WiFi 6 vs 6E. The biggest difference is the 6GHz bands. If you have devices and or a need for 6GHz sure otherwise 6 works fine or you can always wait but there will always be something in the future.
this post was submitted on 17 Nov 2023
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Home Networking
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If my understanding is correct, Wi-Fi 6 is pretty much Wi-Fi 5 but only very slightly better in terms of speed. It still works in the same spectrum, i.e. 2.4/5 GHz.
Wi-Fi 6E, on the other hand, works in 6 GHz spectrum, which is, like, 2-10 times the width of 5 GHz spectrum, depending on the situation, meaning less congestion. But to take advantage of Wi-Fi 6E, your client devices have to explicitly support it, because they have to have hardware that realizes 6 GHz spectrum support.
So if you have such devices, and you believe that you can take advantage of increased speeds in a meaningful way, the go for Wi-Fi 6E. The experience may be slightly rough in unexpected ways, however, because the tech hasn't been perfected yet, and probably won't be for another 1-3 years. And it'll probably reach the current cost of good 5GHz equipment in another 1-3 years.
Another thing to look out for, devices that don't explicitly support Wi-Fi 6E just won't see the 6GHz network at all. So you'll want to double check that the router you're buying comes with at least three radios: one for 2.4 GHz, one for 5 GHz, and one for 6 GHz.
If you don't think that Wi-Fi 6E is worth it at this point (that's because it isn't: very little deivces support it), then let's consider Wi-Fi 6.
Download an app called 'WiFi Analyzer', preferably from F-Droid Store. If you have an Android 12 or 13 device, you'll have to grant it a special permission to let it scan Wi-Fi networks around it with a reasonable time interval. Google how to do it, because I don't remember.
Using Wi-Fi Analyzer, walk around your house slowly and observe the graphs for the 5 GHz spectrum. Asses how congested it is. You'll want to pay attention to channels 36-48, 52-64, 132-144, 149-161. Out of these four channels, only 36-48 and 149-161 are always available. 52-64 and 132-144 are so-called 'dfs' channels, which become unavailable if your router detects a radar attempting to work on these channels. They're practically always available, as far as I know, but you might want to check.
Now, if you don't have many neighbors, and out of the four channels two or three are just empty, or at, like, -90 dB, then you probably don't even need Wi-Fi 6. Wi-Fi 6 is only better than Wi-Fi 5 when there's enough congestion. If you can just choose a free channel and be done with it, there will be next to no difference between a Wi-Fi 5 and a Wi-Fi 6 router. Otherwise, look into Wi-Fi 6.
Personally, I wouldn't buy routers from non-networking companies, and would instead buy from the likes of MirkroTik and Ubiquity, maybe even TP-Link, though I've had shite experiences with TP-Link, but you do you. It seems that MikroTik's hAP ax³ is being scalped into a price that's comparable with the Asus router you're mentioning, so idk. Don't buy MikroTik if you don't know what you're doing though.
Just wait. There are VERY few devices right now that can even realistically use WIFI6 and generally it is only useful to large environments. If you had some reason like remote VR to use it then it would be different. But really you are not likely at all to even be able to use it.
If you were upgrading your hardware because it was dated and it didn't work as well or you had a need it would be different. No reason to spend the money now when it really doesn't benefit you.
What is your iSP speed wired? Getting a faster wifi setup than your connection to the internet is mostly useless. And what client devices do you have that can do WiFi6?
You could probably just get an access point like a TP link EAP670 ($134 on Amazon) they have wifi6. Set it up with the same SSiD as your network. I have one covering about 1400 sq feet of my upper floor most of the lower plus my garage and yard at 940Mbps on a 1Gbps iSP connection.
I’m on gigabit Ethernet, so realistically 850mbps. Note though that I do a lot of in-home game streaming (although currently just on consoles, which are 1080p/60 but relatively low bitrate) and Plex streaming.
Sounds like it would work.
I decided to upgrade to WiFi 6 because my existing WiFi 5 router was not being supported anymore with firmware updates. My WiFi 5 router was good enough, didn't need WiFi 6.
Is your Net gear Orbi still supported? If so, then keep using it.
This is the first gen Orbi so I haven’t seen a firmware update in a while.
I thought about this exact question earlier in the year when I upgraded to full fibre but the isp router was rubbish. I ended up deciding it was better to get a WiFi 6 router on sale for now and wait for a bigger upgrade. I don't have a use for 6ghz though, not many devices support it.