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[-] cuchilloc@lemmy.world 220 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Most consumers are familiar with the 802.11 standards; however, this new sequential number rebranding is intended to simplify things. Previously, the naming design used the alphabet, starting with a to bto g and n, with each one representing the next generation. We'd expect z to be the last or fastest one, or until they have new names, but suddenly we're on 802.11ac, which is faster than all previous versions, so it's understandable that users would be a bit confused. Thus, starting from 802.11n, Wi-Fi will be referred to as Wi-Fi 4, 802.11ac as Wi-Fi 5, and 802.11ax as Wi-Fi 6.

—————

WiFi 6: higher data rates, increased capacity, enhanced performance in dense environments, and improved power efficiency. Operating on the same 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band as Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 6 is rated to support transfer speeds of up to 10 Gb/s, which ranges from four to ten times faster than the current standard.

—————

802.11ax utilizes OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access), one of the big advancements with LTE technology.

TL;DR: less congestion in crowded networks and better speeds.

[-] fristislurper@feddit.nl 96 points 1 year ago

Most consumers are familiar with the 802.11 standards

Lol, no. Not in any way.

[-] boonhet@lemm.ee 20 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Might be true for people buying their own WiFi routers.

Which already isn't most consumers, because most people use what their ISP gives them.

[-] deranger@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

You’re kidding, right? Wireless G, N, AC, AX etc are commonly printed all over the boxes of routers and is the main way to talk about their speed and how new they are. Do you not buy your own router? It seems as common to me as 3G/4G/5G but for a different kind of wireless.

I wouldn’t expect my mom to know it, I would expect most people on Lemmy to know and most somewhat tech familiar people to know. Not deep into the specs, but knowing AC is faster than N.

[-] candybrie@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago

Most consumers don't buy their own routers. The only time I've helped people buy routers in the last decade is to get one you could install a vpn on. Looking at the wireless standards never crossed our minds.

[-] deranger@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Fair enough. I thought it was just as common knowledge as wireless cellphone standards. Kinda surprised to see most people on Lemmy don’t pay attention to these, lots of the kinds of people who wouldn’t use the ISP supplied router / AP are here. Or so I thought.

I don’t know the 802.11 specs at all, but I know enough to purchase a router that won’t be outdated quickly.

[-] Jumuta@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

people on lemmy know but people on lemmy aren't the general public

[-] SirQuackTheDuck@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

They might be printed on there, but as long as it looks like it has wifi (pointy units or the wifi symbol on your phone), people will buy it.

802.11 isn't anywhere near common knowledge. That's why it was named WiFi and trademarked to begin with.

[-] deranger@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

Regular people sure, but this is Lemmy. The nerd concentration here is significantly higher than average. I dunno, just thought it was fairly common knowledge in tech literate people that wireless G is outdated, AX is current, things like that. I can’t imagine spending money on a router without knowing the basics, which I’d consider the G/N/AC etc standard to be the minimum you need to know for making a decent purchase.

[-] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 64 points 1 year ago

Thanks homie for the whole official scoop on this.

[-] Samsy@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 year ago

And it saves battery for mobile devices.

[-] pewgar_seemsimandroid 1 points 1 year ago

one question, is wifi related to wimax?

[-] cuchilloc@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

802.16 standard … Wifi are all versions of 802.11

[-] pewgar_seemsimandroid 1 points 1 year ago
[-] cuchilloc@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

subscribe to cuchilloc premium, you are limited to one question <3

[-] pewgar_seemsimandroid 1 points 1 year ago
[-] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 86 points 1 year ago
[-] INHALE_VEGETABLES@aussie.zone 10 points 1 year ago

It's right there... can't he read?

[-] Max_P@lemmy.max-p.me 85 points 1 year ago

You're connected over WiFi 6.

[-] TotalFat@lemmy.world 47 points 1 year ago

It means you can "dock" your phone with a consenting bro's phone also displaying this symbol by facing each other, grasp your device firmly, and touch the tips together.

[-] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 33 points 1 year ago

If you're trying to make a gay joke, it landed wrong because I'm a girl.

[-] tetris11@lemmy.ml 28 points 1 year ago
[-] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago

bro's... facing each other... touch the tips together.

Clearly a metaphor about guys & penises.

[-] winkerjadams@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 1 year ago

Girls can be Bros and nips got tips

[-] Chakravanti@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 year ago

You've got more tips than we do.

[-] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 year ago

This thread took a strange direction...

[-] SeabassDan@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Is that where your phone case opens up to receive your bro's phone into it?

[-] lessthanluigi@lemmy.world 32 points 1 year ago

It means you are connected to a WiFi 6 connection. It means your WiFi will be much faster now.

[-] eatham@aussie.zone 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It will only be faster if WiFi was a bottleneck before.

Edit: I misread the comment, thought it was talking about internet speeds.

[-] sickhack@lemmy.world 26 points 1 year ago

It means you are connected to a WiFi 6 connection. It means your WiFi will be much faster now.

[-] cuchilloc@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Bro played himself , but he had good intentions !!

[-] Jumuta@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago

normal people just call internet speeds wifi speeds though

there's no harm in clarifying

[-] lefixxx@lemmy.world 30 points 1 year ago

Your phone is bragging about supporting wifi6

[-] chemicalwonka@discuss.tchncs.de 20 points 1 year ago

Wi-Fi AX aka Wi-Fi 6

[-] dog_@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago

The TLDR is that it's a new wifi standard/generation. It means WiFi 6. It's not entirely important, but some phones display that to show you that you're using fairly recent technology.

[-] magi 10 points 1 year ago
[-] androidul@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago

damn you, I’m so jelly rn 🥲

[-] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago

okay based on everyone's responses, it looks like the number six is a good thing, and not a bad scary thing that would be a cause for privacy concern. Thank you all.

[-] SnotFlickerman 8 points 1 year ago

Most wholesome outcome.

[-] TheBigBrother@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago
this post was submitted on 30 Jun 2024
171 points (100.0% liked)

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