GoKawiilYour home's Wi-Fi router is the gateway to the internet and your devices. It affects every aspect of your online life.
"The router is the heart of your home network," said Gianmarco Chumbe, CNET's lab engineer who leads router testing. "Just like the heart pumps oxygen and nutrients everywhere it's needed, your router pumps data to all of your devices. And just as a bad heart can affect your whole health, a bad router can ruin the internet experience in your home."
Most of us know the feeling. According to a new CNET survey, 86% of Americans experience Wi-Fi drops at some point, and 19% say drops happen always, daily or frequently.
If you've spent any time looking at routers over the past two years, you've probably seen a lot about Wi-Fi 7. As always with tech products, there's a lot of jargon to wade through, and it's hard to tell what's marketing and what will actually improve your internet experience. Is Wi-Fi 7 really that much better than the Wi-Fi 5, 6 and 6E generations of routers?
The Netgear Nighthawk RS700S was the fastest Wi-Fi 7 router in our lab tests, and the fastest overall. Gianmarco Chumbe/CNET
Key takeaways
Avoid the dual-band trap: If a Wi-Fi 7 router says "dual-band," keep shopping. Our lab data proves that only tri-band models offer the massive performance gains and access to the 6GHz frequency needed to justify an upgrade.
If a Wi-Fi 7 router says "dual-band," keep shopping. Our lab data proves that only tri-band models offer the massive performance gains and access to the 6GHz frequency needed to justify an upgrade. Future-proof your home network : With the average American household's data consumption skyrocketing, investing in a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router is the most reliable way to safeguard your internet speeds for the next decade
: With the average American household's data consumption skyrocketing, investing in a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 router is the most reliable way to safeguard your internet speeds for the next decade You don't need to spend $600 for top-tier speeds anymore: While high-end models still exist, our tests of over 30 routers reveal that prices have dropped significantly. You can now get a lightning-fast Wi-Fi 7 router for less than $200.
While high-end models still exist, our tests of over 30 routers reveal that prices have dropped significantly. You can now get a lightning-fast Wi-Fi 7 router for less than $200. TP-Link dominates the value category: Thanks to their unbeatable balance of price and raw throughput, TP-Link models completely dominated our lab tests and best list rankings.
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