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Hello: I have a 2018 MacBook Pro and a 2017 iMac. From what I've read about wifi 6, neither of these devices will be able to take advantage of this new speed. Is that correct? Will Apple be able to provide some means to take advantage of wifi 6? I know that the MacBook Pro does NOT have 6 capability.
MacBook Pro 15", 10.13
TL;DR: You are correct 2018 and 2017 MacBook Pro and iMac will not DIRECTLY take advantage of WiFi 6, but there is more to the story.
Thats correct, Wifi 6 is all about efficiency in WiFi. In the past the IEEE has focused on improving WiFi by increasing bandwidth for the most part. In WiFi 6 they decided to take a look how they improve it with by making it more efficient.
ie. breaking up the channel into small chunks and send data to multiple clients. Resource Units.
To fully support WiFi 6 you need both hardware and software that's not currently available to the MacBook Pro. One the main features from macOS side (outside of a driver) is support for 802.11r or fast roaming. This is one thing for years that macOS does not support. Its my prediction until the showing of the the next macOS update we won't see WiFi 6 cards on MacBook Pro.
Now in regards to speed and efficiency, in theory if you have multiple devices that are WiFi 6 capable connected to a WiFi 6 supported network, these devices will get on and off the network faster, thus being able give more time for current macOS devices to communicate. This could give a small boost to your client experience.
Hope this helps.
TL;DR: You are correct 2018 and 2017 MacBook Pro and iMac will not DIRECTLY take advantage of WiFi 6, but there is more to the story.
Thats correct, Wifi 6 is all about efficiency in WiFi. In the past the IEEE has focused on improving WiFi by increasing bandwidth for the most part. In WiFi 6 they decided to take a look how they improve it with by making it more efficient.
ie. breaking up the channel into small chunks and send data to multiple clients. Resource Units.
To fully support WiFi 6 you need both hardware and software that's not currently available to the MacBook Pro. One the main features from macOS side (outside of a driver) is support for 802.11r or fast roaming. This is one thing for years that macOS does not support. Its my prediction until the showing of the the next macOS update we won't see WiFi 6 cards on MacBook Pro.
Now in regards to speed and efficiency, in theory if you have multiple devices that are WiFi 6 capable connected to a WiFi 6 supported network, these devices will get on and off the network faster, thus being able give more time for current macOS devices to communicate. This could give a small boost to your client experience.
Hope this helps.
stephenfromnewmilford wrote:
Hello: I have a 2018 MacBook Pro and a 2017 iMac. From what I've read about wifi 6, neither of these devices will be able to take advantage of this new speed. Is that correct?
That is correct. No current Mac notebook or desktop, support Wi-Fi 6.
Will Apple be able to provide some means to take advantage of wifi 6? I know that the MacBook Pro does NOT have 6 capability.
Most likely, if Apple gets involved with incorporating Wi-Fi 6 technology, it will be with some future product releases. Whether or not, they will provide some form of upgrade path for existing devices no one here can officially answer that. Only Apple can.
This doesn't help answer my question. It's only about iPhones.
Then try searching Google.
Thank you so very much! You have given me a very comprehensive answer which answers my question.
Stephen
Wifi 6 and Macs
