Haven’t had time to experience a wifi router with latest 802.11ax technology (wifi 6), now wifi 6e technology has appeared. What is wifi 6e technology, are there any wifi 6e router products on the market, and which one is the best wifi 6e router now?
Wifi 6e Router
So far there have been several vendors that have released their wifi 6e router products to the market, including Asus, Netgear and Linksys. And to provide a pair of wifi 6e routers, there are few vendors have also released wifi 6e adapters, especially for desktop computers.
What is wifi 6e?
If you have been familiar with wifi 6 technology which can provide technical wifi speeds of up to 4,800Mbps @ 5GHz radio band that can be applied to several models of wifi 6 routers such as asus rt-ax88u and netgear rax80, then wifi 6e technology is the same as wifi 6 with the addition of the 6GHz radio band spectrum in addition to the two existing radio bands (@2.5GHz and 5GHz).
So wifi 6e router implements a three different radio band instead of three bands consisting of two 5GHz radio bands and one 2.4GHz. All the features on wifi 6 are on wifi 6e only plus a different 6GHz radio band.
Wifi 6e adapter
It’s useless if your wifi 6e router can’t pair with an adapter device that can support wifi 6e router to get the optimum connection using @ 6GHz radio band. Luckily today you can find several models of PCI-e adapters with 6e wifi technology. This 6e wifi pcie adapter also provides three different bands.
Today you find wifi 6e adapters in the market such as OKN wifi 6e ax5400 adapter and Fenvi wifi 6e ax5400 with signal speed @ 6GHz up to 2,400Mbps. Note that wifi 6e adapter can connect to standard wifi 6 routers by using other two radio bands @2.4GHz and 5GHz. The price of wifi 6e pci-e adapter is almost the same price as wifi 6 adapters such as Asus ax3000 and Archer ax3000 PCI-e adapter. So, instead of purchasing wifi 6 adapter, it is more advantage to get the wifi 6e adapter.
See also various models of wifi 6e adapter.
Best wifi 6e Router in the market
Today you can find few models of wifi 6e routers in the market introduced by Asus, Netgear and Linksys. Even Linksys has showcased Linksys Velop Atlas mesh wifi 6e system.
General features
In general, the wifi 6e router has the same features in terms of the wifi 6e technology that is applied, namely simultaneous three distinct radio bands. Unlike the wifi 6 routers which commonly come with simultaneous three bands consisting of two radio bands of the same @5ghz and one 2.4ghz band.
The maximum wifi signal rate commonly applied to wifi 6e router so far is ax11000 which bandwidth distribution as:
- Up to 1148Mbps @2.4GHz 4×4
- Up to 4804Mbps @5GHz 4×4
- Up to 4804Mbps @6GHz 4×4
The following are popular wifi 6e routers available in the market so far, best wifi 6e router introduced by Asus, Netgear and Linksys.
Asus Gt-axe11000
Asus Rog Rapture Gt-axe11000 is the best wifi 6e router offered by Asus so far. It’s one of ROG rapture gaming routers family with latest wifi 6e technology. Previously Asus released similar products with wifi 6 technology – the Asus Rog rapture gt-ax11000 which delivers three radio bands, one 2.4GHz band and two 5GHz radio bands.
Highlights
- Simultaneous three distinct radio bands with aggregated bandwidth 11000Mbps, 12 data streams and 4×4 MU-MIMO
- Triple-level game acceleration from the router to the game server
- Comes with 1x 2.5Gbps LAN/WAN Ethernet port. You may connect it to high speed 2.5Gbps cable modem or connect to LAN with top priority and 5x Gigabit Ethernet ports
- Powered by high performance 1.8GHz quad core processor with 256MB NAND Flash and 1GB DDR3 SDRAM memory
- All features of to boost the speed including OFDM, beamforming, 1024-QAM, up to 160 MHz bandwidth channel
What are the differences between the previous Asus rog rapture gt-ax11000 and this new product Asus rog rapture gt-axe11000?
Asus Gt-axe11000 vs Gt-ax11000
The main difference is the distinct three radio bands (2.4GHz; 5GHz and 6GHz) on new Asus gt-axe11000, while the gt-ax11000 is only two distich bands (2.4GHz and two 5GHz bands). See table 1 below for spec comparison between the two models.
Regarding the Ethernet ports, both have the same number of ports. However, the 2.5Gbps port on gt-axe11000 can be connected either as the WAN or LAN port, but gt-ax11000 cannot.
Table 1 Asus rog rapture gt-ax11000 vs gt-axe11000
| Asus Rog Rapture model | Asus gt-axe11000 | Asus gt-ax11000 |
| Wifi technology | Simultaneous tri-band ax11000 wifi 6e technology with 12 streams | Simultaneous tri-band ax11000 wifi 6 technology with 12 streams |
| Wifi speeds | 2.4GHz AX: 4×4 (Tx/Rx), 1148Mbps 5GHz AX: 4×4 (Tx/Rx), 4804Mbps 6GHz AX: 4×4 (Tx/Rx), 4804Mbps | Up to 1,200 Mbps @2.4Ghz band 4×4 Up to 4,800 Mbps @5Ghz band 1 4×4 Up to 4,000 Mbps @5Ghz band 2 4×4 |
| Ethernet ports | 1xGigabit WAN port 1×2.5Gbps WAN/LAN port 4x Gigabit LAN with Link aggregation | 1x Gigabit WAN port 4x Gigabit LAN ports with aggregate feature 1x multi-gigabit 2.5Gbps LAN port |
| Processor | 1.8GHz 64-bit Quad-core CPU with 1GB RAM | 1.8GHz 32-bit quad core processor with 1GB RAM |
With 2.5Gbps port you can connect to high speed cable modem with 2.5Gbps available port such as Arris Surfboard s33 Docsis 3.1 cable modem that comes with two Ethernet ports, the 2.5Gbps and 1Gbps ports.
We’ll compare later with similar products offered by Netgear below.
Netgear Raxe500
Previously, netgear had released its fastest product, netgear rax200 ax11000, and today it released its newest product netgear raxe500 ax11000 wifi 6e router. Just like asus gt-axe110000, raxe500 is designed with a maximum speed with three different radio bands with aggregated bandwidth up to 11,000Mbps with 12 streams.
Highlights
- Based on latest wifi 6e technology with 4×4 MU-MIMO simultaneous three distinct radio bands with 12-streams
- Comes with Netgear Armor, an advanced internet threat protection powered by Bitdefender
- Five (5) 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet ports (1 WAN & 4 LAN) + one (1) 2.5G/1Gbps Multi-Gig port (configurable)
- Equipped with 2x USB 3.0 ports
- Powered by 1.8 GHz Quad core processor
If you compare with the previous Netgear rax200 you can find that not much different except the distinct 6GHz radio band, all the Ethernet ports are the same.
Asus gt-axe11000 vs Netgear Axe11000 raxe500
So far the latest wifi 6e router products available in the market are Asus rog rapture gt-axe11000 and Netgear raxe500, and one product is introduced by Linksys with mesh wifi 6e system.
Use the following spec comparison table 2 below as reference in understanding the differences between the two products.
AiMesh
Asus gt-axe11000 supports AiMesh technology which you can combine with other compatible Asus AiMesh devices (such as new series of Asus ax6000 routers or Asus rp-ax1800 extender) to create whole home mesh wifi. However, the 6GHz radio band cannot be available via other AiMesh devices that do not support wifi 6e.
Nighthawk raxe500 is nature a wifi 6e router, it doesn’t support mesh wifi system.
Gamers in mind
Asus rog rapture gt-axe11000 is designed for gamers in mind with triple level game acceleration, Asus Rog devices, game packet prioritization (game boost) and shortest part to game server.
With the powerful Netgear axe11000 engine you can use it for any heavy duty networking tasks including responsive online games, 4k / 8k streaming etc.
Multi gigabit Ports
Both wifi 6e router models provide one 2.5Gbps multigig port, but have different functions. If you have already have fast cable modem with 2.5Gbps port such as Netgear cm2000 or Arris S33, Asus wifi 6e router has provided a solution for that. You can configure this 2.5gbps port either as a WAN port or LAN port.
Netgear raxe500 with 2.5gbps port is especially useful for high speed LAN port that you can use for game consoles or connect to high speed NAS that comes with 2.5Gbps port such as the Asustor Lockerstor 2 AS6602T which is equipped with two 2.5Gbps ports.
Comparison table Asus wifi 6e router vs Netgear
Table 2 Asus gt-axe11000 vs Netgear
| Wifi 6e router model | Asus Rog Rapture GT-AXE11000 | Netgear Axe11000 Nighthawk Raxe500 |
| Wifi technology | Simultaneous tri-band ax11000 wifi 6e gaming router AiMesh support | Simultaneous tri-band ax11000 wifi 6e with 12-streams |
| Wifi speeds | 2.4GHz AX: 4×4 (Tx/Rx) 1024 QAM 40MHz, 1148Mbps 5GHz AX: 4×4 (Tx/Rx) 1024 QAM 160MHz, 4804Mbps 6GHz AX: 4×4 (Tx/Rx) 1024 QAM 160MHz, 4804Mbps | 2.4GHz AX: 4×4 (Tx/Rx) 1024/256-QAM 20/40MHz, 1.2Gbps 5GHz AX: 4×4 (Tx/Rx) 1024/256-QAM 160MHz, 4.8Gbps New 6GHz AX: 4×4 (Tx/Rx) 1024/256-QAM 160MHz, 4.8Gbps |
| Antennas | 8x external antennas with power amplifiers | 8x Internal antennas |
| Ethernet ports | 1xGigabit WAN port 1×2.5Gbps WAN/LAN port 4x Gigabit LAN with Link aggregation | 1x Gigabit WAN port (can be aggregated 1xLAN for Multi-gig internet 4x Gigabit LAN ports (two LAN ports aggregation support) 1x 2.5Gbps Multi-Gig port |
| USB ports | 2x USB 3.2 | 2x USB 3.0 |
| Security | Asus AiProtection Pro powered by Trend Micro with regular auto security signature update | NETGEAR ARMOR Advanced cyber security service –paid one subscription Support WPA3 |
| Processor | 1.8GHz 64-bit Quad-core CPU with 1GB RAM | Powerful quad-core 1.8GHz processor |
| Other | Works with Alexa Three level game accelerator | Works with Alexa and Google assistant |
| Price (Sep 2021 in Amazon) | Around $699 or higher | $599.99 |
With the addition of new 6GHz radio band over the two 2.4GHz and 5GHz radio bands, either Asus rog rapture gt-axe11000 or Netgear raxe500 wifi 6e routers are ideal for connecting to any compliant 6GHz-based devices that are coming more in the future.
Click the product’s link below to shop Asus gt-axe11000 or Netgear raxe500 in Amazon (#ads).
- Click here to SHOP Asus Rog Rapture axe11000 in Amazon
- Or Shop Netgear raxe500 wifi 6e router in Amazon
Now, let’s see what Linksys introduces with wifi 6e router product below.
Linksys Atlas Max wifi 6e
If the above two products are wifi 6e router products, one product based on this wifi 6e technology introduced by Linksys is Atlas Max 6e which is the first mesh wifi 6e system released to the market.
What this product does?
If your house is very large with two storey building, and you want the entire room from your front yard to your swimming pool at backyard, it’s a good idea to consider a mesh wifi system. Mesh wifi system is a replacement for wifi router and wifi extenders where each node communicates very efficiently using wifi backhaul link as opposed to communication between routers and extenders in general.
Unlike wifi 6e router products as discussed above, Linksys Atlas max mesh wifi 6e system consists of two or more nodes as satellites to form a whole mesh wifi system based on wifi 6e technology.
Highlights
- The first three radio band mesh wifi 6e system with Velop Intelligent Mesh technology
- Aggregated bandwidth up to 8400Mbps with 4×4 MU-MMO each radio bands, 6Ghz band as dedicated backhaul and wifi 6e compliant connected devices
- Wifi signal rates up to 1147Mbps @2.4GHz + up to 2402Mbps @5GHz + 4804Mbps @6GHz
- Comes with 12x internal antennas
- Covers up to 9,000 sq ft (3-pack)
- 1x 5Gbps WAN port and 4x Gigabit LAN ports
- 1x USB 3.0 port for sharing disk storage
- Powered by 2.2 GHz Quad-Core processor with Flash: 512MB; RAM: 1GB
- Supports WPA3 personal (all bands), WPA2/WPA3 mixed personal (not 6GHz band)
Look at the 5Gbps WAN port; it’s the first wifi routers with 5Gbps WAN port available in the market today. So far the available cable modem that comes with high speed Ethernet port is up to 2.5Gbps as offered by Arris Surfboard s33 or Netgear cm2000 DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem. Motorola also offers the same modem with 2.5Gbps port. See also Motorola DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem vs Arris.
The following is official video introduction for this Linksys Atlas mesh wifi 6e router (courtesy by Linksys):
with three packs kit, Linksys Atlas is still tagged with expensive price around $1,100 in Amazon (#ads). Read more detail what this product is discussed in Amazon.
Click here for Linksys Atlas mesh wifi 6e axe8400
Related products
For simple all-in-one mesh wifi, consider Orbi cbr750 mesh cable router – Orbi mesh ax4200 wifi-6 with built-in DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem. You can add Orbi satellites for mesh wifi system.
With your available cable modem, upgrade your aging router with eero 6 Pro mesh wifi, or new comer Mercku ax1800 mesh wifi.