Wi-Fi 6 vs. Wi-Fi 5: What's the difference?

Wi-Fi 5 vs. Wi-Fi 6 explained

Differences between Wi-Fi 6 vs. Wi-Fi 5 showcase how Wi-Fi 6 differentiates itself from previous generations. Wi-Fi 6 offers faster speeds, broader IoT capabilities and unique features, such as orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA).

Wi-Fi 5

Known as 802.11ac, Wi-Fi 5 is the fifth generation of Wi-Fi and directly precedes Wi-Fi 6. Wi-Fi 5 is an update to the 802.11a standard and was prominent in the 2010s. Wi-Fi 5 was the first Wi-Fi standard to exceed 1 Gbps as a maximum data rate.

Wi-Fi 5 inherited several capabilities from Wi-Fi 4, including orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and the ability to operate on a 5 GHz band. Wi-Fi 5 transformed these capabilities into features that could benefit and support networks and network technology at the time, such as enhanced video streaming capabilities and file backups.

Wi-Fi 6

Also known as 802.11ax, Wi-Fi 6 is the sixth generation of Wi-Fi. It aimed to improve network efficiency, maximum data rates and wired network infrastructure. Upon its announcement, Wi-Fi 6 promised an extensive shift in the networking industry. The new features included in Wi-Fi 6 made it fundamentally distinct from previous generations.

Both the Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 5 standards have similar features, including multiuser multiple input, multiple output (MU-MIMO) and goals for maximum data rates and frequencies. However, Wi-Fi 6 better met those shared speed and frequency goals due to its increased ability to simultaneously support more clients and features such as OFDMA.

Differences between Wi-Fi 6 vs. Wi-Fi 5

The key differences between Wi-Fi 6 vs. Wi-Fi 5 include the following:

• Access point (AP) capacity.
• AP spatial streams.
• Frequency bands.
• Maximum data rates.
• MU-MIMO.

AP capacity

The debate over AP capacity begins with Wi-Fi 6's most innovative feature: OFDMA. OFDMA is a form of Wi-Fi 5's OFDM, which encodes data on multiple carrier frequencies to reduce channel interferences. OFDMA enhances these capabilities and enables Wi-Fi 6 APs to connect to multiple clients at once, whereas Wi-Fi 5 APs connect to a single client per channel.

OFDMA's multiuser support -- compared to OFDM's single-user support -- makes Wi-Fi 6 APs more efficient and enables quick, simultaneous request response times.

AP spatial streams

Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 5 APs also differ due to spatial streams, which are multiple multiplexed signals that antennas transmit in a single channel within MIMO environments. Wi-Fi 5 APs can consistently offer four spatial streams. Wi-Fi 6 offers eight spatial streams, while Wi-Fi 5 can only reach eight in ideal circumstances.

With more spatial streams, Wi-Fi 6 has greater maximum performance speeds. This means it can consistently perform faster from the start compared with Wi-Fi 5.

Frequency band

Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 5 frequency bands differ, which affects the available throughput each Wi-Fi generation can offer. Wi-Fi 5 operates on the 5 GHz frequency band for data transmission. Wi-Fi 6, however, uses both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, supporting better throughput than Wi-Fi 5.

Maximum data rate

AP capacity, spatial stream and frequency all affect the potential maximum data rates for both Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 5. While Wi-Fi 5's goal data rate was around 6.9 Gbps, organizations could only reach this under ideal circumstances. Wi-Fi 5's data rate typically topped out at 3.5 Gbps. Wi-Fi 6 reached its rate goal of 9.6 Gbps due to its advancements and new features.

MU-MIMO

Traditional MIMO enables data sources and destinations to communicate through multiple antennas with smart antenna technology, which enables faster and more seamless communication. MU-MIMO also does this, yet it simultaneously supports multiple users within a single network environment.

Wi-Fi 5 uses downlink MU-MIMO, while Wi-Fi 6 supports bidirectional MU-MIMO for both uplink and downlink capabilities. Wi-Fi 6 enables multiple users to upload and download data simultaneously, and Wi-Fi 5 can't. Wi-Fi 6's MU-MIMO capabilities are part of its promises to enhance speed.

Other Wi-Fi 6 features

Beyond the key differences, additional advancements further distinguish Wi-Fi 6 vs. Wi-Fi 5. For example, Wi-Fi 6 has significant advantages over Wi-Fi 5, such as its more efficient use of quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), and its exclusive features, like Target Time Wake (TWT) and basic service set (BSS) coloring:

• QAM. Wi-Fi 6's 1024-QAM is four times higher than Wi-Fi 5, enabling greater bandwidth than Wi-Fi 5's 256-QAM.
• TWT. TWT enables a client or user to control how often an AP communicates with it in order to save battery power and alleviate traffic congestion. This feature supports IoT adoption, as organizations can add more IoT devices to their networks without concern of negative effects on performance.
• BSS coloring. BSS coloring is a method that color-codes BSSes on the same frequency to identify which channels are in use. This technique diminishes and prevents cochannel interferences to improve network efficiency.

Next-generation Wi-Fi standards

The jump from Wi-Fi 5 to Wi-Fi 6 offered a new set of features and capabilities that improved wireless network connectivity, efficiency and performance. While Wi-Fi 6 might still suffice for some businesses, newer standards have since superseded Wi-Fi 6. As enterprises begin to transition to newer wireless standards, such as Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi 6 has started to fall out of favor. Organizations ready to embrace innovation might have begun to transition to new wireless technologies and kick-start network transformation.

Michaela Goss is senior site editor for TechTarget's Customer Experience and Content Management sites. She joined TechTarget as a writer and editor in 2018.