Any benefit to getting a Wifi-6 router for old devices ?

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Any benefit to getting a Wifi-6 router for old devices ?

This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.
Any benefit to getting a Wifi-6 router for old devices ?
Any benefit to getting a Wifi-6 router for old devices ?
2022-10-24 10:13:05
Model: Deco X50  
Hardware Version: V1
Firmware Version:

I am considering upgrading my current Mesh Wifi to something that supports Wifi-6 as I get a lot of buffering and lag with my current setup.
My question is whether I'll see any benefit from getting something that's wifi-6 or wifi-6E when a lot of my devices that will attach to Wifi are older models that are running older versions of Wifi.
Will the features on the router such as 160MHz and OFDMA still provide benefit to devices that only run earlier versions of wifi.

 

Thanks in advance

Adam.

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Re:Any benefit to getting a Wifi-6 router for old devices ?
2022-10-24 15:28:31

  @ayoung1969 

 

You need both client and WiFi mesh that support WiFi6 or WiFi6E to see benefits.

 

Having said that, there is a caveat: if your WiFi mesh hardware is quite old or underpowered, replacing it by new and faster hardware can improve your WiFi, even if old devices still stay on WiF5 and 2.4GHz.

 

One more thing: it is also possible that issues you do experience with WiFi coverage can be addressed by tuning WiFi mesh you currently have. Tuning such as: changing WiFi mesh settings, better placement of WiFi nodes.

Sometimes, there is no need to buy new hardware to improve WiFi mesh performance.

 

What brand of WiFi mesh you currently have? You listed X50, but this is new Deco hardware, that can't be it. Also, what is your Internet speed?

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Re:Any benefit to getting a Wifi-6 router for old devices ?
2022-10-24 17:08:38

  @Alexandre. 

Thanks for your response.
I have been trying different locations and settings and when it works it's working quite well but it seems tempramental.


I have a Netgear Nighthawk M1 4G router in my attic acting as the internet source (my wired broadband connection is terrible because we're in a rural location) and then I have a Linksys Velop WHW03 connected via Ethernet to that and acting as the hub for my mesh.  I  have 3 other Velop WHW03 or WHW01 around the house to eliminate deadspots (thick walls mean 2 other nodes didn't quite provide enough coverage).

When it works well I get about 100Mbs download and 15Mbs upload but i find that i need to restart the Linksys every 3-4 days because it suddenly stops working (the connection status on the iphone or laptop that are connected show "No internet connection") and a reboot seems the only way to recover it.

 

I've had the Linksys for about 4-5 years so was thinking that the whole setup needed a refresh and was wondering whether to spend the extra on Wifi 6 or not.

 

Thanks,
Adam.

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Re:Any benefit to getting a Wifi-6 router for old devices ?
2022-10-24 19:57:15 - last edited 2022-10-24 19:58:22

  @ayoung1969 

 

For this kind of Internet speed you don't need WiFi6. On WiFi5 you can comfortably get speeds up to 300-500Mbps, depending on brand and hardware. 

 

I don't know why do you need to bounce your Linksys Velop hub, this is not right, but I am only familiar with Deco mesh and can't help with Velop. Just a basic recommendation: if you routinely bounce Hub every few days, put it on Smart switch and program that switch to power off/on Velop hub every night when Internet is not in use.

I have VoIP adapter for home phone line that goes haywire for whatever reason if not bounced every few days. Now it is autorestarted every night at 3am and I have seen no problems from it since I set that up. My choice was inexpensive TP-Link Kasa HS103 smart switch.

 

I am reluctant to recommend you Deco instead of Linksys Velop. It seems to be good enough for your needs, at least according to hardware specs.

From the other hand, TP-Link offers Deco X20-4G which you can use instead of Netgear Nighthawk M1 4G router, and then add 'regular' Deco X20s instead of Linksys. That will give you consistency in hardware (same vendor) and less chance for issues. Deco X20 comes with WiFi6.

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Re:Any benefit to getting a Wifi-6 router for old devices ?
2022-10-26 16:28:53

  @Alexandre. 

Thanks again for your feedback.
I might try the smart switch option first and see if there is any improvement.

Failing that the Deco-X20-4G and Deco-X20 combination might be worth a try to rule out issues between hardware vendors as you say.

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