When it comes to your home internet connection, there's one question we get asked quite a bit: Does Wi-Fi travel through walls? The short answer is yes, but the long answer is a bit more complicated. I spoke with several experts, including CNET's Laboratory Technical Project Manager, Gianmarco Chumbe, to find out everything you need to know about how your home's walls can impact your connection. It's a simple question, but it has a big impact on your Wi-Fi connection.
"As with any radio signal, attenuation occurs when waves pass through materials like brick, concrete or metal -- or simply over increasing distance," Escalante said. He should know -- our CNET Labs team has spent countless hours testing internet routers for the latest version of our Best Wi-Fi routers page.
With the introduction of Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E and the latest standard, Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi technology has steadily improved in recent years. An adequate Wi-Fi connection is necessary, yet many people still struggle with their home internet. In a recent CNET broadband survey, 42% of respondents complained about having an unreliable connection.
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Many factors contribute to an unreliable internet connection, but when it comes to Wi-Fi, there are quick fixes to boost the Wi-Fi connection throughout your home. To optimize your Wi-Fi connection and understand how the technology interacts with the structure of your home, you need to understand how Wi-Fi actually works.
Back to the basics
Wi-Fi, also known as Wireless Fidelity, is a wireless technology that allows your router to exchange data with multiple devices. This data is transmitted through radio waves. According to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the first version of Wi-Fi was released in 1997 under the 802 family of standards for local area networks. The IEEE designates Wi-Fi as 802.11.
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You'll primarily see three Wi-Fi standards when shopping for routers: Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7. Most smart home devices in your abode are compatible with Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E technology. However, Wi-Fi 7 will produce the fastest speeds and boast the lowest latency of the three. Wi-Fi 7 builds on features from the previous standards. If you have Wi-Fi 6, it'll have the 2.4 and 5GHz bands. Wi-Fi 6E added the 6GHz band, and Wi-Fi 7 doubled its channel size.
According to Netgear, "Wi-Fi 7 helps to ensure your home is ready for 10 gigabit internet speeds as they become available."
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