I state this: “An AC1900 wireless router like Linksys EA7500 v2 has a maximum theoretical bandwidth of 1300 Mbps for the 5 GHz band. When you use a normal Windows 10 laptop, you get a maximum download speed of 539.86 Mbps. The real-life speed you get is 2.4 times lower than its advertised maximum bandwidth.”
So I have a 400 mb down 20 up cable connection. I have 5 rokus, 3 game consoles, 3 laptops, 3 echo dots, some smart tv’s, hard wired computers, a video camera. I am looking at an wifi6 router an ax1500, and an ax3000. Do I need more than the AX1500. Why technically do I need more than a 400 whatever when that is the max bandwidth of my connection.
Thanks for writing an article that helps someone out of the WiFi mainstream get up to speed after a few years. It still leaves me with the following questions: First, it used to be important to know if your router’s 5 GHz bands were “A,” “BG,” or “N.” Despite noting that an AC3200 router supports more 5GHz bands than does an AC3200 router, there’s no discussion of which bands are prevalent, in other words, if an AC3200 router is more likely to support “BG” or “N” (or if these designations are irrelevant). Second, why does one of your examples convert the 2.4 GHz band to 750 Mbps (I think it’s the lower case b) while other examples convert to 1000 Mbps? Isn’t that the same “B” band in all cases? What’s the difference? Let me know if I’m addressing issues that are no longer relevant or if other articles on this site might help. Thanks again.
You never get higher speed than you buy from your ISP.
If the WAN port is max 100Mbit/s, that is the max speed you get regardless of the WiFi standard you use to connect to the router.
I would like some insights on this one. There are still some products that advertise that their routers feature AC1200, but only possess a WAN port that can hold 10/100Mbps. That 100 Mbps is so far from reflecting the theoretical 867Mbps speed of a 5Ghz signal. Why do these manufacturers still do this combination of AC1200 and 10/100 Mbit/s WAN port on their products? Is it pure marketing with a mix of cross-cutting? TIA
It is pure marketing. If your internet connection has 100 Mbps, you cannot receive more when you access the internet in your network. Your receive more only when transferring data from one computer to another, inside the same network.
While that maybe true on the WAN side… Devices on your LAN (Local Area Network) benefits with the higher speed. Faster network speed affects DATA transfers (file and communications) between devices on the same network. One application would be IP cameras, you want the highest speed on your LAN to avoid lag when viewing live or recording.
Good explanation, but you only talk briefly (towards the end of article) about number of clients. It is my understanding that a router with more bands can handle more connections so while a single 5Ghz band may only transmit at a theoretical 2200 Ghz, it can still handle “N” devices each getting slice of that signal. This is why I factor in number of clients (computers, tablets, phones, smart home devices, etc) divided into the listed number to ensure each device has an ample chunk of bandwidth.
You forgot to mention that 11ac only works on 5Ghz. It is therefore not true that an AC1000 single band router has 11ac capability as your article implies
26 Responses to “What does AC1200, AC1750, AC1900 or more, mean and what's the difference?”
What is the phrase “2.4 times lower” supposed to mean? 2.4 times something makes it bigger, not smaller!!!!
I state this: “An AC1900 wireless router like Linksys EA7500 v2 has a maximum theoretical bandwidth of 1300 Mbps for the 5 GHz band. When you use a normal Windows 10 laptop, you get a maximum download speed of 539.86 Mbps. The real-life speed you get is 2.4 times lower than its advertised maximum bandwidth.”
539.86 Mbps is 2.4 times lower than 1300 Mbps.
I am now a new subscriber.What an excellent informative and well written article.Thank you.Alan
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Awesome article with every thing explained so well
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Very informative and unbiased opinion. Keep it up.
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So I have a 400 mb down 20 up cable connection. I have 5 rokus, 3 game consoles, 3 laptops, 3 echo dots, some smart tv’s, hard wired computers, a video camera. I am looking at an wifi6 router an ax1500, and an ax3000. Do I need more than the AX1500. Why technically do I need more than a 400 whatever when that is the max bandwidth of my connection.
Thanks for writing an article that helps someone out of the WiFi mainstream get up to speed after a few years. It still leaves me with the following questions: First, it used to be important to know if your router’s 5 GHz bands were “A,” “BG,” or “N.” Despite noting that an AC3200 router supports more 5GHz bands than does an AC3200 router, there’s no discussion of which bands are prevalent, in other words, if an AC3200 router is more likely to support “BG” or “N” (or if these designations are irrelevant). Second, why does one of your examples convert the 2.4 GHz band to 750 Mbps (I think it’s the lower case b) while other examples convert to 1000 Mbps? Isn’t that the same “B” band in all cases? What’s the difference? Let me know if I’m addressing issues that are no longer relevant or if other articles on this site might help. Thanks again.
You never get higher speed than you buy from your ISP.
If the WAN port is max 100Mbit/s, that is the max speed you get regardless of the WiFi standard you use to connect to the router.
I would like some insights on this one. There are still some products that advertise that their routers feature AC1200, but only possess a WAN port that can hold 10/100Mbps. That 100 Mbps is so far from reflecting the theoretical 867Mbps speed of a 5Ghz signal. Why do these manufacturers still do this combination of AC1200 and 10/100 Mbit/s WAN port on their products? Is it pure marketing with a mix of cross-cutting? TIA
It is pure marketing. If your internet connection has 100 Mbps, you cannot receive more when you access the internet in your network. Your receive more only when transferring data from one computer to another, inside the same network.
While that maybe true on the WAN side… Devices on your LAN (Local Area Network) benefits with the higher speed. Faster network speed affects DATA transfers (file and communications) between devices on the same network. One application would be IP cameras, you want the highest speed on your LAN to avoid lag when viewing live or recording.
Thread is messed up, I was replying to Ingvar on my previous comment.
Care to weigh i on the new Mesh aspect? TIA.
What exactly do you need from me regarding Mesh Wi-Fi?
What cable modem router combination supports bonjour protocol
Good explanation, but you only talk briefly (towards the end of article) about number of clients. It is my understanding that a router with more bands can handle more connections so while a single 5Ghz band may only transmit at a theoretical 2200 Ghz, it can still handle “N” devices each getting slice of that signal. This is why I factor in number of clients (computers, tablets, phones, smart home devices, etc) divided into the listed number to ensure each device has an ample chunk of bandwidth.
Thank you for the detailed explanation. Couldnt have asked for more
Excellent indepth article
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Best article I found about this messy Wireless AC speed.
Thanks a lot,
TaK
Excellent presentation about speed and bandwidth.Easily understandable
You forgot to mention that 11ac only works on 5Ghz. It is therefore not true that an AC1000 single band router has 11ac capability as your article implies
What about the routers which are provided by the ISP itself?