Upgrading from Wireless N could improve performance and range depending on your needs.
Upgrading from Wireless N could improve performance and range depending on your needs.
I own an AX200NGW Wi-Fi card on my desktop PC. My old Net Gear router operates on Wireless N and appears to provide decent coverage. Today, using an Ethernet cable to the router, speeds are 92.5 Mbps down and 12.2 Mbps up—better than yesterday. With the AX200, performance drops to 53.8 Mbps down and 12.3 Mbps up. Would switching to a Wireless 6 or 6E router improve things?
It's tough to judge since Wi-Fi relies heavily on your surroundings and other signals. If you have a dual-band router, you might try 5GHz or stick with 2.4GHz depending on what you're using. I mainly use Wi-Fi for my phone and laptop, so I don't rely too much on its speed. My router is AC-only (not the newer Wi-Fi 6/6E), and these are my experiences with an AX200 chip in my PC (which I turned on just to check). I have a gigabit fiber connection, which keeps my wired speeds much faster.
I’ve been thinking about upgrading quite a bit lately. For me, the benefit isn’t just faster speeds or longer range—it’s the improved backhaul. Using a newer protocol means a more robust network that resists failures and avoids issues. There might also be some security enhancements I haven’t explored yet. This is something on my to-do list. The main reason it hasn’t been done yet is that the list keeps growing every day. Edited October 11, 2021 by Bombastinator
5 Ghz tends to perform more reliably when there are few blockages between the router and your device. WiFi 6E introduces another 6 Ghz, but I haven’t gathered enough data yet to confirm its performance. Wireless N can be limited by routers that only support 2.4 Ghz, so upgrading to a 5Ghz model might be worthwhile for you. A dual-band N router could be a good investment depending on your setup. With newer Wi-Fi versions, speed increases and coverage generally improves, likely thanks to better beamforming and antenna design.
I usually perform better at 2.4 GHz than at 5 GHz, though 5 offers fewer interference sources like microwaves.
Lower frequency ranges usually move more effectively and penetrate surfaces better, which is a common understanding of Wi-Fi and wireless technology overall. However, higher frequencies offer greater speed.
The little I've seen its as expected, about the same speeds as 5Ghz but slightly shorter range. But the huge bonus of more likely to consistent hit those speeds due to no DFS and more channels to avoid neighbours. There's very little hardware to support it right now though.
You're noticing some unusual changes in your connection. It seems like the signal strength dropped significantly, almost halving to around 300Mbit or less despite using the same equipment and location. I'm guessing environmental factors might be involved—maybe weather changes affected interference patterns. I also recall that my 5G speeds once spiked above 700Mbit, which is quite surprising compared to WiFi performance. It feels strange to see faster downloads on 5G now.
Ive heard outdoor equipment, with proper height can do a decent distance. To be clear Im talking about the space between a house and detached garage or shed. Not going miles or KM for non US residence.