Wi-Fi Focus: How to Get the Best Wi-Fi On Your Devices


Understanding your Wi-Fi technology and how it was built to support your devices is the key to getting the most out of them. Why? Because many of the Wi-Fi enabled devices in your home were built on a Wi-Fi standard, which impacts the Wi-Fi speeds you'll get. 


What’s a Wi-Fi standard?

A Wi-Fi standard is a set of rules created by the The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization that defines how Wi-Fi devices communicate with each other. In short, it’s the system your devices use when connecting wirelessly. There are many different Wi-Fi standards, also called Wi-Fi technologies. Some standards you may be familiar with are Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E and the soon-to-launch, Wi-Fi 7. Each new Wi-Fi standard is faster and more efficient than the previous one. (That’s why older devices may not go as fast as newer ones.) 


Want to see what we’re doing with Wi-Fi 7? Check out our demo


How do Wi-Fi standards impact devices?

Some devices only support certain standards of Wi-Fi technology. So when you're shopping for a new Wi-Fi router, it's really important to make sure that it supports the Wi-Fi standard your devices or future devices are enabled for. For example, if you have a phone that supports Wi-Fi 6 or 7, you'll want to get a router that also supports those standards so you can take advantage of faster speeds and better performance. Making sure that your devices’ technology is compatible with your router technology will help you utilize the fastest Wi-Fi speeds available and avoid lag times.


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Want to know how fast your devices can go? 

Wi-Fi speeds depend on the technology your devices are able to support. To make things easier, we’ve put together a list of common phones, laptops and gaming consoles along with their Wi-Fi capabilities. Use this chart to check which Wi-Fi technology your devices are built with so you can make the most out of them. Check out the comprehensive list here.


Posted By Sydney Lauer, Product Strategy Analyst