WiFi 7 routers

[TreeTopsRanch]

Is it true that if I purchase a wifi 7 router, it will not use the upgraded wifi 7 stuff if my computer doesn't support it? (as most don't)

[Aaron44126]

You need support from both the router and the client (laptop / phone / whatever) to take advantage of a new version of Wi-Fi.  Some laptops have swappable Wi-Fi cards so you can upgrade them, but that is increasingly uncommon.

[TreeTopsRanch]

Darn it! Now most of us will have to buy new computers just to take advantage of WiFi 7.

[Bullit]

What wi-fi 7 brings to the table?

[TreeTopsRanch]

I got this from a Google search:

 

WiFi 7 key features and benefits

• 5x faster speeds. than WiFi 6E. ...
• 2x maximum bandwidth. 320MHz high-capacity channels. ...
• 100x lower latency. for real-time responsiveness. ...
• 20% more data transmission. with 4K QAM modulation.

[Aaron44126]

I wouldn't worry that much about it.  The marketing is way overblown and relies on completely ideal conditions.  It is always that way for Wi-Fi.  It will be measurable faster than Wi-Fi 6, sure, and probably offer improvements with multiple devices being active at the same time.

 

5× faster is not going to happen under regular use.  Wi-Fi 6 made similar claims that do not pan out with the regular "a laptop with two antennas talking to a router" use case.  In my case, even switching from 80 MHz to 160 MHz wide channels, it was less than a 2× speed improvement over Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) despite the "theoretical data rate" being around 4× faster.  If you have specialized equipment on both ends, or if you're sitting just a few feet from the access point with no line-of-sight obstructions, maybe you'll fare better.

 

I'd suggest that you just wait until your regular upgrade cycle gets you a client device (phone or laptop) with Wi-Fi 7, and at that time, look into getting a Wi-Fi 7 router or access point to take advantage of it.  No reason to go out and buy a new device just to get Wi-Fi 7.

[TreeTopsRanch]

Good advice Aaron, thanks for that info.

[1610ftw]

WiFi 7 cards if cheap enough may be a good option if they have proper 6E support with Windows 10.

My AX210 cards only work with Windows 11 and that really sucks as there is a speed difference of ca. 1.0/0.5 Gbps with Wi-Fi 5 to 1.5/1.5Gbps with WiFi 6. 

[Aaron44126]

4 hours ago, 1610ftw said:

My AX210 cards only work with Windows 11

 

Huh?  Why is this?  I have used AX210 on Windows 10 without issue...

(I am aware that the driver does not work with Windows 7...)

[1610ftw]

1 hour ago, Aaron44126 said:

 

Huh?  Why is this?  I have used AX210 on Windows 10 without issue...

(I am aware that the driver does not work with Windows 7...)

 

Only the 6E band isn't working, 2.4 and 5 are fine.

 

Seems to be a pretty common issue:

https://www.reddit.com/r/wifi/comments/15jbvkd/wifi_6e_on_windows_10/

https://www.reddit.com/r/framework/comments/t0ghsc/fix_for_6_ghz_wifi_on_the_intel_ax210/

 

Looks like Windows wants to use 6E as another means of pushing people towards W11 and at least for Intel all the new drivers are making sure that the AX210 is not seeing the 6E band under Windows 10.

 

Could be the same for you but it is probably only noticeable if you have a separate network ID for the &E band of your router.

 

 

 

 

[Aaron44126]

3 minutes ago, 1610ftw said:

Only the 6E band isn't working, 2.4 and 5 are fine.

 

OK, maybe that is the case...

I don't have any 6E routers to mess with yet.

[Aaron44126]

3 hours ago, 1610ftw said:

https://www.reddit.com/r/framework/comments/t0ghsc/fix_for_6_ghz_wifi_on_the_intel_ax210/

 

Actually, this second link that you posted seems to be full of people saying that 6 GHz doesn't even work on Windows 11 unless you are using a specific/old version of the Intel Wi-Fi driver.  Did Intel just royally mess this up all around?

[1610ftw]

1 hour ago, Aaron44126 said:

 

Actually, this second link that you posted seems to be full of people saying that 6 GHz doesn't even work on Windows 11 unless you are using a specific/old version of the Intel Wi-Fi driver.  Did Intel just royally mess this up all around?

 

I think it is a joint effort by Intel and Windows 😄

 

I will be fair though and say that for me I am getting reasonably constant and high speed with large file transfers in the 160 to 180MB/s range now. For me it works with 22.250.1.2 on my multi operating system laptop and its W11 partition. I will soon also try it on a version of Linux or two.

[1610ftw]

OK, first tries to get this to work with Linux have been disappointing.

 

Generally speaking and from my limited experience and trying to solve a few issues/looking them up I found out that WifFi 6E is almost impossible to get working and WiFi 5 is by 25 to 50% slower than with Windows 10 but it is possible that I could make some changes for WiFi 5 to work better.

 

There is a bunch of other stuff that I am missing on Linux but this is not something that belongs in this thread.

 

Will report back when I get my first WiFi 7 router or card.
 

[Snowleopard]

I have upgraded the m.2 wi-fi nic's to BE200 cards (Wi-Fi 7) in 4 devices now and they all work with Windows 11 using : Intel(R) Wi-Fi 7 BE200 320MHz. I haven't upgraded my router yet. I am not sure about Linux support for the BE200 (Wi-Fi -7) cards yet.