Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
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is it worth upgrading from wifi 5 to wifi 6

Evangelist
Tutor

is it worth upgrading from wifi 5 to wifi 6

Im using the RBR50v2 sytem with 2 satellites in a 3 storey house over 3000 sq feet.

Have 200mbps broadband speed.

Getting over 200mbps nearly everywhere and even at the end of my garden-about 80-90 feet.

Have over 20 devices connected to the router. Is it worth paying double to get wifi 6?

 

Model: RBK53|Orbi AC3000 Tri-band WiFi System
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FURRYe38
Guru

Re: is it worth upgrading from wifi 5 to wifi 6

Please post about this over in the Orbi AX forum:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-AX/bd-p/en-home-orbi-ax

 

More users experinces and information will be there. 

 

Good Luck. 

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Message 2 of 5

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FURRYe38
Guru

Re: is it worth upgrading from wifi 5 to wifi 6

Please post about this over in the Orbi AX forum:

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-AX/bd-p/en-home-orbi-ax

 

More users experinces and information will be there. 

 

Good Luck. 

Message 2 of 5
CrimpOn
Guru

Re: is it worth upgrading from wifi 5 to wifi 6

I agree with @FURRYe38 that people who have already purchased the AX product can report their experiences.

 

One might consider these questions:

  • Do I possess any devices which support WiFi6?
    There are a few smartphones and laptops on the market that include WiFi6 capability, and more are being released.
    Unless there are WiFi6 capable devices, having the capability does nothing.
    The longer we wait to "upgrade" our WiFi (a) the more products we can choose from, (b) the prices will be lower, and (c) there are "even newer" capabilities that will be released (such as WiFi6E).
  • Is my performance limited because I cannot take full advantage of a gigabit connection?
    The AX products can support faster internet service.
    If your internet connection is 200mbs, this would not seem to be a factor.
  • Can you do without some features that are on the WiFi5 product but which have not yet been implemented on the WiFi6 product?
    When you browse the AX forum, pay attention to posts about, "When will Netgear make ??? work on the AX?"

Good Luck

Message 3 of 5
Bandito
Luminary

Re: is it worth upgrading from wifi 5 to wifi 6

Not for you.  No.

Message 4 of 5
Jetdrive
Luminary

Re: is it worth upgrading from wifi 5 to wifi 6

No with the new Wifi 6E standard coming very soon, if you buy Wifi 6 now, you'll probably regret not waiting for the new standard.

 

Qualcomm’s first Wi-Fi 6E chips are here
For phones and routers

By Jacob Kastrenakes@jake_k May 28, 2020, 12:00pm EDT

 

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Qualcomm is announcing its first chips with support for Wi-Fi 6E, the brand-new version of Wi-Fi that should be faster and more reliable thanks to its access to an expansive additional range of airwaves over which to broadcast.

Two sets of products are being announced today: one for phones, which should ship in the second half the year, and one for routers, which will start shipping immediately. The key feature of all these chips is support for Wi-Fi 6E, which takes advantage of the 6GHz spectrum that was newly opened up for Wi-Fi in the US by the Federal Communications Commission last month. It’s the largest expansion of Wi-Fi spectrum ever, which should result in some big performance gains.

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Wi-Fi is getting its biggest upgrade in 20 years
The phone chips fall under Qualcomm’s FastConnect line, which tend to end up integrated with Snapdragon chips. There are two options at launch: the FastConnect 6700 and FastConnect 6900, which have top theoretical speeds of 3Gbps and 3.6Gbps. Both include support for the maximum size of Wi-Fi channels (160MHz on 5GHz and 6GHz).

“My personal expectation is this is going to be a very fast transition,” VK Jones, Qualcomm’s VP of technology, told The Verge. Particularly in high-end phones, he said, “This is going to be added very quickly.”

THIS IS GOING TO BE ADDED VERY QUICKLY.”
It’s not entirely clear if we’ll have to wait until next year’s flagships start to arrive. Qualcomm has already put out its top-of-the-line Snapdragon chips for this year, and they’re currently using the FastConnect 6800, which does not include 6GHz support. Qualcomm indicated that phone manufacturers could choose to use one of these newer Wi-Fi chips, but it’s not evident yet how many will go out of their way to add 6GHz support instead of just waiting for a new generation of Snapdragon chips where 6GHz support is included by default.

In addition to the phone chips, Qualcomm also announced a range of Wi-Fi 6E chips for routers. They fall under Qualcomm’s Networking Pro series, and there’ll be four chips in total — the 610, 810, 1210, and 1610. The chips range in capabilities from six Wi-Fi streams and a theoretical top speed of 5.4Gbps on the low end to 16 streams and 10.8Gbps on the high end. Qualcomm envisions mesh routers using these chips and putting the new 6GHz spectrum to use as a backhaul to wirelessly connect the units, freeing up the 5GHz spectrum to communicate with devices.

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