Windows 10: Wifi 6 adapter compatibility with 5.0ghz routers (WiFi 5)

Hello,

I have an older PC that only supports 802.11n WiFi which doesn't allow me to connect to my router 5.0ghz band using Windows 10.

If I buy a WiFi 6 (802.11ax) adapter, will it work in Windows 10 with WiFi 5 routers (5.0ghz band) or do they only work with new Wifi 6 routers and I have to buy a WiFi 5 adapter?

By the other way, if I have a Wifi 5 adapter or a 802.11 AC (WiFi 5) network card, will it work with WiFi 6 routers (even if they don't take advantage of all router capabilities)?

Thanks, Miguel

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:)

 

Using spare Router as Wifi Adapter

I've got this DIR-655 that is collecting dust and I also happen to need a Wifi N adapter for my PC. I remember a long time ago (using DDWRT) I was able to use an older LinkSys router a a Wifi adapter- basically I would plug in a computer, DVR box, and a PS3 into the LAN ports on the router which is then connected to the main router through its Wifi.

I'm 95% sure that my previous setup essentially used the second router a a repeater, but I do not think the DIR655 supports that function and it is not DDWRT compatible. Is there a way for me to rig the hardware I have now to get this working? I know its probably easier to just buy a N adapter, but I figure there is no point in wasting what I already have.

Thanks,

 

WiFi 6 Questions

Performed a number of upgrades over the past few days...

I upgraded the 512GB NVMe SSD in my laptop to a 1TB Seagate Firecuda NVMe SSD, replaced the WiFi 5 adapter in the laptop with a WiFi 6 adapter, and replaced my router with a pair ASUS WiFi "AiMesh" units.

Everything is up and working but there are a few things related to WiFi 6 that I'm trying to understand and figure out. If there is anyone out there with some WiFi 6 experience, I'd like to hear your thoughts.

NOTE: Before reading further, I just want to emphasize that I am not experiencing any problems. In fact, the opposite is true. I see greatly improved performance. My goal here is to better understand how Windows shows and reports WiFi information and to locate a WiFi analysis tool that understands WiFi 6.

Question 1: With WiFi 5, I was used to seeing the maximum connection speed as 866 Mbps as in the screenshot below.





With WiFi 6 I'm seeing the same thing but I had expected that I would see a higher speed. However, with WiFi 6 I notice one difference: In the second screenshot below, note that my WiFi SSID is "Proper-5G" but Windows shows "Proper-5G 2" (note the added "2" at the end).





After thinking about this a while, I have a theory, I'm just wondering if anyone can confirm this:

My theory is that the "2" indicates that I have 2 simultaneous 5 Ghz connections to the router. The reason that the connection speed shows no faster than it did with WiFi 5 is that I am still connecting at 866 Mbps, BUT, that I have 2 such connections simultaneously.

Does this sound correct or am I completely misunderstanding this?

Question 2: There are number of utilities available from the Microsoft Store that perform WiFi analysis, doing things such as showing your connection and all the bands and network IDs in use in the area. However, not one of the utilities I found seems to be WiFi 6 aware. Anyone know of any decent WiFi analysis tools that support WiFi 6?

Other Details:

Windows version: Win 10 Pro 1909 with all the latest Microsoft updates.
WiFi adapter installed in laptop: Intel AX200
Router: Pair of ASUS RT-AX92U Wireless AX6100 Tri Band routers in a mesh configuration.

 

Wifi Adapter

Here are several methods:

• Look in the user guide - see if 5 GHz WiFi is mentioned.
• Find that model on the manufacturer's website - see if the manufacturer advertises 5 GHz capability.
• Look for independent reviews of your model - the reviewer will certainly mention if the adapter supports 5 GHz

If none of those provide the answer, I can suggest many more ways to find out.