Wi-Fi 7 has been tested and this why you should start upgrading!
Wi-Fi 7 Testing: Speed Upgrade Worth It, But 6GHz is the Real Game-Changer
Upgrading to a Wi-Fi 7 router is a worthwhile investment for users seeking the fastest possible download and upload speeds over their wireless local area network (WLAN) connection, a recent MyBroadband test has confirmed.
However, the comparison test of modern Wi-Fi standards revealed a critical insight: access to the 6GHz frequency band made a significantly greater difference to overall performance than the specific version of the Wi-Fi standard used.
Understanding the Standards and the Test
MyBroadband tested and compared all modern Wi-Fi standards to determine the benefits of adopting newer technologies.
Wi-Fi 7, formally known as 802.11be, is the newest standard. It promises ultra-high speeds through several key technical improvements:
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Enhanced Encoding Schemes: More efficient data transmission.
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Increased Bandwidths: Allowing for broader data channels.
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Multi-Link Operation (MLO): This major feature enables devices to connect to the router via more than one frequency band simultaneously, dramatically increasing the total available bandwidth.
Both Wi-Fi 7 and the preceding Wi-Fi 6E standard allow devices to access the 6GHz frequency band, a significant advantage over older standards which are limited to the congested 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.
Test Results: The Power of 6GHz
The test protocol began by establishing a baseline speed using the MyBroadband Speed test website over a stable Ethernet connection. This was followed by a series of configurations on the router to measure the impact of different Wi-Fi standards and bands.
The results were conclusive: the frequency bands selected ultimately made the biggest difference to the overall speeds achieved. Using the 6GHz band had a significantly larger influence on performance than factors like the standard (7 vs. 6E).
This performance boost is primarily due to reduced congestion. In South Africa, only a subset of frequencies in the 6GHz band has been made available for Wi-Fi use, and very few devices currently utilize it. This limited adoption means the 6GHz band experiences far less interference compared to the heavily trafficked 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands available on most existing Wi-Fi equipment.
In summary: While Wi-Fi 7 offers superior technology, the real key to achieving peak wireless speeds today lies in utilizing the less-congested 6GHz band, accessible via both Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 6E devices.
The table below summarises the common names used for Wi-Fi standards, together with the bands and features they support.
Test Equipment and Methodology
To test and compare the performance of the different Wi-Fi standards, we utilized state-of-the-art networking equipment and a controlled test environment.
Hardware Configuration
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Wi-Fi 7 Router: We used the Cudy WR3000 Tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router. This router was chosen for its comprehensive feature set, including:
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Support for all three frequency bands (2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz) with independent settings for each.
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Support for Multi-Link Operation (MLO).
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Theoretical maximum speeds exceeding 10 Gbps.
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Networking Card: The client device used a Gigabyte GC-WIFI 7 networking card to ensure full compatibility with the latest standard.
Test Setup
The Wi-Fi router was configured as a dedicated Access Point (AP) for all testing.
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Physical Placement: The router was positioned two rooms away from the computer housing the Wi-Fi 7 networking card to introduce realistic environmental factors and measure performance across a moderate distance.
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Internet Connection: An uncontended 400/400 Mbps fibre service was used to measure the Wi-Fi connections internet performance and establish a baseline for speed testing.
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Local Network Test: To test local network throughput (file transfer speeds), a Synology NAS was connected to the router.
Networking Limitation
A key limitation of the local network test was the NAS unit itself. Unfortunately, the Synology NAS only supported Gigabit Ethernet (1 Gbps) networking. This limitation prevented us from fully utilizing the higher-speed 2.5G ports available on the Cudy WR11000 router, meaning the true multi-gigabit capabilities of the Wi-Fi 7 connection could not be demonstrated in the internal file transfer tests.
Speed Test Results: Performance by Band and Standard
Our testing revealed clear performance differences across the various Wi-Fi standards and frequency bands.
Peak Performance: 6GHz Dominance
The highest Internet speeds were achieved using the default Wi-Fi 7 configuration on the dedicated 6GHz band. These results successfully matched the speeds recorded over our wired Gigabit Ethernet connection, demonstrating the technology's ability to maximize throughput.
The Wi-Fi 6E standard operating on the 6GHz band also yielded excellent results, delivering near-peak download speeds. However, the upload speeds were noticeably lower compared to the Wi-Fi 7 connection.
5GHz and Standard Degradation
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The 5GHz band performed strongly using both the Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 standards, providing reliably fast connections for high-bandwidth tasks.
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Speeds degraded significantly when we tested the older Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) standard on the 5GHz band, highlighting the clear performance improvements delivered by the newer generations.
The Multi-Link Operation (MLO) Factor
Interestingly, the much-touted Multi-Link Operation (MLO) feature of Wi-Fi 7, which allows for simultaneous connection across multiple bands (including 6GHz), did not manage to reach the same peak speeds as the direct, single-band 6GHz connection. This suggests that while MLO is designed to improve overall stability and congestion relief, the dedicated 6GHz connection remains the fastest option for raw throughput in a less-congested environment.
The results also showed the significant impact of using the congested 2.4 GHz band, where the highest speeds achieved were less than 10% of what was possible with our connection.
Local Area Network (LAN) Speeds over Wi-Fi
After maxing out the Internet connection speeds, our next step was to achieve the highest possible throughput over the Local Area Network (LAN), beginning with establishing a baseline using a wired connection.
Establishing the Wired Baseline
We tested the transfer speeds between the Synology NAS and the test computer by transferring large files.
The Gigabit Ethernet port on the NAS served as the limiting factor for this test. Due to this hardware constraint, we achieved a maximum transfer speed of 904 Mbps—the effective ceiling for a standard 1 Gbps connection.
Wi-Fi Multi-Link Triumphs
This is where the Multi-Link Operation (MLO) feature of Wi-Fi 7 truly demonstrated its value.
The MLO connection, achieved by simultaneously linking all three bands (2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz), easily matched the 904 Mbps wired baseline. This result confirms that Wi-Fi 7 can effectively deliver wired-equivalent speeds for file transfers on a modern network.
It is highly likely that significantly faster transfer speeds would have been achieved if the NAS had been equipped with 2.5G Ethernet capabilities, allowing the Wi-Fi 7 connection to truly showcase its multi-gigabit potential without a wired bottleneck.
Source by: MyBroadband