in-use version for compatible devices. Same as WiFi 6 but adds the 6GHz spectrum that was recently unlocked by many regulatory agencies around the world. The 6GHz range is significantly less congested and would have better real-world performance in dense residential areas.
Edit: A few months ago I stumbled upon this site where the author goes quite in-depth about WiFi and does so in a way that is easy to understand. They debunk/corroborate claims and technologies advertised by manufacturers so it really helps demystify the process of selecting the right WiFi gear.
It's funny that WiFi is alphabet soup as the other comment mentioned, they rebranded to a single, simple number...then chucked an E on the end.
I get how/why, but it's just funny.
Do you know the horrors of USB naming?
https://wccftech.com/usb-naming-gets-even-worse-with-the-introduction-of-usb4-2-0-80-gbps-standard/
Usb could have been great, then they decided that with every minor version bump they needed to go back and fuck with the name of the previous version..
Like FFS just do 3(5gbps) 3.1(10gbps) 3.2(20gbps) etc or whatever the fucking difference even is between them all at this point.
3.1 gen 1 and gen 2 was when they really jumped the shark.
6E is great, but basically nothing supports it. I got a 6E capable AP from Ubiquiti, and looking at my devices table, basically nothing has ever used the 6GHz radio. My house has a wide variety of devices, many new. The only thing that's used it is my MacBook
And that MacBook must get unparalleled speed and airtime
I got over a 1 gigabit download on my S23 Ultra and still couldn't believe that 10 years ago 10 megabit on wifi was considered decent.
It's the absolute best computer I've ever owned. Maxed out it's ram and everything just flies
Most new devices support 6E at this point with the exception of low-cost phones/computers and IoT devices.
What speeds are you getting on your MacBook?
Smidge over 1.1Gbps peak, average probably around 900Mbps.
WiFi in its current form will never be better than ethernet for backhaul applications as it is half-duplex. The benefits of the new spectrum are wider bands which makes the real-world speeds closer to the published speeds. Congested frequencies mean the bands must be more narrow, which lowers real-world bandwidth.
That is a wonderful website, very well written. Thanks for sharing.