3 Reasons to Upgrade to a Wi-Fi 7 Router (and 3 Reasons to Wait)

Wi-Fi 7 is the hot, new version of Wi-Fi technology that’s slowly making its way into our gadgets. The problem is that you’ll pay a hefty price for the privilege, so is it time to get yourself a Wi-Fi 7 router now, or should you wait a year or two?

Why You Should Upgrade to a Wi-Fi 7 Router

Despite the cost of Wi-Fi 7 network hardware, there are several legitimate reasons to pull the trigger now rather than wait for costs to come down. If you’re in one of the following three situations, Wi-Fi 7 might make sense for you.

You’re Upgrading to a Multi-Gigabit Internet Plan

Multi-gigabit (faster than a gigabit per second) internet plans are more common and affordable than ever. So, if you are planning to upgrade to a multi-gigabit plan, a Wi-Fi 7 router will complement your broadband perfectly with its ultra-fast transmission speeds and lower latency than previous generation Wi-Fi routers. After all, you don’t want your router to become a bottleneck in passing that multi-gigabit data speed to your devices. Wi-Fi 6E can already barely keep up with a gigabit fiber, so anyone going beyond that needs Wi-Fi 7 unless you’re willing to install Ethernet instead.

Like Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 7 uses the 6GHz band to deliver super-fast connectivity to supported devices. Thanks to the new 320MHz channel, it can go even faster than Wi-Fi 6E in the 6GHz band. However, Wi-Fi 7’s high speeds aren’t limited to the 6GHz band; the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands will also deliver faster speeds on a Wi-Fi 7 router. For example, the TP-Link Archer BE800, one of our best Wi-Fi 7 router picks, is theoretically capable of delivering 5,760Mbps and 1,376Mbps speeds via its 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands, respectively. In contrast, the TP-Link Archer AXE300, one of the best Wi-Fi 6E routers, can only manage 4,804Mbps and 1,148Mbps through its 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands, respectively. Don’t forget, these are theoretical speeds, and in real life actual speeds are much lower, but Wi-Fi 7 manages to get more speed from the same airspace using a long list of clever tricks.

You Live on the Bleeding Edge of Technology

Although it’s still early days for Wi-Fi 7 devices, several smartphones, laptops, desktop network cards, and more are available with Wi-Fi 7. So, if you’ve already assembled a decent selection of Wi-Fi 7-capable devices, getting a Wi-Fi 7 router can make sense. You’ll get the most out of your cache of Wi-Fi 7 devices, and it will make your setup ready for any future upgrades. Of course, while you won’t get any significant tangible benefits with devices featuring older-generation Wi-Fi hardware, a new router will enhance your overall experience.

Among its many fantastic features, Wi-Fi 7 supports Multi-Link Operation, which can dynamically switch between bands or use all three bands simultaneously to deliver better connection quality and reliability, something that you won’t get with previous-generation routers. Wi-Fi 7 routers are also better at handling interference and can slice off parts of a channel that have interference rather than ditching the entire channel.

Your Home Network Is Congested

Older Wi-Fi routers can become overwhelmed by the increasing number of Internet of Things and smart home devices. However, Wi-Fi 7 is built to easily handle a high density of Wi-Fi devices. It can connect with numerous devices without getting congested. So, if your current setup is getting clogged with too many IoT and smart home devices, it’s time to switch to a Wi-Fi 7 router for help. You may not be able to get the most out of it until you have a significant chunk of Wi-Fi 7 devices, but the overall connectivity will still improve in your household.

Why You Should Wait to Upgrade

Now that we’ve covered the strongest use cases for splurging on Wi-Fi 7 right away, there are a few good reasons to wait and avoid the early-adopter tax on Wi-Fi 7.

You Have Gigabit or Slower Internet

Wi-Fi 7 is excellent, but adding a Wi-Fi 7 router to a gigabit or sub-gigabit connection is simply overkill, and you’ll only end up shelling out a premium for pretty much nothing. Any good Wi-Fi 6 or 6E router will suit your internet connection. And if you are facing patchy or spotty Wi-Fi, a mesh system is a much better investment.

You can wait for the prices of Wi-Fi 7 routers to come down. By then, you’ll probably own a few Wi-Fi 7 devices and may even be ready to upgrade to a multi-gigabit connection. Even without a multi-gigabit connection, a Wi-Fi 7 router will make sense in a couple of years when prices are more reasonable.

You Already Own a Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E Router

As mentioned, Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E routers are more than sufficient for most people in 2024. If you already own one, there is no need to upgrade without a specific reason. Wi-Fi 6E routers can easily handle a gigabit connection and include the 6GHz band to get an uncongested lane of data traffic, given you have Wi-Fi 6E compatible devices. Also, if you are still rocking a Wi-Fi 5 router but don’t satisfy any of the reasons for upgrading mentioned above, an upgrade to a Wi-Fi 6E router makes more sense than going for a Wi-Fi 7 router.

You Own Legacy Devices With Older Wireless Security

Modern Wi-Fi routers, especially those with newer Wi-Fi standards, tend to ditch older wireless security and encryption, and you will find the same with Wi-Fi 7 routers. So far, all the Wi-Fi 7 routers we have seen don’t support WEP, and some don’t even support WAP on SSIDs for the 5GHz band. The lack of WEP support isn’t new, and you won’t find it on most, if not all, Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E routers.

So, if your household has devices limited to WEP, you won’t want to rush to get a Wi-Fi 7 router, which will render them unable to use Wi-Fi without you opening the Wi-Fi network, which is never a good idea. So, it’s wiser to wait until you can upgrade legacy devices or make alternate connectivity arrangements for them. Similarly, if you have legacy devices with WAP security that you can’t upgrade just yet, ensure their compatibility with a new Wi-Fi 7 router before placing an order.