Wi-Fi 6 (WLAN AX) increases the speed and ensures reliable connections even when many devices are active simultaneously. The naming has also changed: Cryptic designations such as IEEE 802.11ac or 'WLAN AC' are now a thing of the past. WLAN AX is now known as Wi-Fi 6. This Wi-Fi standard brings many new functions and takes Wi-Fi to a whole new level.
OFDMA is more efficient
Multiple parallel 4K streams, video chats, downloads and cloud applications are all part and parcel of everyday life in large households - no problem for a FRITZ!Box with Wi-Fi 6. Where previous versions would reach their limits, the new OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access) enables more efficient utilization of the radio channels, allowing for more bandwidth per data stream.
Another advantage of OFDMA is the significantly reduced latency, which is particularly interesting for gamers.
High speeds with 1024-QAM
Wi-Fi 6 also significantly increases the speed of a wireless network compared to its predecessor Wireless AC (Wi-Fi 5). In environments with a particularly high density of wireless devices, e.g. apartment buildings, data throughput can be increased by up to 40%. The decisive factor is a better modulation scheme with up to 1024 QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation).
The use of the available radio spectrum, which is significantly more efficient, also increases the ratio of net to gross data rates compared to older Wi-Fi standards.
A great leap for 2.4 GHz
Since Wi-Fi 4 was released 10 years ago, connection properties and data rates in the 2.4-GHz frequency band have remained largely unchanged. Meanwhile, innovations and significant improvements have been made primarily in the 5-GHz band. With Wi-Fi 6, that's changing. Devices that only transmit data on the 2.4-GHz band benefit enormously. In addition to more capacity for multiple concurrent connections, the data rate has almost doubled.
This is particularly important due to the ever-increasing number of household and peripheral devices with integrated Wi-Fi (e.g. smart speakers, robot vacuum cleaners, smartwatches), since these often only dominate the 2.4-GHz band.
Increased security and longer battery life
The battery life of smartphones and other mobile devices also benefits from the new Wi-Fi 6. Intelligent wake-up mechanisms (Target Wake Time) set how long the devices can ‘sleep’ between transmissions, saving you energy.
The new WPA3 encryption standard, which will be included ex works in FRITZ!Box devices with Wi-Fi 6, offers even better protection for transmitted data.
The new Wi-Fi standard is also backwards compatible, so there is no need to purchase new devices right away. Getting a device with Wi-Fi 6 is still worthwhile, as your other devices will also benefit from the higher Wi-Fi capacity.
