Wi-Fi Standards
The number (Wi-Fi 4, 5, 6…) is just a friendly name for the 802.11 letter standard underneath. The standards, oldest to newest:
The originals. b and g run on 2.4 GHz, a runs on 5 GHz. Slow by today’s standards, you only see them now because new access points still talk to very old devices.
First one to use both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, and the first to use several antennas at once to carry more data. Big speed jump over g.
5 GHz only — it gave up on 2.4 GHz. Wider lanes on 5 GHz, so much faster, but range is shorter than 2.4 GHz.
Back on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The big change isn’t top speed, it’s handling crowds: it can split a channel up and talk to many devices at the same time instead of making them take turns. That’s why it feels better in offices and schools.
Wi-Fi 6E is this same standard — the “E” just adds the 6 GHz band on top.
Uses all three bands: 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz. Lanes on 6 GHz are twice as wide as Wi-Fi 6’s, and a device can use two bands at the same time instead of picking one. That’s where its speed comes from.
Still being finished, no FortiAPs on it yet. Its aim is steadier connections rather than higher top speed.
Two things worth knowing
- Newer always talks to older. A Wi-Fi 7 FortiAP still serves Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 phones and laptops fine — the device and the AP just use the best standard they both know.
- The current FortiAP catalog only has the last three: Wi-Fi 6 (F models like FAP-432F, FAP-234F), Wi-Fi 6E (G models like FAP-431G, FAP-433G), and Wi-Fi 7 (K models like FAP-441K, FAP-243K).
Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E?
Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E are both 802.11ax — Wi-Fi 6 is 802.11ax on 2.4 + 5 GHz, Wi-Fi 6E is the same standard plus the 6 GHz band. In the FortiAP catalog they’re separate labels, and no model carries both:
Wi-Fi 6 FAP-831F, FAP-432F, FAP-432FR, FAP-234F, FAP-23JF
Wi-Fi 6E FAP-431G, FAP-433G, FAP-234G, FAP-432G