Wi-Fi 6E is an extension of Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax) that adds access to the 6 GHz spectrum. With customers adding more devices to their homes, wifi is more congested than ever. Wi-Fi 6E helps clear the way for faster speeds on more devices thanks to recently authorized access to the 6 GHz band - the biggest increase in spectrum available to wifi since the 5 GHz band was authorized.
Technology
In addition to 160 MHz channel support, the 6 GHz band offers a whole new wifi lane, freeing up the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands on tri-band systems, which is particularly helpful for mesh networks. 6 GHz is also more secure because it uses WPA3 encryption.
eero Pro 6E supports fast speeds and direct access to the new 6 GHz band when using Wi-Fi 6E devices. For older wifi devices, the ability to utilize 6 GHz for wireless backhaul between eero devices can still help lower delays across your entire network.
Compatibility
Wi-Fi 6E is a different wifi standard from Wi-Fi 6 with specific hardware requirements. While certain client devices can connect over the 6 GHz band, older client devices built for Wi-Fi 6 or other previous wifi standards can only access the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. This means that Wi-Fi 6E will not provide any speed improvements to these older devices.
Note: Some Wi-Fi 5 and older devices may experience difficulty connecting to networks with WPA3 enabled. See our WPA3 article for more information.
Devices that are designed for Wi-Fi 6 are compatible with eero Pro 6E, and will connect to an eero Pro 6E network using their existing wifi standards. However, some devices built for Wi-Fi 5 or older standards may have issues connecting to networks using Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E eeros.