Real world Wi-Fi speed and flex (repeater / booster) system speeds

BeemerBiker · ‎07-01-2024

The info in the table below is from ChatGPT. All values are in bits/second.

What are the real world Wi-Fi speeds that one can expect to find in a residential environment?

Typically these speeds will be much higher than internet throughput tests.

Wi-Fi speeds can vary widely based on factors such as the environment, the number of devices connected,

interference, and the quality of the hardware.

However, here are some general estimates for the real-world speeds of different Wi-Fi bands:

2.4 GHz Band

Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n):
- Maximum theoretical speed: 300 Mbps
- Real-world speed: 50-100 Mbps

5 GHz Band

Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n):
- Maximum theoretical speed: 300 Mbps
- Real-world speed: 100-150 Mbps
Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac):
- Maximum theoretical speed: 1.3 Gbps (1300 Mbps)
- Real-world speed: 200-600 Mbps

6 GHz Band

Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax):
- Maximum theoretical speed: 9.6 Gbps (9600 Mbps)
- Real-world speed: 500-1000 Mbps

From Wikipedia on Wireless distribution system

If you have a flex system with booster or repeaters then quote: "throughput is halved for all clients connected wirelessly".

This is due to the signals being half-duplex and the repeaters store and forward the info.

Network thruput tests such as the (for example) Google Fiber Speed Test use a server that is in your region. You should not compare this test with another users Google test if their server was in a different location.

Colohouse speed test allows any of 6 servers to be used and the block size to be specified unlike Google Fiber.

If you have poor WiFi speed you should verify your system is on the 5ghz band that the signal strength is good. Your modem should be able to provide device statistics to show which device (by MAC Address) is using which band. The signal strength and transaction error count is normally shown for each device and each hardwired port. For example, the Arris modem: