April 2, 2023

WIFI speeds and standards

Which is faster? 5 Ghz or 2.4 Ghz? It all depends.

I have "upgraded" the routers in my house to TP-Link AC1750 units. There are two good things about these:

The AC1750 ("Archer C7") claims to do 450 Mbps over 2.4 Ghz and 1300 Mbps on 5 Ghz. Note that the total (450+1300) gives the product number (1750).
The 1300 speed on 5 Ghz is via 802.11ac.
The 450 speed on 2.4 Ghz is via 802.11n.
Compare this to the 54 Mb/s via 802.11b/g on the old WRT54 (only 2.4 Ghz).

People say that while 5Ghz is faster, it has less range. The fact that 5Ghz has less range can be a plus, it is less likely to interfere with (or be interfered with by) other 5Ghz access points.

I now own 3 of these routers, maybe 4. One is a gateway (with Wifi disabled) and the main distribution point for my home network. This router failed at some point and was replaced. Another is in the guest house, and the last is just now being deployed in my workshop. We have yet another access point (in the kitchen on top of the refrigerator).

The kitchen access point is a TP-Link AP225 which was advertised as a "business solution", but the 5 Ghz speed is "only" 867 Mhz. Maybe. This is confusing given that it is claimed by some literature to support 802.11ac -- but there is a lot of double talk, and a variety of different models with similar numbers yet different features. There may be a more specific AC1350 number or some such that will lead to less ambiguous specifications.

Feedback? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's Computer Info / [email protected]