wifi - SlashGear

NETGEAR WiFi 6E and mobile 4G LTE routers debut at CES 2021

JC Torres | Jan 11, 2021

While 5G is always in the news for the past one or two years, it isn't the end-all and be-all of wireless communication technologies. On the one hand, there are still more people and devices who use and need 4G LTE networks. On the other hand, WiFi, especially the latest WiFi 6E iteration, still offers a more stable multi-user solution. At CES 2021, NETGEAR is addressing all of these use cases with a number of new networking equipment, including a rather rare mobile wireless router.

This Netgear WiFi 6 router isn’t for us, but there’s a good reason to want it anyway

Chris Davies | Nov 24, 2020

Netgear's newest WiFi 6 router may not be specifically intended for home use, but with working-from-home looking like it's here to stay for the foreseeable future there's a good reason why you might want it over similarly priced consumer access points. The WAX204 Dual Band WiFi 6 AX1800 Wireless Access Point is, Netgear says, intended for small businesses and home offices, but its the router's ability to keep multiple networks separate that might make it appealing to the rest of us too.

Comcast is about to slap more Internet customers with 1.2TB data cap

Brittany A. Roston | Nov 23, 2020

Comcast plans to expand its Internet data cap to customers in states that were previously excluded. The service provider has already implemented the data cap across the majority of states it operates in, but many customers in a dozen states were still given unlimited access to data without extra charges. This change will kick off in January.

Linksys’ Velop AX4200 WiFi 6 mesh sets sights on 8K and next-gen consoles

Chris Davies | Oct 27, 2020

Linksys has launched a new flagship WiFi 6 mesh router system, with the Velop AX4200 promising an uptick in range and speed. Latest in the company's mesh networking ecosystem, the Velop AX4200 taps WiFi 6 across all three bands - two for devices, one for the system's own backhaul - to better handle homes with a lot of devices.

Amazon’s invading the internet provider market with its Eero tech

Eric Abent | Oct 6, 2020

Eero today announced a new initiative that will see it take its business in a surprising direction. The Amazon-owned company has revealed Eero for Service Providers, which is described as a "premium hardware and software offering" that's aimed at helping internet service providers bolster their WiFi services. So, it might not be long before your ISP is shipping you an Eero-made mesh router with their own branding on it.

Google Wifi price cut for entry-level mesh networking

Chris Davies | Oct 6, 2020

Google has quietly cut the price of its older mesh network equipment, with Google Wifi demonstrating it can live on alongside Nest Wifi. Launched in 2016, Google Wifi was the company's first mesh networking system, promising to blanket your house with multiple beacons rather than relying on a single, high-power router.

Xfinity xFi Pod 2nd-Gen boosts WiFi speed and mesh coverage

Chris Davies | Oct 1, 2020

Comcast is upgrading its Xfinity mesh network system, with the second-generation xFi Pod promising more speed and wider WiFi coverage. Designed to plug into a spare outlet, the adapters can deliver up to 500 Mbps of bandwidth and now have two ethernet ports for wired devices.

Google Fiber now lets you use your preferred Wi-Fi router

JC Torres | Sep 24, 2020

More often than not, ISPs will require you to use their own equipment, sometimes at an additional cost, with the reason of having certified and tested only those. More often than not, those basic routers and modems don't exactly give the best performance, especially in unconventional home setups and structures. Google Fiber started out with the goal of setting itself apart from other Internet providers and it is taking one more step away from the status quo by allowing subscribers to bring their own routers.

Eero 6 and Pro 6 revealed with Wi-Fi 6 and prices to compete

Chris Burns | Sep 24, 2020

Today Amazon's event dumped a bunch of new products on the public with the smart home at the center of focus. This event revealed the new Eero 6 and Eero Pro 6, the latest in Wi-fi hubs for the Amazon smart home collection. These new Eero devices look a lot like their predecessors - simple, no-nonsense aesthetics.

Google Area 120 Orion WiFi shifts phones to WiFi when cellular is weak

JC Torres | Sep 8, 2020

It isn't unusual that we lose our cellular signals in certain places, be it indoors because of structural impediments or outdoors for one reason or another. There's a reason why some establishments offer free public Wi-Fi to keep visitors happy, but the hassle of figuring out which ones are safe to connect to makes them sad anyway. That's why Google's Area 120 skunkworks arm is launching Orion WiFi that can automatically and seamlessly connect you to such WiFi access points, but with a slight commercial twist that could interest network carriers.

Apple AirTag release tipped by insider

Chris Burns | Aug 31, 2020

A report today from China suggests that Apple is preparing to reveal their Apple AirTag device. This is a device that works with wireless sensor technology to act as a "loss prevention tag" of sorts. Much like the many, many similar sorts of tags we've used and reviewed over the past decade, Apple's AirTag will likely work with NFC, Bluetooth, and/or Wi-fi connectivity.

Chromebooks and Android phones will soon sync Wi-Fi passwords

Ewdison Then | Aug 19, 2020

MacBooks and iPhones can easily share data, Internet connections, and even Wi-Fi logins thanks to the fact that only one company makes both the hardware and the software. Google doesn't really have that luxury at least on the hardware front, making it harder for it to push features that bridge its different platforms together. Fortunately, it hasn't given up on that yet and will soon be syncing one small but important kind of data between Android and Chrome OS devices, making it easier for both devices to connect to the same Wi-Fi networks in a snap.