what do i need to know about replacing my wi fi router 802.11n

If you've been downwardly to your local Best Buy lately, yous might take noticed that a whole new class of wireless routers are on the marketplace on the premium end of the product scale, emblazoned with an "802.11ac" label in brilliant messages on the front end of the box.

Merely what does 802.11ac mean, and is information technology really necessary for y'all to go the almost out of your daily WiFi browsing feel? Read on as we clear up the confusion around this confounding wireless networking standard and tell you everything you need to know about the newest devices that can back up information technology in 2016.

802.11 Explained

RELATED: Upgrade Your Wireless Router to Get Faster Speeds and More Reliable Wi-Fi

Whenever you buy a new router, the first thing yous probably notice is that no matter which model you eventually go with, they all share the denotation of "802.11(something)" somewhere in their name. Without getting too deep with the technical details, what y'all'll desire to pay attention to is the letter that follows after this number, which signifies both the generation of the router and the maximum speed yous can hope to transmit or receive between the base of operations station and other wireless devices.

You can read about what all of these mean in our handy guide here, only to cut to the chase the just ii we'll be talking about today are 802.11n, and 802.11ac. To start, information technology helps to know that on the whole most routers made inside the past five years will support 802.11n, which at its peak can transfer upward of 450Mbits/s, or around 56 megabytes per 2nd. This, of form, is the theoretical max point for the technology achieved in carefully controlled lab settings, just it'southward still plenty fast plenty for the average household to run multiple Netflix streams or gaming sessions at a time without anyone noticing a slowdown.

802.11ac on the other mitt is quite a flake newer, having but been approved by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) for consumers in 2014. Theoretically capable of maxing out at a whopping 1.3Gbits per second (162.5 MB/s), the throughput of an air conditioning-enabled router is more than than double what you can expect with the more common 802.11n. Also, it's important to note that opposed to 802.11n, 802.11ac tin just transmit over the 5Ghz spectrum. As we explain in this article, while the 2.4Ghz band is much more than crowded than 5Ghz and tin can suffer from increased interference, its larger wavelength allows it to penetrate walls over longer distances without much indicate loss.

This means that if your router sits a number of rooms or floors abroad from your wireless devices, it may not be the best pick for your household despite the possible increased throughput.

802.11ac Routers: Do I Need One Still?

Because 802.11ac was just approved for the consumer marketplace and so recently, router manufacturers have just begun the process of flooding the shelves down at your local Best Purchase with wireless networking hubs that bear the new brand.

RELATED: HTG Reviews the D-Link AC3200 Ultra Wi-Fi Router: A Speedy Spaceship for Your Wi-Fi Needs

To know that a router is ac-ready, simply expect at the name of the model to learn everything you demand to know most what kind of ability you should expect straight out of the box. For the time existence, all routers featuring 802.11ac will accept an "air conditioning" stashed somewhere in its name (the Asus RT-AC3200, D-Link AC3200, etc). On boilerplate you can expect to pay anywhere from $150 – $400 for an 802.11ac router, which is a high price for users who might only have 1 or two devices in the house that are actually capable of tuning into the aqueduct in the beginning place.

Right now, the crux of ownership an 802.11ac router is that only the about current wireless devices even know how to decode its betoken. For example, both the iPhone 6 and 6s are equipped to handle an 802.11ac signal…but when was the last time you lot found yourself struggling with the fact that 802.11nonlytransmits at a 'mere' 56 megabytes per 2nd?

802.11ac will be cracking equally soon as everyone in the house wants their own private 4K picture on laptops or streaming devices that are capable of treatment that much bandwidth over the air, merely until then, it seems it'due south merely a luxury for those who accept the hottest devices equipped with the latest and greatest in WiFi applied science.

Conclusion

So, do yous reallydemand an 802.11ac router just yet? (Probably) not. If you lot're somehow streaming 4K videos to your iPhone through a central media server or accept an ultrabook that was released in the by six months then yes, you can receive an ac signal and obviously have plenty reasons to put it to work.

That said, unless y'all're i of the lucky few customers to have cobweb optic lines in their dwelling that really receive broadband speeds above the 150Mbit limit, your standard b/g/due north router should be able to handle the job just fine. They're a heck of a lot cheaper than 802.11ac routers, compatible with both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz spectrum, and run almost all of the electric current heavy-load applications (gaming, streaming, downloading) without breaking a sweat.

Our recommendation is to wait this one out some other year or two once the rest of the wireless networking community catches up to the trend that 802.11ac routers are simply starting to dip their toes into. If you lot accept the spare cash on hand and just can't get enough of routers that look similar they were designed by Bruce Wayne, then it'south a worthy investment that's just about every bit "future-proof" every bit they come. If you just demand something that delivers solid performance at a discount however, there are still plenty of 802.11n models out there that volition get the chore washed just fine.

Image Credits: Wikimedia, D-Link, Asus

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Source: https://www.howtogeek.com/234751/what-is-802.11ac-and-do-i-need-it/

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