Wi-Fi 6E routers

[lobukong]

For phones, tablets? If speed is the issue, probably not - wrong use case here.

For large scale photo and more specifically video editing off network resources, Wifi6 isn't enough,

so video editing using PC/Mac, resources on NAS I assume?
Means there are 2 person in the house working on the same video project. (If only 1 person, can just add storage to PC/Mac)
I'm not sure how many people actually have this need. Even for people that do, 10G wired network makes more sense than WiFi in this case.

 

[Yongkit]

As I understand wifi6E only available on windows 11, and some motherboard already equipped with the bandwidth capabilities , for those using windows 10 will probably need to upgrade their windows.

 

[firesong]

so video editing using PC/Mac, resources on NAS I assume?
Means there are 2 person in the house working on the same video project. (If only 1 person, can just add storage to PC/Mac)
I'm not sure how many people actually have this need. Even for people that do, 10G wired network makes more sense than WiFi in this case.

There are reasons why people use network storage, including the ability to remote access for clients or portfolio usage as needed. More importantly, storage servers allow for them to leverage on automated B2 backup solutions so if their hard drive fails, their data is still retrievable once they replace the failed drives.

It depends on needs, but yes. Even if it's a single network user (not necessarily multiple users), stacks of external hard drives are not necessarily viable. In the end, they may end up being additional archives of the storage (for further redundancy if wanted, though not necessary). External hard drives don't give you that sort of backup capability and can get expensive to manage. Even so, storing all these drives also takes space and effort. They can't just chuck them into a box and dump it somewhere.

It will be very shortsighted for people to downplay wireless access speeds if there are legitimate use cases for it. Just because I may not need it does not mean others don't. There're always reasons why technology improvements are welcome. Furthermore, once they become ubiquitous, future applications can leverage on that.

In the 90s, web sites had to have small images and webmasters had be very mindful of loading time for better user experience. Now we post high resolution images inline without batting an eyelid, because technological advancements allowed for these to be normal.

 

[xiaofan]

so video editing using PC/Mac, resources on NAS I assume?
...
I'm not sure how many people actually have this need. Even for people that do, 10G wired network makes more sense than WiFi in this case.

Exactly. Wired Ethernet is the way to go for this use case and not WiFi (no matter 6 or 6E). Whether to choose 1G/2.5G/10G, it will depend on the individual use cases.

 

[cscs3]

As I understand wifi6E only available on windows 11, and some motherboard already equipped with the bandwidth capabilities , for those using windows 10 will probably need to upgrade their windows.

Actually, win10 too. The important part is the WiFi module in the PC. New intel gen 12 CPU mostly come with the new intel WiFi card that support WiFi 6E.

 

[Yongkit]

Actually, win10 too. The important part is the WiFi module in the PC. New intel gen 12 CPU mostly come with the new intel WiFi card that support WiFi 6E.

Many thanks for the clarifications and gladly to know win 10 support 6E 6GHz bandwidth.

I guess my information was kind of outdated as what i got to know from below:

toggle below windows 10 & 11, as only windows 11 show 6GHz support from windows below:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...e-2abb-e8fad00ad32a#WindowsVersion=Windows_11
below from Netgear

https://kb.netgear.com/000064414/Does-my-Microsoft-Windows-PC-support-WiFi-6E
below from Intel:

https://www.intel.sg/content/www/xa/en/support/articles/000059385/wireless.html

 

[cscs3]

Many thanks for the clarifications and gladly to know win 10 support 6E 6GHz bandwidth.

I guess my information was kind of outdated as what i got to know from below:

toggle below windows 10 & 11, as only windows 11 show 6GHz support from windows below:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...e-2abb-e8fad00ad32a#WindowsVersion=Windows_11
below from Netgear

https://kb.netgear.com/000064414/Does-my-Microsoft-Windows-PC-support-WiFi-6E
below from Intel:

https://www.intel.sg/content/www/xa/en/support/articles/000059385/wireless.html

Well, issue is when will WiFi6E router available in Singapore. Samsung s22 ultra os also 6e capable. However seem no router in Singapore is available to match it yet.

 

[Yongkit]

Well, issue is when will WiFi6E router available in Singapore. Samsung s22 ultra os also 6e capable. However seem no router in Singapore is available to match it yet.

Many thanks, yes you are right now as still waiting for the router 6e to be approved in SG and I only interested in PC usage mainly.

 

[i-Movies]

I am mainly interested in using 6Ghz for dedicated wireless backhaul, not for clients connecting. After some simple research, TP-Link Deco XE75 and Asus ZenWiFi ET8 provide option to set 6Ghz only for wireless backhaul. Anyone has experience on these 2 6E Mesh? They are not available in Singapore but I can get from Hong Kong or Malaysia, though not sure if 6Ghz will be auto-locked out if the App detects country is SG during the initial setup.

XE75's price is very attractive but I am not sure if the privacy concern still exists in XE75 (https://www.techzine.eu/news/infras...outers-share-dns-requests-without-permission/). On the other hand, ET8's firmware doesn't seem to be reliable according to some reviews.

 

[firesong]

I'm not sure if 6Ghz will be optimal as a backhaul, given it's greatly reduced range and penetrative power because of the higher frequency. I would assume that if AP nodes are within line of sight to receive a good strong 6Ghz signal, it may not be a problem for the original AP to reach most other devices also. The exception could be if the secondary AP node may be broadcasting either around a bend or to devices obstructed from making a line of sight connection with the original node.

You're better off using a wired backhaul imo.

The other consideration is IMDA's handling of the 6Ghz unlicensed spectrum - it hasn't confirmed any specifications, so it is possible that 6Ghz routers may interfere with 5G deployment. For this reason the routers disable the 6Ghz band here until IMDA can publish its allowed frequency bands. It may happen that the full 320Mhz spectrum is unavailable for 6Ghz wifi use because of the bands allocated to the 5G networks. Politically, there's also a conflict in technological deployment that makes it worse for us consumers - when one side is pushing the technology to the detriment of the other because of its own political needs for it, it does result in lesser space for other technologies.

 

[i-Movies]

I'm not sure if 6Ghz will be optimal as a backhaul, given it's greatly reduced range and penetrative power because of the higher frequency. I would assume that if AP nodes are within line of sight to receive a good strong 6Ghz signal, it may not be a problem for the original AP to reach most other devices also. The exception could be if the secondary AP node may be broadcasting either around a bend or to devices obstructed from making a line of sight connection with the original node.

You're better off using a wired backhaul imo.

The other consideration is IMDA's handling of the 6Ghz unlicensed spectrum - it hasn't confirmed any specifications, so it is possible that 6Ghz routers may interfere with 5G deployment. For this reason the routers disable the 6Ghz band here until IMDA can publish its allowed frequency bands. It may happen that the full 320Mhz spectrum is unavailable for 6Ghz wifi use because of the bands allocated to the 5G networks. Politically, there's also a conflict in technological deployment that makes it worse for us consumers - when one side is pushing the technology to the detriment of the other because of its own political needs for it, it does result in lesser space for other technologies.

Wire is not possible unfortunately,

2 nodes XE75 with 6Ghz wireless backhaul can cover 5,500 ft as advertised by TP-link, coverage wise looks like same as those 6 Mesh use 5Ghz as backhaul, some reviews even tested throughput crossing 2 walls.

My only uncertain thing is, will it lock out 6Ghz if the setup App detects country SG based on phone's setting, if that case, I may have to change phone timezone to HK or MY temporarily during the setup.

 

[firesong]

Wire is not possible unfortunately,

2 nodes XE75 with 6Ghz wireless backhaul can cover 5,500 ft as advertised by TP-link, coverage wise looks like same as those 6 Mesh use 5Ghz as backhaul, some reviews even tested throughput crossing 2 walls.

My only uncertain thing is, will it lock out 6Ghz if the setup App detects country SG based on phone's setting, if that case, I may have to change phone timezone to HK or MY temporarily during the setup.

You do know that the distances advertised are unobstructed distances in a vacuum, with no other interference at all right? With obstacles like walls, doors, furniture, grounding (including wiring), and, other networks around, and various other interferences, it's not going to reach anywhere near that claimed distance. Also, it's a fair chance that those distances are for the 2.4Ghz band since that will have the most range, not the 5 or 6Ghz bands.

It's also marketing hype to make people think their hardware is so good, and when you consider the culture behind the marketing (tend to blow up figures, or "Canon fairy" marketing), you really need to take even the box numbers with a pinch of salt. Numbers are what marketers use to make their products seem better, because humans can only compare numbers.
https://www.duckware.com/tech/wifi-in-the-us.html

 

[i-Movies]

You do know that the distances advertised are unobstructed distances in a vacuum, with no other interference at all right? With obstacles like walls, doors, furniture, grounding (including wiring), and, other networks around, and various other interferences, it's not going to reach anywhere near that claimed distance. Also, it's a fair chance that those distances are for the 2.4Ghz band since that will have the most range, not the 5 or 6Ghz bands.

It's also marketing hype to make people think their hardware is so good, and when you consider the culture behind the marketing (tend to blow up figures, or "Canon fairy" marketing), you really need to take even the box numbers with a pinch of salt. Numbers are what marketers use to make their products seem better, because humans can only compare numbers.
https://www.duckware.com/tech/wifi-in-the-us.html

I think you overthink... yes there always be misleading by advertise on the use of exaggeration, but even the real coverage is only 20% of as advertised, it is still 1100 sqft, which is able to cover most of household living space in Singapore,

I could be wrong but I don't believe 6Ghz will become unusable when nodes are not in line of sight.

 

[firesong]

I think you overthink... yes there always be misleading by advertise on the use of exaggeration, but even the real coverage is only 20% of as advertised, it is still 1100 sqft, which is able to cover most of household living space in Singapore,

I could be wrong but I don't believe 6Ghz will become unusable when nodes are not in line of sight.

Perhaps. But don't take my word for it. You can always check tests done by people overseas where they allow 6Ghz usage, and draw your own conclusion from their tests.

https://www.tomshardware.com/features/wi-fi-6-and-6e-explained

Coverage:
If you’re hoping for Wi-Fi 6E speeds at the same distances as your current 5 GHz router, you may be sorely disappointed. The higher frequency of 6 GHz means it will fall off at shorter distances. In our testing, with residential walls and other factors, we really couldn’t get a 6E signal past about 50 feet. And though throughput on the 6 GHz band was mind-breakingly fast in the same room, just shifting a couple dozen feet away with 2 walls in between saw greatly-reduced speed.

This was also borne out in testing. While our previous test data showed quite fast speed over great distances, testing with Wi-Fi 6E showed a massive dropoff even 25 feet from the router. At that distance, the signal dropped below -60 dBm and barely extended out to about 50 feet. Beyond that, the 6E-capable device we tested with completely lost its signal and the 6GHz band of this network was no longer visible.

 

[i-Movies]

Perhaps. But don't take my word for it. You can always check tests done by people overseas where they allow 6Ghz usage, and draw your own conclusion from their tests.

https://www.tomshardware.com/features/wi-fi-6-and-6e-explained

This review was testing on a single 6E Router, not Mesh. With Mesh, you can adjust the distance of any 2 nodes not too far away. I think in a typical local HDB or apartment floor space, it is unlikely to get a direct distance of more than 50 feet (15m), a 2-nodes or 3-nodes Mesh setup with 5-6m between 2 nodes should be perfectly covering the entire house.

 

[i-Movies]

Now I got another question, maybe a show-stopper, are prohibited radio frequencies being monitored by any special service agencies? I don't want to receive FINE letter...

 

[firesong]

Now I got another question, maybe a show-stopper, are prohibited radio frequencies being monitored by any special service agencies? I don't want to receive FINE letter...

Well, read the telecommunications act.

Your neighbours can sniff out the signals; there are simple Android apps that report the model number of the transmitting radios (even with hidden SSIDs), so it's easy enough for anyone to report a violation with screenshots, and then triangulate the location of the transmitting radios.

 

[i-Movies]

Well, read the telecommunications act.

Your neighbours can sniff out the signals; there are simple Android apps that report the model number of the transmitting radios (even with hidden SSIDs), so it's easy enough for anyone to report a violation with screenshots, and then triangulate the location of the transmitting radios.

ah, don't want to run the risk....

I really hope, want to use 6Ghz to improve wireless backhaul latency, but there is no sign from IMDA at all...

 

[uncle_josh]

ah, don't want to run the risk....

I really hope, want to use 6Ghz to improve wireless backhaul latency, but there is no sign from IMDA at all...

the faster the wifi, the shorter the length.
you are better off with wired backhaul

 

[cscs3]

the faster the wifi, the shorter the length.
you are better off with wired backhaul

It all depend on individual usage.