What is Wi-Fi 7?
Understand the newest Wi-Fi generation.
Read guideQuick comparison
Wi-Fi version numbers describe the wireless technology between your router and device. They are not the same as your broadband package speed, but they can limit how much of that speed you actually see around the house.
- Wi-Fi 5: older but still usable for browsing, HD streaming and many standard homes.
- Wi-Fi 6: better for busy homes with lots of phones, TVs, consoles and smart devices.
- Wi-Fi 6E: Wi-Fi 6 with access to the cleaner 6 GHz band on compatible devices.
- Wi-Fi 7: newest generation, designed for faster speeds, lower latency and better handling of multiple bands on compatible kit.
Wi-Fi 5
Wi-Fi 5 is the friendly name for 802.11ac. It mostly improved 5 GHz performance and is still found in many routers, laptops, phones and smart TVs.
It can be fine if your broadband package is modest, your home is not too busy, and your devices are reasonably close to the router. The weakness is that it can struggle more in crowded homes, on faster full fibre packages, or when several people are streaming, gaming and working at once.
Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E
Wi-Fi 6, also called 802.11ax, focuses heavily on efficiency. It is better at handling lots of connected devices and busy networks. That can make the connection feel more stable, even where the headline speed does not look dramatically different.
Wi-Fi 6E extends Wi-Fi 6 into the 6 GHz band. The 6 GHz band can be faster and less congested, but it usually has shorter range and needs both a compatible router and compatible device.
Wi-Fi 7
Wi-Fi 7 is based on 802.11be. Its headline features include Multi-Link Operation, wider channels and 4K-QAM. In plain English, it is built to move more data, reduce delay and make better use of multiple Wi-Fi bands when your router and device both support it.
For many homes, Wi-Fi 7 is most useful if you have full fibre, lots of devices, a mesh system, heavy downloads, cloud gaming, local network transfers or new phones and laptops that support Wi-Fi 7.
Which one do you need?
- Basic broadband under 100 Mbps: Wi-Fi 5 may still be enough if coverage is good.
- Busy family home: Wi-Fi 6 is a sensible minimum.
- Gigabit full fibre: Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 is more likely to show the benefit wirelessly.
- Gaming and video calls: focus on low ping, low jitter and good coverage, not only the Wi-Fi number.
- Thick walls or dead zones: mesh placement may matter more than buying the newest standard.