Wi-Fi generations explained
Wi-Fi is the IEEE 802.11 family, and the Wi-Fi Alliance now gives each major version a simpler generation number (Wi-Fi 4, 5, 6, 7). This reference lists every standard from the legacy 802.11b through Wi-Fi 7, with maximum throughput, frequency bands, channel widths, and the headline feature each one introduced.
How it works
A Wi-Fi standard’s peak rate is the product of several factors: the channel width (20 to 320 MHz), the modulation density (how many bits per symbol, from BPSK up to 4096-QAM in Wi-Fi 7), and the number of spatial streams (MIMO). Wider channels and denser modulation carry more data but need a cleaner signal, so they work best at short range. The quoted maximum assumes the best case on every factor at once.
Frequency band determines the tradeoff between range and speed. The 2.4 GHz band travels furthest and penetrates walls but is crowded and offers few non-overlapping channels. The 5 GHz band is faster with many more channels but shorter range, and the new 6 GHz band (Wi-Fi 6E and 7) adds a large block of clean spectrum for the widest, fastest channels. Newer standards also add efficiency features — MU-MIMO serves multiple clients at once, OFDMA subdivides channels for many small transmissions, and Wi-Fi 7’s Multi-Link Operation uses several bands simultaneously.
Tips and notes
- Channel width is a double-edged sword: an 80 or 160 MHz channel is fast but more likely to overlap with neighbours, causing interference in dense areas.
- A device only runs at the lowest common standard of the link, so an old Wi-Fi 4 phone caps the throughput of its own connection regardless of the router.
- The 6 GHz band requires Wi-Fi 6E or 7 hardware on both router and client; older devices cannot see it.
- For latency-sensitive uses like gaming or video calls, OFDMA and MLO matter more than peak speed, which is why Wi-Fi 6 and 7 feel better in crowded networks.