Wi-Fi Standards Table
| Generation | IEEE standard | Adopted | Max link rate | Frequency bands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (pre-Wi-Fi) | 802.11 legacy | 1997 | 1–2 Mbit/s | 2.4 GHz |
| — | 802.11b | 1999 | 1–11 Mbit/s | 2.4 GHz |
| — | 802.11a | 1999 | 6–54 Mbit/s | 5 GHz |
| — | 802.11g | 2003 | 6–54 Mbit/s | 2.4 GHz |
| Wi-Fi 4 | 802.11n | 2009 | 6.5–600 Mbit/s | 2.4 / 5 GHz |
| Wi-Fi 5 | 802.11ac | 2013 | 6.5–6,933 Mbit/s | 5 GHz |
| Wi-Fi 6 / 6E | 802.11ax | 2021 | 0.4–9,608 Mbit/s | 2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz |
| Wi-Fi 7 | 802.11be | 2024 | wide-channel MLO | 2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz |
| Wi-Fi 8 | 802.11bn | TBA | — | — |
The letters on your router box tell a twenty-five-year story: 802.11b, a, g, n, ac, ax - each an IEEE amendment that changed how much data fits in the air. Since 2019 the Wi-Fi Alliance numbers the generations so normal humans can read them, but the numbering starts at 4: Wi-Fi 4 is 802.11n (2009), Wi-Fi 5 is ac (2013), Wi-Fi 6 is ax (2021), and Wi-Fi 7 is be (2024). Everything older is just its IEEE number, which is why the early rows of the chart have no brand at all.
The chart's honest column is the link rate: those numbers - 600 Mbit/s for Wi-Fi 4, 6,933 for Wi-Fi 5, 9,608 for Wi-Fi 6 - are radio-layer ceilings under perfect conditions you will never meet. Real throughput lands at roughly half after protocol overheads, divides by every device sharing the air, and is capped first by whatever your internet plan actually delivers. The generation you shop for matters for latency and crowded-room performance more than for the headline megabit number.
How to use
- Match your devices to the row they need: a Wi-Fi 4 phone next to a Wi-Fi 6 router still runs at Wi-Fi 4 speeds - the router and the phone negotiate down to the older standard, so the weakest radio in the room sets the ceiling for that device.
- Pick the band by what the room needs: 2.4 GHz penetrates walls and carries the oldest gadgets (plus microwave interference), 5 GHz is the everyday workhorse with the widest channel choice, and 6 GHz - usable since Wi-Fi 6E - is the quiet band with no legacy devices, which is where low-latency uses like VR headsets belong.
- Read the year column as upgrade guidance: a pre-2009 router (before Wi-Fi 4) throttles every modern device in the house, and Wi-Fi 6 is the practical floor for homes past a dozen connected devices - the chart's jump from 600 to 9,608 Mbit/s is mostly about talking to many devices at once, not one device faster.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E?
The radio standard is identical 802.11ax - the E is purely new spectrum. Wi-Fi 6 runs in the long-crowded 2.4 and 5 GHz bands; 6E adds the 6 GHz band, where only newer devices may go. That emptiness is the real upgrade: more and wider channels, no old phones or neighbors competing for airtime, so latency drops even though the top link rate is unchanged. The catch is range - 6 GHz fades faster through walls than 5 GHz, so it serves the room it is in rather than the whole house.
Why is my real Wi-Fi speed half the advertised number?
The advertised figure is the raw radio link rate under ideal conditions; actual data carries protocol overheads (framing, acknowledgments, retransmissions) that consume roughly half of it, and then the remainder is shared with every device talking at once, further limited by your internet plan, the server on the other end, and distance from the router. A 9,608 Mbit/s Wi-Fi 6 link delivering 400-600 Mbit/s to a laptop is normal. The chart's column is a ceiling for comparing generations, not a speed promise.
Which Wi-Fi band should I use, 2.4 or 5 GHz?
Use 2.4 GHz for range and compatibility: it goes through walls better and is the only band old smart-home devices understand - but it has few narrow channels and shares air with microwaves and Bluetooth. Use 5 GHz for everything else: many more channels, much more capacity, and the band where streaming and calls belong. If both bands share one network name, let the device decide - modern phones roam to the right band on their own; splitting them into two names is for forcing a stubborn device onto 5 GHz.
Is Wi-Fi 7 worth upgrading for?
For most homes today, no - unless the use case is many simultaneous heavy users or a wired-class wireless link between two rooms. Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)'s headline feature is MLO, multi-link operation: one device bonding the 5 and 6 GHz bands together for lower latency and failover, plus doubled channel widths. Phones and laptops that speak Wi-Fi 7 are only arriving now, so the upgrade pays first in dense households, content-creation studios, and wireless VR - a single-laptop apartment will not notice.