For many, Wi-Fi is so omnipresent that the term is often used to describe the internet connection. And no wonder, as Wi-Fi is how we conveniently go online, whether on a smartphone, tablet or notebook. Plus, with the latest standards, the speed of the connection has caught up with and overtaken the good old LAN cable. But how does Wi-Fi actually work in your home?
What is Wi-Fi?
Wi-Fi is short for ‘Wireless Fidelity’. The technology enables devices such as tablets, PCs or smartphones to establish a wireless connection to a wireless radio network. To establish a Wi-Fi network, you need a router that supports Wi-Fi (for example the FRITZ!Box 7690).
Aside from this, the wireless connection works the same way a cabled network does: Wi-Fi devices register and exchange data with the router. The advantages are obvious: you don't need cables and you can roam freely throughout the coverage area with your smartphone or handheld device without losing signal. The devices also reconnect automatically when they return to the Wi-Fi coverage area. The established WPA3 encryption featured in all FRITZ!Box models keeps Wi-Fi connections safe. All Wi-Fi networks are secured by an individual network key upon delivery.
What are the advantages of dual-band or tri-band Wi-Fi?
Since Wi-Fi is a radio network, radio signals need to be transmitted on a certain network or frequency range. The 2.4-GHz network has been a standard for years. This means that all wireless devices in the home network use this frequency, which not only results in a lot of traffic due to the quantity of hardware, but can also lead to interference between the devices. An alternative to the 2.4-GHz band is the 5-GHz band, which is subject to much lower interference when it comes to Wi-Fi.
When Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) was introduced in 2013, it kick-started a broader utilization of 5-GHz Wi-Fi networks, wherever a corresponding client was available. Dual Wi-Fi means that the FRITZ!Box is able to serve connected devices on both channels concurrently. The FRITZ! Mesh then helps the devices find the optimum connection to the Wi-Fi network – more information here.
With the introduction of tri-band Wi-Fi, an additional band at 6 GHz became usable. This allows routers to transmit simultaneously on three frequency bands – 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz – such as the FRITZ!Box 5690 Pro. The additional frequencies of the 6-GHz band enable even faster connections and greater stability because more space is available for data transmission.
What standards are there?
The newest Wi-Fi standard is called Wi-Fi 7, which ensures even faster data transfer, higher capacity and lower latency, especially when multiple devices are active in the network at the same time. The most significant advance is the aforementioned use of the 6-GHz band, which provides even more bandwidth and reduces interference. Wi-Fi 7 introduces Multi-Link Operation (MLO) technology, which allows a device to use multiple connections across different frequency bands at the same time. This ensures more efficient use of all available channels and significantly improves network stability and speed – making it ideal for data-intensive applications such as 4K or 8K streaming and cloud gaming.
Wi-Fi 7 has a few predecessors, each of which offered new possibilities when they came out. Here's a list of the most important Wi-Fi standards:
- IEEE 802.11b, g, a These three older wireless standards are no longer in demand today, but they helped wireless internet breakthrough in the mid-2000s.
- Wi-Fi 4: Wi-Fi N or Wi-Fi 4? They mean the same thing: The Wi-Fi standard from 2009 long remained important in the 2.4-GHz frequency band, because its successor applies only to the 5-GHz band.
- Wi-Fi ac: Dating from 2013, Wi-Fi ac (IEEE 802.11ac) ensures high Wi-Fi speeds in the 5-GHz range. The standard has been retroactively designated Wi-Fi 5.
- Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi AX: Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11ac) is the first Wi-Fi standard to use the numbering system in its name, which was then retroactively applied to previous generations. Wi-Fi 6 is the new name for Wi-Fi AX. It has a number of clever tricks up its sleeve to provide multiple devices with fast Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi 6 is designed to distribute the available bandwidth in the Wi-Fi network in the most efficient way. Find out more about Wi-Fi 6 in our guide article.
- Wi-Fi 6E: Wi-Fi 6E extends the existing Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) standard to the 6-GHz band. Wi-Fi 6E takes the efficient features of Wi-Fi 6 and transfers them to the 6-GHz band to provide more contiguous spectrum and less interference. With Wi-Fi 6E, enterprises are able to address new use cases that require multi-gigabit speeds such as high-definition video.
- Wi-Fi 7: Wi-Fi 7 (IEEE 802.11be) is the latest standard from the Wi-Fi Alliance, which defines new functional features. Wi-Fi 7 is based on Wi-Fi 6 and supports all three Wi-Fi bands. Speed is increased through more efficient radio transmission and the use of 320-MHz channels. It also increases download speeds, responsiveness and reliability.
