With the home office becoming increasingly important to most office workers, it’s well worth taking a closer look at the heart of the home network, the router. What also makes it a particularly good time to look for a router is the Wi-Fi 6 standard, which finally shows compatible routers in actual numbers. If your current router is more than three years old and you’re looking for faster speeds and a boost in security over routers running today, the Wi-Fi 6 standard has you covered.
If you’re wondering what kind of router you have right now, it’s probably compatible with the still-viable Wi-Fi 5 standard. Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) has been the leading wireless networking standard since it first appeared in 2013. Its ability to deliver multi-band connectivity at theoretical throughput speeds of up to 5.4 gigabits per second (Gbps) has allowed it to dominate for more than five years. Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) ushers in a new era of wireless networking with a theoretical speed of up to 9.6 Gbps. However, Wi-Fi 6 is about more than fast throughput. More client capacity, enhanced battery life for client devices, better security, and greater efficiency are also on the list of benefits, and these routers are now available in a variety of configurations, with budget router models priced as low as $70, though the top-of-the-line device costs more than $600.
That’s quite a swing when it comes to price, so don’t look at money as the main differentiator before choosing a Wi-Fi 6 router, but rather why you should upgrade to Wi-Fi 6. Once you know this is the right move, start by calculating the size of the coverage area and how many clients will be connecting to the network. Be sure to consider the ever-growing list of connected smart home devices such as cameras, doorbells, locks, and smart TVs, in addition to PCs, tablets, game consoles, and phones.
As you might expect, wireless routers with more I/O ports, powerful management tools, and the potential for massive throughput tend to be the most expensive routers . But once you figure out who and what you’ll be connecting to your network, you’ll know if you really need one of these pricier devices, or a cheaper model will do just fine. In this guide, we start with our latest top picks for Wi-Fi 6 routers, then tell you what you need to know to make an informed decision when shopping for a new Wi-Fi 6 router.
This week’s best wireless router deals*
- ASUS RT-AX88U AX6000 Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router — $ 328.17 (list price $349.99)
- Google Nest AC2200 Mesh Dual-Band Wi-Fi Router with 1 point — $ 99.00 (list price $269)
- Mesh Gear Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR1000 Wi-Fi 6 Router — $ 216.73 (list price $369.99)
- TP Link Archer AX73 AX5400 Wireless 6 Router — $ 179.99 (list price $199.99)
- ASUS RT-AX1800S AX1800 Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 Router (opens in new window) — $ 69.99 (list price $99.99)
Buying Guide: The 6 Best Wi-Fi Routers of 2023
For those new to Wi-Fi 6, it’s good to cover exactly what this new standard means and why it’s important. Wi-Fi 6, another name for 802.11ax, is the latest generation of wireless technology and an evolution of the popular 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) standard used by many of today’s routers and client devices to connect to each other and to the Internet. The main advantage of Wi-Fi 6 is that the theoretical throughput bounces from 5.4Gbps to a maximum of 9.6Gbps . But Wi-Fi 6 isn’t just about faster speeds, it’s about greater client capacity, better range performance, and reduced network congestion and power consumption.
Wi-Fi 6 also adds entirely new capabilities to the router’s arsenal, such as the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) protocol. OFDMA improves throughput by breaking down Wi-Fi channels into sub-channels and allowing up to 30 users to share a single channel simultaneously. Target Wake Time (TWT) is a power reduction scheme that allows Wi-Fi 6 devices to decide when to come out of power-saving sleep mode to start sending and receiving data. Smart devices such as security cameras and video doorbells are expected to benefit from TWT technology, as will smartphones, tablets and laptops.
Another area for improvement is channel size. Wi-Fi 6 doubles the channel width from 80MHz to 160MHz. This extension helps to create faster connections between the router and its clients. It also broadcasts over previously unused radio frequencies to provide faster throughput performance on the 2.4GHz radio band. Uplink and downlink MU-MIMO streaming is also on the menu, as is quality of service (QoS) enhanced with uplink and downlink bandwidth management and WPA3 encryption.
Following the launch of Wi-Fi 6, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opened up parts of the 6GHz spectrum for unlicensed use. The new technology, dubbed Wi-Fi 6E, offers 1,200MHz of new spectrum and supports multiple non-overlapping 80MHz and 160MHz high-speed lanes. In short, Wi-Fi 6E means more bandwidth and faster throughput. To take advantage of all this newfound bandwidth, you’ll need a Wi-Fi 6E-enabled router and clients that can connect to the 6GHz radio band, both of which are just starting to become available. ( See our explanation of Wi-Fi 6E.
What are the important features I should look for in a Wi-Fi 6 router?
As with any router, you’ll find that Wi-Fi 6 routers have a variety of features that offer specific benefits, though they’ll often put a bigger dent in your wallet. The biggest benefit is higher performance , but there are other benefits as well. Router models with a specific focus, especially gaming routers , tend to include features specific to that specialty and leave out others, so make sure you get everything you need for your network.
If you’re connecting wired devices like game consoles, home automation hubs, and network-attached storage (NAS) drives, look for a router with at least four LAN ports. Many high-end Wi-Fi 6 routers support link aggregation, which utilizes two Gigabit LAN ports to provide higher throughput for things like large file transfers and network traffic load balancing. This also helps act as a failsafe should one LAN port stop working. Some of the more advanced models are equipped with multi-gigabit LAN ports that can handle connection speeds of 2.5Gbps, 5Gbps and 10Gbps.
If you want to hardwire peripherals like printers and external hard drives to your network, make sure your Wi-Fi 6 router has at least one USB 3.0 port. Two or more USB ports are even better, as they allow you to connect multiple devices without having to unplug one to connect another. With an external hard drive, a fast USB port, and router software that supports it, you can build your own secure NAS device that’s accessible not only from your network, but from the Internet as well.
If you have kids connecting to your network, make sure they stay safe on the internet and look for a Wi-Fi 6 router with built-in parental controls. Most routers come with basic parental controls that allow you to create access plans, block certain websites, and deny internet access to specific devices on your network. However, if you really want to keep tabs on your kids’ online activities, you’ll need finer controls. Many Wi-Fi 6 routers come with free or trial and purchase versions of parental control software that work with your phone and mobile apps and allow you to do things like pause internet access with a single click or create profiles for each family member operations like this. With more powerful controls, you can monitor website visits and total online time usage. They also offer customizable age-based presets that will automatically block access to social media platforms and websites that contain adult content, gambling, shopping, torrenting, and online gaming, among other things.
What specs should I look for in a Wi-Fi 6 router?
You’ll see Wi-Fi 11000 routers with names like “AX6” or “AX1500,” which tell you the maximum combined data rate. For example, the dual-band AX1500 router is capable of speeds of up to 4Mbps on the 300.2GHz band and up to 201.5Mbps on the 1GHz band, while the tri-band AX11000 router is capable of speeds of up to 2.4Mbps on the 1.148GHz band and up to 2.4Mbps on the two The speeds of 804 and 5Mbps are respectively achieved on the 4GHz frequency band. It’s important to note that these are theoretical combined speeds (mainly for marketing purposes), not the router’s actual all-time speeds. Realistically, a router is only as fast as its fastest radio band, and even then, that number is based on ideal lab conditions, not something you’ll see in real-world use.
Other specifications to consider include the number of radio bands, processor (CPU) type, and the amount of flash memory and RAM used by the router. As mentioned above, dual-band routers use one 2.4GHz radio and one 5GHz radio, while tri-band routers use a single 2.4GHz band and two 5GHz bands. Tri-band routers are ideal for high-traffic networks because you can designate specific radio bands for certain applications. For example, you can perform large file transfers on one of the 5GHz bands, freeing up the other two bands for things like web surfing and video streaming.
Is it worth paying more for a Wi-Fi 6 router?
Like all other types of routers, Wi-Fi 6 router pricing is based on hardware specifications, performance capabilities, and features. Budget Wi-Fi 6 routers range in price from $70 to well over $200, but these are often bare-bones dual-band models that use low-end components like dual-core CPUs, offer low data rates, and lack USB ports, anti-malware and multi-gigabit LAN ports.
On the other hand, a high-end Wi-Fi 6 router designed for gaming can cost upwards of $600. For that much money, you get all the bells and whistles, including multigigabit LAN, AX11000 speeds, three radio bands, built-in malware protection and parental controls, quad-core processing, and a dedicated gamer-friendly OS.
