Wi-Fi 6

Wi-Fi 6
	Icon used by the Wi-Fi Alliance for Wi-Fi 6
Introduced	1 September 2020
Compatible hardware	Personal computers, gaming consoles, smart devices, televisions, printers, security cameras
Website	https://www.wi-fi.org/wi-fi-6

Wi-Fi and IEEE 802.11 generations
Gen.	IEEE standard	Adopt.	Link rate (Mbit/s)	RF (GHz)
Gen.	IEEE standard	Adopt.	Link rate (Mbit/s)	2.4	5	6
—	802.11	1997	1–2
	802.11b	1999	1–11
	802.11a	1999	6–54
	802.11g	2003	6–54
Wi-Fi 4	802.11n	2009	6.5–600
Wi-Fi 5	802.11ac	2013	6.5–6,933
Wi-Fi 6	802.11ax	2021	0.4–9,608
Wi-Fi 6E	802.11ax	2021	0.4–9,608
Wi-Fi 7	802.11be	2024	0.4–23,059
Wi-Fi 8	802.11bn	TBA	0.4–23,059

IEEE 802.11ax-2021 or 802.11ax, is an IEEE standard from the Wi-Fi Alliance, for wireless networks (WLANs). The standard is marketed as Wi-Fi 6. It operates in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, with an extended version, Wi-Fi 6E, that adds the 6 GHz band; these are license-exempt ISM bands. It is an upgrade from Wi-Fi 5 (IEEE 802.11ac), with improvements for better performance in crowded places.

This standard aims to boost throughput in crowded places like offices and malls. Though the nominal data rate is only 37% higher than that of Wi-Fi 5, the throughput increases by at least four times, making it more efficient and reducing latency by 75%. The quintupling of overall throughput is made possible by higher spectral efficiency.

Wi-Fi 6 has a main feature called OFDMA, similar to how cellular common-carrier networks work. This brings better spectrum use, improved power control to avoid interference, and enhancements like 1024‑QAM, MIMO and MU-MIMO for faster speeds. There are also reliability improvements such as lower power consumption and security protocols like Target Wake Time and WPA3.

The 802.11ax standard was approved on September 1, 2020, with Draft 8 getting 95% approval. Subsequently, on February 1, 2021, the standard received official endorsement from the IEEE Standards Board.