The Wi-Fi 6 enabled Asus USB-AX56 listed above is the most expensive dongle on our list, and Wi-Fi 6 routers are generally more expensive than those that use older Wi-Fi standards. However, as with all Wi-Fi technology, Wi-Fi 6 is backward-compatible, which means that a Wi-Fi 6 router will still be able to connect to an older laptop or smartphone and vice versa.īecause it’s so new, Wi-Fi 6 technology is also usually very expensive. For starters, in order to actually get these benefits, both your router and the device you’re using to connect to it have to be compatible with Wi-Fi 6. Wi-Fi 6 is a new wireless connection technology that improves connection range and download speeds, but it comes with a few catches. It’s important to look for a dual-band device, as the 2.4GHz band is often too slow to comfortably handle data-intensive activities like video streaming or online gaming. For this reason, there tends to be more traffic on this channel, so some newer routers will try to automatically move devices onto the 5GHz connection if they can support it, in order to ease congestion. The 5GHz channel was introduced more recently, so some older devices may only support the 2.4GHz band. Routers and dongles that support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies are often referred to as ‘dual band’ devices. The 2.4GHz channel transmits data more slowly, but works over a larger range, whereas the 5GHz channel is faster, but drops off more quickly once you get further away from the router.

These are essentially the frequencies - also known as ‘channels’ or ‘bands’ - that are used between your router and your devices to send and receive data. Although you don’t need to worry too much about the finer points of the technology behind them, it can be helpful to have a basic understanding of what these terms refer to. When looking at anything to do with Wi-Fi networks, you’ll probably see the labels ‘2.4GHz and ‘5GHz’ floating around, which can be confusing for those with no clue what they mean. How to choose the best WiFi dongle What’s the difference between 2.4GHz and 5GHz?

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