ever felt overwhelmed by router technology when setting up your home internet? The market is full of confusing terms and speed claims.  But Wi-Fi has come a long way from its beginnings in 1997 when the IEEE first developed it.  wi-Fi wasn't always this complicated to understand.

         There are many different types of Wi-Fi technologies. The earliest versions were simple and basic compared to the speedy Wi-Fi we have in 2025.  Since the basics are 802. 11b, released in 1999 (Wi-Fi 3), Wi-Fi 6 and now the latest Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi 7.

         It used to be something very basic. You asked family and friends which router they were using. But time has moved on and now there are different letter and numbers!   Its like a language that only techies understood. Well,  they have finally started making it easier to understand these technologies.

        For example, the latest technology, Wi-Fi 7, is all about speed and handling more devices at once. There is a catch to it though. You will need to upgarde to this to experience all that shinny technology supports

        Think about how many devices you have in your houe that use the internet.  Gaming devices, smartphones, smart devices, streaming services, you name it. We need to understand how our local internet providers and bandwidth work.  Many company websites and advertisements for routers promise superfast speeds, but it's important to check if you can actually get those speeds through your plan.   Sadly, a lot of those speeds are only achievable if all your devices in your household are using ethernet connections.  watch out for those glowing reviews

      What do all those letters and numbers mean? These are key to understanding what your router has to offer. If you are diving into the jargon on these devices, you will be seeing  "AC", "AX"?

      For example, take the D-Link DIR-867, which is an AC1750 dual-band router. It means that it supports Wi-Fi 5 and has a maximum transfer rate of 1, 750 Mbps (theoretically)!  Again as the years go on we see amzinh speed!  However, it's not all about the marketed speed. In fact, the highest speed you get using this is 1, 300 Mbps when using its best speeds (on the 2. 4GHz band), this is far from 1, 750 yet. It's the same for Wi-Fi 6 routers like the Asus ROG Rapture AX11000. while it's hyped because of its multi band way of working it still gets significantly but the real speeds.

      If you're on the hunt for a new router, took other things when weighing these options.  prices will vary, and so will your budget for internet usage.  Amazon Alexa can even help you if you need hint.  You also need to consider how much range you need for your home. A mesh router is a timely suggestion here as the landscape of your house will impact the type of router.

      USB ports are a great feature when you want to share a hard bedeck from PC to tablets or a printer, and this feature is becoming more and more prevalent on these devices. Beamforming,  which targets certain directions to devices needing the connection, is also proving to be useful. You may want to research this more if you are buying a router for a house prone to bad weather conditions. Quality of Service (QoS) is another vital feature which prioritizes connections for activities like gaming in your home promising smoother connections.

What You Need to Know About Wi-Fi and Routers Today

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