Routers are sold by Wi-Fi generation. The Wi-Fi Alliance, which certifies Wi-Fi products, publishes pages describing each one. This guide repeats what they say and leaves out speed claims, which the pages do not give.

This guide is based on the public sources listed at the end. We have not tested the products or services mentioned.

This is a short reference page. The full guide is Wi-Fi, Cooling and Smart Home Basics.

Generation names and years

NameIntroduced
Wi-Fi 42009
Wi-Fi 52014
Wi-Fi 62018
Wi-Fi 72024

The Wi-Fi Alliance describes Wi-Fi 8 as the next generation, with no date.

Wi-Fi 6

Described as offering higher data rates, greater capacity and stronger performance in dense environments, with features including OFDMA, multi-user MIMO, 160 MHz channels, Target Wake Time, 1024 QAM and transmit beamforming. It added operation in the 6 GHz band alongside 2.4 and 5 GHz.

Wi-Fi 7

Works across 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz. It adds 320 MHz channels in the 6 GHz band, multi-link operation (a device splits traffic across links and balances load for reliability) and 4K QAM, which carries more data per transmission than 1024 QAM. A linked press release says certification was extended to 20 MHz-only devices, so not every Wi-Fi 7 device uses wide channels.

What the pages do not say

They do not say whether both router and devices need the new generation to benefit, and they do not cover backward compatibility, so do not assume either. "Wi-Fi CERTIFIED" is a Wi-Fi Alliance trademark.

Reading a router listing

  • The generation name the maker uses and the bands it lists (2.4, 5, 6 GHz).
  • Whether "Wi-Fi CERTIFIED" appears.
  • Numbers such as "AX3000" are the maker's labels. We have no source on how they are calculated.
  • What the seller says about security updates. See smart home security.

Last checked: 15 October 2026. Sources: Wi-Fi Alliance, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6; Wi-Fi Alliance, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7.