Confused by your router? Here are the Wi-Fi basics you need to know before buying a new one

There is a lot that is confusing about shopping online. But shopping for your own router can be one of the most confusing parts of the process.

Retailers often increase the speeds that routers can offer, and continued developments in Wi-Fi technology make for baffling decisions. Routers aren’t cheap and we all want to make sure we get the most out of our internet for the money we spend on it.

But you don’t have to feel paralyzed when it’s time for an upgrade. Whether you have decided that stop renting your router and buy your own router or you’re just looking for better equipment: these Wi-Fi basics are useful to know when you’re spending your money on a top-of-the-line Wi-Fi router.

For more detailed shopping tips, check out our router shopping guide. But if you’re here because you’re curious about Wi-Fi technology, you’re confused ISP restrictionsand curious about everything else involved in finding a good router, this primer provides some of the most important basics of router technology. Once you understand some basics, you will have no problem finding the right router for your family.

Read more: The best WiFi routers for 2024 | Best Gaming Routers for 2024 | Best internet providers of 2024

First of all: what is WiFi?

Let’s start at the beginning. A wireless router uses Wi-Fi to get you online. Wi-Fi refers to the family of wireless networking protocols that allow your router to exchange data via radio waves.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers developed and released the first version of Wi-Fi in 1997. The IEEE classifies Wi-Fi within it the 802 family of local area networking standards and the IEEE’s full code for Wi-Fi is 802.11, pronounced “eight-oh-two-dot-eleven.” The “.11” distinguishes Wi-Fi from other standards in the family, including Ethernet (802.3), Bluetooth (802.15.1), and Zigbee (802.15.4).

Over the years, the IEEE has done a lot to certify and standardize new improvements to Wi-Fi for widespread use.

That’s where the confusing letters after “802.11” come into play: each of them designates specific generations of Wi-Fi. For example, the first one that was widely used for Wi-Fi was released in 1999 and was called 802.11b; 802.11a came soon after, then 802.11g in 2003 and 802.11n in 2009. WiFi 6or 802.11ax, is the current version of Wi-Fi that most devices use today.

If your eyes just got a little glassy, ​​I have good news for you. The Wi-Fi Alliancethe nonprofit that owns the Wi-Fi trademark finally realized that Wi-Fi labels had become too confusing for consumers.

When 802.11ax launched in 2019, the group decided to market the standard as “Wi-Fi 6” and retroactively refer to previous Wi-Fi generations in the same way. So now 802.11ax is Wi-Fi 6 (and Wi-Fi 6E), 802.11ac is called Wi-Fi 5, 802.11n is called Wi-Fi 4, and 802.11g is called Wi-Fi 3. The latest version of Wi-Fi, 802.11 be, is called Wi-Fi 7.

Wi-Fi 7 is the latest version… but you probably don’t need it yet

So what is that? WiFi 7 and should you worry about whether your router uses it? In short, Wi-Fi 7 is faster and better at connecting many devices and users using access frequency bands at the same time. While Wi-Fi 6 and 6E also allowed access to multiple bands, devices were limited to one band at a time. Wi-Fi 7 reduces latency, increases network capacity and supports faster speeds.

The only problem is that to take advantage of Wi-Fi 7, you need a Wi-Fi 7 router and a Wi-Fi 7 compatible device. Wi-Fi 7 is backwards compatible, so you can use your current devices just fine with a Wi-Fi 7 router, but you won’t get the full experience. New routers that support the standard are already appearing on store shelves, but they are quite expensive. Although more and more devices are coming equipped with Wi-Fi 7 capabilities, including Apple’s iPhone 16they are still relatively rare.

Consider speed: household speeds vs. router speeds

Now that you know how some of the Wi-Fi technology on your router works, it’s time to pay attention to the speeds.

The best place to start is to find out how much speed your household actually needs. You can do this by first finding out how much speed you are currently getting with a simple speed test. Next, take an inventory of the devices and type of internet use in your home. If you have a lot gamers, garlandsremote workers or students in your home (not to mention the number of smart devices), you might want a 1-gig or multi-gig level.

When upgrading your router, consider the recommended minimum speeds for your household and make sure you purchase a router that can support these speeds, but beware of misleading marketing tactics. Retailers are notorious for reporting the combined top speeds of your router’s bands — misleading people into thinking they are buying equipment that supports 3,000 megabits per second, when in reality that router most likely supports a fraction of that speed.

Also keep in mind that the internet speed advertised by an ISP is the maximum speed of every device in your home. If you buy a router with multi-gig capabilities but don’t have a multi-gig plan, you won’t get these speeds unless you upgrade with your ISP.

A note on Wi-Fi speeds versus Ethernet speeds

It’s important to note that your internet connection will be almost always be faster with Ethernet than with Wi-Fi.

Because Ethernet is a direct, wired connection, there is little to no obstacle between your router and your device. Wi-Fi, on the other hand, is a wireless connection to your router that relies on frequency bands instead of a cable.

In some cases, retailers advertise speeds that you can only get with a wired connection, making the typical speed for a Wi-Fi connection much slower than the advertised price.

What does that number in the router name mean?

In addition to each manufacturer’s internal naming schemes, most contemporary routers will also typically have designations such as “AC1900” or “AC3150”. The point is to quickly give you a comparative view of which version of Wi-Fi each router supports (“AC” for Wi-Fi 5, “AX” for Wi-Fi 6, and so on), along with a rough idea of ​​its speed capabilities .

I say “rough” because the numbers after the “AC” or “AX” portion indicate the sum of the maximum theoretical transfer speeds across each of the router bands. That’s not useless information when comparing routers, but it is a bit misleading. The total will almost always be significantly higher than the highest speeds you experience as a user.

For example, the D-Link DIR-867 is listed as an AC1750 router. It is a dual-band Wi-Fi 5 router with theoretical maximum transfer speeds of 1,300 Mbps on the 5 GHz band and 450 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band. Add these two numbers together and you get 1,750, so AC1750.

The problem is that you can’t really put these bands together; you can only connect to one at a time unless you’re using a Wi-Fi 7 router with a Wi-Fi 7 capable device. That means the fastest speed you can theoretically get with the DIR-867 is 1,300 Mbps, and not 1,750 Mbps. And I say “theoretical” because those top speeds are measured by the manufacturer in optimized laboratory conditions, not in real environments. When we tested the thing, we measured maximum speeds of 163 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and 802 Mbps on the 5 GHz band. Solid results for a budget-friendly router, but nowhere near 1,750 Mbps even when you add them up.

Things get even bigger when you start looking at tri-band routers that add an additional 5GHz connection. For example, Asus is now selling a tri-band Wi-Fi 6 gaming router in its ROG Rapture series with the designation “AX11000.” The “AX” indicates that it is a Wi-Fi 6 router, and the “11000” indicates the combined top speeds of each band: 1,148 Mbps on 2.4 GHz and 4,804 Mbps on each of the two 5 GHz bands .

That’s a lot of concurrent bandwidth, but don’t think your computer, phone, or gaming console will connect at nearly 11,000 Mbps. The fastest figure you could ever see on a single device is 4,804 Mbps, and today’s ISP connections are nowhere near that fast. In fact, the average internet speed in the US is currently 119 Mbps.

What else should I pay attention to when shopping?

As you shop for a new router, you’ll come across all kinds of Wi-Fi jargon. Here’s an overview of the terms you’ll encounter most often and what they actually mean for your home.

Gauze: A mesh wifi network uses multiple access points to provide better coverage in large homes. Similar to Wi-Fi extenders, a mesh Wi-Fi system extends coverage throughout the home, but with a smaller coverage area. Start with a device connected to your modem like a traditional router, then add satellite units throughout your home that act as repeaters for the signal. If you have an annoying back bedroom that struggles to stay connected, put mesh routers at the top of your list.

MU MIMO: Short for “multi-user, multiple-input, multiple-output” (and pronounced “multi-user-meem-oh”), MU-MIMO allows your router to split its signal across multiple streams. This in turn allows the router to send data to multiple devices at the same time. MU-MIMO is optimal for households or rooms with many devices and intensive internet users, because it optimizes your network. If the receiving device supports it, MU-MIMO also lets the router use multiple streams at once to send data its way, making for faster transfers. Current generation Wi-Fi 6 routers can support up to eight streams (8×8), while Wi-Fi 7 routers can support up to 16 streams.

Belt control: Different brands have different names for this feature, but a growing number of routers will automatically move devices between frequency bands as their position within the router’s range changes. So if you’re using Wi-Fi to make a video call on your phone and you’re sitting in the living room near the router, you might be automatically assigned to the 5GHz band, which is the fastest up close. If you move to another part of the house during the call, the router can automatically “steer” your connection to the 2.4GHz band, providing a more stable remote connection.

Beamforming: A basic router will broadcast its signal more or less evenly in all directions, but beamforming allows the router to focus its signal in the specific directions of the devices trying to connect to it. This can help reduce interference and maintain better range.

Quality of service: Often abbreviated as QoS, Quality of Service is a feature that allows the router to prioritize certain types of traffic over others. It is a common feature for gaming routers.

Beyond basics like these, router manufacturers are increasingly turning to extras like simplified, app-based setup, integrations with voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant, VPN support, better parental controls, and optional cybersecurity monitoring. They are all worth considering if you think you would use them in your home.