Legacy Devices: Because Wi-Fi 6E requires purpose-built Wi-Fi 6E Hardware, no legacy devices can be updated to support it, barring modular PC upgrades.

If you have devices with 2.5 Gbps-and-above hardwired connections (say a 10 GbE-equipped NAS) it could mean wireless backups that take a fraction of the time they would on a sub-6GHz network.

ISP Speed and Network Needs: Do you have a fast internet plan, or the ability upgrade to one? Do you have high-bandwidth needs on your local network? Wi-Fi 6E can help with those if you have or plan to buy a Wi-Fi 6E network card like the Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 (provided your motherboard or laptop has the right M.2 slot).

But if you’re satisfied with your current network setup, it may be better to wait for the market to mature over the next year or two. If you’re in need of a new router now and you want to future-proof your purchase, a 6E router may be worth considering.

Wi-Fi 6E Client (Un)availability: At this point, there aren’t many Wi-Fi 6 clients out there, let alone 6E devices.

We’ll do so below, but first for the benefit of those who just want some quick-and-dirty details about Wi-Fi 6 and 6E to consider when shopping for a router, here’s the short-ish version.

Wifi test speed