Should I buy a 6 or 6E Wi-Fi router? (2023 update network guide)

26/05/2023
By Ray Shaw
In Featured Guides

Reader Basil asked, “Should I buy a 6 or 6E Wi-Fi router?” It is an excellent question, but the answer is equally simple. Don’t wait for Wi-Fi 6E.

We wrote about Wi-Fi 6E AX 6Ghz now approved in Australia. What does that mean for you? (network guide) so we won’t repeat all of that. Suffice it to say that there are a few things about it that you need to know.

Wi-Fi 6E

Is backwards compatible with all earlier Wi-Fi standards. It adds a new 6GHz band to the 2.4 and 5GHZ dual-band Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 5 AC and earlier routers.
Only works with Wi-Fi 6E compatible clients like the Samsung S22/23 Ultra, Galaxy Fold 4 and Google Pixel 7. It will be some time before it has widespread use. In other words, this band is exclusively for their use.
Its 6GHz band has a shorter range. Our initial testing puts it at 5-7 metres (maximum) and 5Ghz at 10-15 metres (maximum). For Wi-Fi 6E devices to gain any advantage, they must be closer to the router.

So, unless you see a lot of Wi-Fi 6E clients in your future, the answer is that Wi-Fi 6 is the massive upgrade you need from earlier Wi-Fi 4 and 5, and we urge you to invest in Wi-Fi 6.

Why is Wi-Fi 6 a quantum leap over Wi-Fi 5?

Wi-Fi 5 AC and earlier is half-duplex – imagine a one-lane bridge where traffic has to stop until the oncoming traffic is cleared.

Wi-Fi 6 is full-duplex – a two-lane bridge carries twice as much traffic with no fear of collision. It is fair to say that a Wi-Fi 6 AX2600 router gives similar real-world speeds to a Wi-Fi 5 AC5200 router. Most router makers claim a 4X improvement in capacity and a 40% increase in throughput over Wi-Fi 5 AC.

It also has a few new features

1024-QAM means that it carries 10-bits of data compared to Wi-Fi 5 256-QAM – that is a 25% improvement in data throughput
Wide channel width. It can aggregate 20, 40, 80m and 160Mhz channels to give at least twice as fast data transfer
More streams. Most routers will have at least two antennae per band (MU-MIMO) for separate transmit and receive. Some tri-band routers have 12-streams (4 antennas per band)
OFDM divides the data into subcarriers, providing much more stability and allowing more data to be transmitted within the same space. A long OFDM symbol also increases range so your Wi-Fi signal can reach further, especially outdoors.
Target Wake Time is more about how devices wake up to send or receive data – the router does not have to worry about inactive devices
BSS colouring. As Wi-Fi gets more popular, the air-waves get more crowded. You can usually see your neighbour’s SSID. This reduces interference from other Wi-Fi routers
Mesh works better over dual and tri-band Wi-Fi 6 routers (full-duplex)

Unique benefits of Wi-Fi 6E

Gigabit Wi-Fi speeds (but your NBN is probably a maximum of 100/20Mbps)
Ability to stream 8K video on the 6E band

Wi-Fi 6E mesh is a little more complex

Mesh is simply about seamless roaming (same SSID) around your home. You place a satellite 5-10m from the router to extend Wi-Fi signals a further 10m. Most true mesh allows Ethernet cable backhaul meaning that you are not restricted to the Wi-Fi backhaul distance limitations.

With Wi-Fi 6, the better AX11000 mesh routers and satellites use a Tri-band setup – 2.4Ghz (up to 600Mbps), 5GHz-1 (up to 4800Mbps) and 5GHz-2 (up to 4800Mbps). If you use Wi-Fi backhaul from the satellites, it uses the 5GHz-2 channel.

The cheaper AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh is dual-band and shares the 5GHz-1 channel. Still OK because of the full-duplex nature but not for heavy traffic.

With Wi-Fi 6E, the better AX11000 mesh routers and satellites are also Tri-band, but instead of a 5GHz-2 channel, they have a 6GHz channel (up to 4800Mbps). If you use Wi-Fi backhaul from the satellites, it uses the 5GHz-1 channel that can take away valuable bandwidth from 5GHz devices.

Enter Netgear’s Orbi AXE11000 Wi-Fi Mesh System (RBKE963B). It is the first Quad-band. 2.4GHZ (1200), 5GHz-1 (2400), 5GHz-2 (2400) and 6GHz (4800) . It uses the 5GHz-2 as backhaul.

If you use Ethernet cables to backhaul Satellites to the router, regardless of dual-or-tri-band, you have full speeds on all channels.

If this sounds a little academic, the simple version is that regular users will benefit from Tri-Band AX5400 or AX11000. Light users will be OK with dual-band.

CyberShack’s view – 6 or 6E Wi-Fi router? 6 is all you need

You will pay more as an early adopter. Wi-Fi 6 clients are now ubiquitous, and there are very few 6E. By the time 6E is omnipresent, we will have Wi-Fi 7 or even 8.

If you have a Wi-Fi 5 AC or earlier router, you will get significant coverage and speed benefits from upgrading to Wi-Fi 6. There is no compelling reason to upgrade to 6E if you have a Wi-Fi 6 router.

I would spend more on an excellent Wi-Fi 6 Tri-band mesh setup, but hey, don’t let me stop the march of progress.

The best Wi-Fi 6 Mesh we have seen this year is TP-Link Deco PX-50 Mesh/Powerline Wi-Fi 6 AX3000 – the perfect 10. Why? Instead of using Wi-FI or Ethernet backhaul, it can use Ethernet over Power, which makes it the easiest to install in any home.