But, for most of us, its best to just wait for the world to catch up.

This, along with increased bandwidth, should make your connections more consistent, faster, and better.

Is Wi-Fi 6 Faster?

D-Link AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 USB adapter

D-Link

Wi-Fi 6 runs at up to 9.6 Gbps, compared to Wi-Fi 5s 3.5 Gbps.

But thats not the whole story.

Its not even the most important part.

Abstract network of multicolored spheres- conceptual illustration of colored data packets.

peepo / Getty Images

Instead, it deals with congestion.

Then we got smart phones.

Now, take a moment to count everything thats hooked up.

A family of five all using technology devices in the living room.

Peter Cade / Getty Images

Thats a lot of traffic over the web link.

Wi-Fi 6 fixes all that.

Wi-Fi lets routers communicate with more devices at once.

Also neat is something called BSS (Base Service Station) Color.

Imagine trying to listen to a podcast while your neighbor has a techno party next door.

If your ears had BSS Color, then you could magically ignore all that noise.

Wi-Fi 6 is fully backward compatibleyou can connect your Wi-Fi 5 devices, no problem.

Is Your gear Wi-Fi 6 Compatible?

The iPhones 11 and 12 both support Wi-Fi 6, as do many of Samsungs latest models.

The Wi-Fi section will look something likeWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax.

The “ax” on the end is what youre looking for.

Thats what designates Wi-Fi 6.

Apples M1 Macs also support 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax.

Worth The Upgrade?

Theres not really much point in rushing to upgrade your connection, unless you know you have specific needs.

And your next phone and computer almost certainly will have it.

But what about all your smart home gear, speakers, TV, lightbulbs, and so on?

That opens extra bandwidth, bandwidth that only will be shared by other 6E devices.

So, Wi-Fi 6 isnt going to help you for a long time yet.

Which also means you probably dont need the D-Link dongle at the top of this post.