5 next-gen features disabled by default
Wi-Fi routers are often treated as plug-and-play devices. For most people, the setup process begins and ends with plugging in the power cable and, if they’re feeling adventurous, setting a custom network name and password.
However, the reality is that a shocking number of advanced router features are disabled out of the box on many models. In many cases, all the next-gen technology you were sold on when upgrading to a new Wi-Fi 7 router can be turned off in the advanced settings menu. So take a few minutes to check if the following options are enabled on your router to help you get the most out of it.
Increase channel width (160 MHz/320 MHz) to maximize maximum wireless speeds
Double your maximum capacity for high-speed local transfers
Wi-Fi channel width determines how much data a router can send to a device simultaneously, so wider channels have a significantly higher maximum capacity. 160 MHz is the maximum channel width available on the 5 GHz band and 320 MHz is for the 6 GHz band.
By default, some routers limit the 5 GHz band to 80 MHz and the 6 GHz band to 160 MHz, which cuts the theoretical maximum bandwidth in half.
You might think that’s no big deal, because even 80 MHz on the 5 GHz band can reach up to 1.2 Gbps, which is more than most people’s entire Internet connection. But this theoretical limit drops significantly due to interference from walls and other devices in your home. Additionally, you limit the maximum number of file transfers within your local network.
Now, I’m not saying that you should always enable 160 MHz and 320 MHz on your router. These wider channels are more prone to interference, so it’s best to let the router handle channel selection automatically. Just make sure the option for wide channels is enabled.
Use OFDMA to silence chatty devices
Reduce waiting time on a congested network
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) is a feature that allows your router to communicate with multiple devices at the same time. The feature was added as standard with Wi‑Fi 6, so if you have a newer router you can probably enable it.
To better understand how OFDMA differs from the older OFDM system, let’s use the popular semi-trailer analogy that many brands use in their infographics.
With OFDM, your Wi-Fi channel acts like a single highway. Every time a device needs data, the router has to send a full-size truck. It’s okay if you’re streaming something, but this truck gets sent even if it’s just a light bulb that requires a small package to confirm it’s still on.
OFDMA allows the router to communicate much more efficiently by dividing the truck trailer (Wi-Fi channel bandwidth) into multiple buckets (resource units/RU). This fills every square inch of the trailer with data for different devices. This is a smart optimization that reduces latency across your entire network and makes your Internet faster.
Enable MU-MIMO to improve speeds on a congested network
Serve your most demanding users more efficiently
Multiple users, multiple input, multiple output (MU-MIMO) allows a router to send data to multiple devices simultaneously using separate physical streams, significantly improving throughput and reducing latency on busy networks.
This is similar to OFDMA, since both are efficiency improvements, but the difference is that MU-MIMO uses the router’s antennas to serve multiple devices at once, while OFDMA splits the channels themselves.
Using the same truck analogy as before, if OFDMA involves dividing truck trailers into smaller compartments, MU-MIMO adds more lanes on the highway so that multiple trucks can drive side by side. This is an extremely important feature if multiple devices are using a lot of bandwidth on the network simultaneously.
OFDMA and MU-MIMO can be enabled simultaneously on the router, and they are sometimes even placed in the same submenu in your router settings.
Enable TWT to improve the battery life of your mobile devices
A small but effective energy efficiency tip
Target Wake Time (TWT) is a new feature on Wi-Fi 6 and 7 routers that allows the router and your devices to negotiate when and how often your devices should wake up to send or receive data.
Without TWT, your phone, laptop, and smart devices have to constantly listen to the router, even when the screen is off, for new data. This is incredibly inefficient for battery-powered devices.
When you enable TWT, your router and connected devices wake up only at scheduled times to retrieve data, then go back to sleep. This is a small but effective feature that helps prevent battery drain on your phone and laptop, and it’s especially important for smart locks, sensors, lights, and weather stations.
Wi-Fi 7 vs 6E: How Much Better is 7?
Should you upgrade to a Wi-Fi 7 router?
Configure MLO to reduce latency on Wi-Fi 7 devices
It’s not great, but it’s better than not having it
Multi-Link Operation (MLO) is the flagship feature of Wi-Fi 7 routers that allows your router and compatible devices to communicate simultaneously using multiple bands, significantly improving bandwidth and reducing latency.
- Brand
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TP-Link
- Wi-Fi bands
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2.4GHz, 5GHz
The TP-Link BE3600 gives you next-generation Wi-Fi 7 performance at an economical price, delivering fast, reliable coverage with multi-gig ports and a powerful quad-core processor. With powerful antennas, EasyMesh support, and modern features like MLO and HomeShield, this is an easy, scalable upgrade for any home.
Unfortunately, the simultaneous MLO touted in the marketing materials for most new Wi-Fi 7 routers doesn’t live up to its promises, as all current routers on the market only support alternating, not simultaneous, MLO fallback mode. This mode allows the device to connect to multiple bands but only use one at a time.
Still, alternating MLO is technically better than relying on the phone to choose the right band at the right time.
MLO is disabled by default on most Wi-Fi 7 routers, but you can enable it on the same SSID or a separate SSID if your router supports it.
Some low-end Wi-Fi 7 routers can technically support MLO, but their weak processors struggle to handle it. I disabled MLO on my router because my Wi-Fi 7 enabled phone kept freezing.
Optimize your router to create a faster, more efficient and more secure home network
If you want optimal performance from your Wi-Fi router, take a few minutes to check its advanced settings. If you are unsure how to access it, refer to your owner’s manual. A quick check to make sure these options are enabled ensures your network is operating at its full potential.
3 reasons to upgrade to a Wi-Fi 7 router (and 3 reasons to wait)
Wi-Fi 7 is great, but still not essential for everyone.
