When you hear that a router supports Wi-Fi 7, you naturally expect it to pack three bands—2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz—along with other Wi-Fi 7 features such as MLO (Multi-Link Operation), 320MHz channels, and 4096-QAM. In reality, however, MLO is the only one of those three Wi-Fi 7 features that routers are required to support, which has resulted in many Wi-Fi 7 routers shipping with only two bands: 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Why do they lack the 6GHz band, and are they still worth getting? I’ll answer those two questions below.
The main reason Wi-Fi 7 routers don’t include the 6GHz band is manufacturing costs
6GHz is not required for Wi-Fi 7 routers, so budget models don’t offer it
As you’re probably aware, tri-band Wi-Fi 7 routers cost a pretty penny. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router for less than about $200, with high-end models packing extra features costing $300 or more.
On the other hand, there are plenty of budget Wi-Fi 7 routers, some selling for as little as ~$100, but they’re all, without exception, dual-band models that include only the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. The reason is simple: the 6GHz band isn’t a mandatory Wi-Fi 7 feature, and omitting it helps manufacturers keep costs down and offer more affordable Wi-Fi 7 routers.
There are four mandatory features every router has to implement to receive Wi-Fi 7 certification. These include MLO (Multi-Link Operation), preamble puncturing, Multiple Resource Units (MRU), and WPA3 security. Every other feature, such as 4096-QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), 320MHz channel width, and support for the 6GHz band, is optional.
Wi-Fi 7 routers don’t even have to implement Wi-Fi 7’s hallmark feature, MLO, in its “true” form. While Simultaneous MLO is the proper way to implement MLO—or, in other words, to allow Wi-Fi 7 clients to use multiple bands simultaneously—virtually every Wi-Fi 7 router, including high-end models, uses Alternating MLO instead, rapidly switching between different bands rather than using them at the same time.
So it’s not surprising that many Wi-Fi 7 routers only come with the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Including a 6GHz radio is expensive, and since tri-band operation isn’t required for Wi-Fi 7 certification, manufacturers often omit it, as well as other optional Wi-Fi 7 features, to reduce costs on budget Wi-Fi 7 models.
- Brand
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TP-Link
- Wi-Fi Bands
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2.4GHz, 5GHz
The TP-Link BE3600 gives you next-gen Wi-Fi 7 performance at a budget price, delivering fast, reliable coverage with multi-gig ports and a powerful quad-core CPU. With strong antennas, EasyMesh support, and modern features like MLO and HomeShield, it’s an easy future-proof upgrade for any home.
Aside from lacking tri-band operation, dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers are proper Wi-Fi 7 routers
Even if they’re slower than tri-band Wi-Fi 7 offerings
Now, aside from not including the 6GHz band, most budget Wi-Fi 7 routers are fully Wi-Fi 7 certified. They come with the mandatory features listed above, such as MLO, preamble puncturing, MRU, and WPA3. Some models also include 4096-QAM, which can provide faster speeds than Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E routers, as well as 2.5Gbps WAN and LAN ports.
In general, you can expect faster speeds over both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands compared to similarly positioned Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E routers, as well as lower latency thanks to the inclusion of MLO, which, even in its restricted Alternating MLO form, can noticeably reduce latency.
On the other hand, due to the lack of a 6GHz radio, dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers are slower than their tri-band counterparts. Not only that, but because they’re noticeably cheaper than tri-band Wi-Fi 7 routers and pack less capable hardware, they often offer lower maximum speeds over the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands and can’t serve as many clients simultaneously, even though they still support features such as MU-MIMO, preamble puncturing, and Multiple Resource Units.
Another area where they fall short is connectivity. While tri-band Wi-Fi 7 models usually come with multiple 2.5Gbps LAN ports and either a 2.5Gbps or even a 10Gbps WAN port, budget models typically offer a 2.5Gbps WAN port and one or perhaps two 2.5Gbps LAN ports, with the remaining ports topping out at 1Gbps.
So, are dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers worth it?
They beat getting a similarly priced Wi-Fi 6 model
In general, if you’re choosing between similarly priced Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 routers, it’s worth getting the Wi-Fi 7 model, even if it’s slightly pricier, to future-proof your network. But if you don’t own any Wi-Fi 7 client devices and aren’t planning to get any anytime soon, you can save some cash and opt for a budget Wi-Fi 6 router instead.
If you do have Wi-Fi 7 client devices or plan to get some in the near future, a budget Wi-Fi 7 router is the better choice because even affordable Wi-Fi 7 routers come with some nifty features and benefits. As I already mentioned, even Alternating MLO comes with welcome benefits such as lower latency and improved reliability, even if it doesn’t offer the higher speeds associated with Simultaneous MLO.
Then you’ve got preamble puncturing, which improves performance in highly congested locations by blocking off portions of a channel affected by interference while allowing clients to use the rest of it. This can be particularly handy if you live in an apartment building surrounded by dozens of neighboring Wi-Fi networks.
Multiple Resource Unit (MRU) is another useful feature that can improve latency, speed, and reliability by allowing client devices to use multiple Resource Units (RUs) instead of a single Resource Unit (in a nutshell, a smaller chunk of a Wi-Fi channel), as is the case with OFDMA on Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E routers. Having a router with MRU is, yet again, especially handy in highly congested locations.
Conversely, while 4096-QAM is better than 1024-QAM on paper because it allows for higher theoretical speeds, you’re unlikely to notice much of a difference over the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands in real-world use.
Despite all these handy Wi-Fi 7 features, if you live in an area drowning in Wi-Fi signals, a tri-band Wi-Fi 6E router may be a better choice than a similarly priced dual-band Wi-Fi 7 router because it gives you access to the 6GHz band, which is typically far less congested than the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.
- Brand
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ASUS
- Wi-Fi Bands
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6 GHz, 5 GHz, 2.4 GHz
This is a great Wi-Fi 7 router, with 6 GHz support, web and mobile app control, and five built-in Ethernet ports. You can add mesh nodes with any ASUS AiMesh-compatible router or extender.
Dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers are proper Wi-Fi 7 routers and a better choice than many Wi-Fi 6 routers
So yeah, there’s nothing wrong with dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers. As long as a router is Wi-Fi 7 certified, it doesn’t have to offer the 6GHz band, since a 6GHz radio is not on the list of mandatory Wi-Fi 7 features.
On the other hand, dual-band Wi-Fi 7 routers do include mandatory features such as MLO, MRU, WPA3, and Preamble Puncturing. The main thing you’re missing is the 6GHz band, along with some optional features that can be found on higher-end models such as 4096-QAM and 320MHz channels, as well as extras often found on higher-end models, including 10Gbps WAN ports and multiple 2.5Gbps LAN ports.
Your WiFi 7 router might not actually be Wi-Fi 7
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
