How to choose a Wi-Fi 7 router

Note: This feature was first published on 22 February 2025.

The era of Wi-Fi 7

We are not exaggerating when we say we are on the cusp of a new era of networking. Wi-Fi 7 is here, and there’s no question that it introduces many interesting technologies that could be beneficial for home networking. Crucially, Wi-Fi 7 devices are getting plentiful, and their prices have fallen significantly. Today, it’s entirely possible to get a Wi-Fi 7 router for under S$200. If you are ready to make the leap and upgrade your home networking system to a Wi-Fi 7 one, now is as good a time as any.

However, the number of Wi-Fi 7 routers and mesh networking devices out there is daunting and confusing. There are all sorts of numbers and jargon, tri-band, quad-band, MLO this, and QAM that. What is what, and how exactly do I pick my router?

Happily, this guide is here to help. We will walk you through step-by-step, the things you need to consider when picking a new router.

Let’s not waste any time, and let’s jump straight into the first thing you need to consider, and that is why even bother upgrading to Wi-Fi 7. Here are the key sections of this guide:-

• Why upgrade to Wi-Fi 7?
• What fibre plan are you on?
• What’s the size of your home and the coverage you want?
• What speed and how many bands do I need?
• Connectivity Matters

Why upgrade to Wi-Fi 7?

The first Wi-Fi 7 routers were unveiled two years ago at CES 2023. Now, not only have they become commonplace, but their prices have also dropped significantly to become accessible to most consumers.

Wi-Fi 7 is exciting because it has technologies that promise to appreciably improve users’ networking experiences. These are:

• Multi-link operation (MLO) – This lets Wi-Fi 7 routers communicate with devices using multiple networking bands. This means a router might transmit data to a device using a combination of its 5GHz and 6GHz bands to improve data transfer rates significantly.
  
   
• Wider channels – Wi-Fi 7 frequency bands are comprised of many channels, and each channel can now be twice as wide. The maximum used to be 160MHz, but Wi-Fi 7 supports channel widths of up to 320MHz.
  
   
• Greater data density – Wi-Fi 7 uses a new quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) technique that improves data transmission rates by 20%.

To dive deeper into Wi-Fi 7, read our guide here.

What fibre plan are you on?

This is an important consideration because the type of plan you are on has a big impact on the kind of hardware you need. Furthermore, the fibre plan scene has changed greatly in the past year. Where 1Gbps used to be the default choice, consumers can now choose from much faster fibre speeds – from 2.5Gbps all the way up to a whopping 10Gbps – and the prices of these plans have become a lot more accessible.

These plans deliver faster download and upload speeds, but specific hardware is required to take advantage of them. To start, the router you choose must have a WAN port that corresponds to the speed of your fibre plan. This means you’ll need a 2.5G WAN port if you have a 2.5Gbps plan and a 10G WAN port if you have a 10Gbps plan. If the speed of your router’s WAN port and fibre plan don’t line up, you will not be maximising your plan’s full potential.

The router is just one part of the equation. If you intend to fully capitalise on your fibre plan’s speed, you’ll probably want to use a wired connection. This means two things. To start, your system, like your router, must have a compatible Ethernet port. It's great if your system already has one; if not, you’ll have to invest in a USB-C to Ethernet adapter or a Thunderbolt hub.

Secondly, if your home is already wired up with LAN ports, the wiring must be done with Cat 6 cables that can support speeds of up to 10Gbps. If either of these requirements is not met, your wired performance will be compromised.

To find out more about how to get ready for 10Gbps broadband, read this guide.

What’s the size of your home and the coverage you want?

After nailing the fundamentals, the first thing to consider before picking your router is the size of your home and how much coverage you want/need.

For most apartment-type homes in Singapore, a single strategically placed router should suffice. However, this also depends greatly on your home’s layout and environment. Walls and furniture could mean more interference and obstruction, which means a single router may not be enough. In such cases, one should consider a mesh networking system, which uses multiple nodes to expand Wi-Fi coverage.

Each type of router has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Single-unit Routers

+ More affordable and more configurable

+ Typically offers more in terms of wired connectivity. This can be important if you have devices to connect to the router, such as gaming consoles and NAS systems.

- The downside is their range. Since they are single units, the coverage they offer is considerably limited as compared to a mesh networking system. 

Mesh Networking system

+ Coverage. Most modern systems can support multiple nodes, meaning the coverage that they provide can be many times greater than that of a standard single router.

+ Ideal setup for large homes and homes with stubborn Wi-Fi dead spots.

- May lack the customizability and advanced options that a standalone router might have. That said, this should not be a problem for most users since it doesn’t break the experience and is mostly relevant to enthusiasts who prefer more control.

What speed and how many bands do I need?

Firstly, don’t get too fixated on the maximum speed of a router. Big numbers look impressive, but the truth is most devices will never attain anywhere near those advertised speeds in the real world. There are a few reasons for this. Chiefly, it’s because they require specific hardware. To meet power consumption targets, most consumer devices (such as your phone or laptop) do not support the number of streams needed to hit the maximum speeds that routers support. Furthermore, the quoted speeds are often theoretical, and in the real world, performance degrades based on factors like range and obstructions in the environment, like walls and furniture.

That said, the number of bands does matter because it directly affects the amount of bandwidth the router has, which in turn impacts the number of devices that can connect to the router. Generally, more is better, but the frequency matters too. 2.4GHz offers the greatest range and coverage, but the speeds are lower. 6GHz offers impressive speeds, but in practice, its range drops drastically, especially if there is any obstruction, so it might not be the most practical unless you have a line-of-sight with the router. 5GHz delivers the most ideal combination of performance and range.

The number of bands is particularly important for mesh networking systems because they require additional bandwidth for backhaul communications – the transmission of data between nodes. For this reason, if you are set on a mesh networking system, our recommendation is to look for one that is tri or quad-band. This ensures you have sufficient bandwidth for connected devices and nodes. If you intend to get a standalone router, a dual-band one might be enough if you don’t have a lot of devices at home. Families should definitely aim for a tri or quad-band router, too, to ensure sufficient bandwidth for everyone’s devices.

That said, the more bands a router supports, the higher its cost. So, if you come across a really affordable Wi-Fi 7 router, chances are, it's a dual-band one. And that's totally fine if you don't necessarily have too many devices in your household or too many people and devices fighting for bandwidth at the same time. Don't forget that smart connected home devices like a robot vacuum cleaner, your digital door bell or your smart washing machine, to name a few, are all part of the 'device' count.

Connectivity Matters

The final thing to consider is what ports do you need. As we mentioned earlier in this guide, the WAN port needs to align with the speed of your broadband plan. That means you need a router with a 10Gbps WAN port if you want to fully maximise your 10Gbps plan. Likewise, if you have a 2.5Gbps plan, your router needs a 2.5Gbps WAN port.

Next, consider what devices you need to connect your router. This could be beneficial because a wired connection is more stable than a wireless one. If you have a high-end computer system with a 2.5Gbps or 10Gbps port, you’ll want a router with the corresponding LAN ports. As for USB ports, these can be handy if you want to attach a printer for print-sharing or external storage drives for wireless backups or file-sharing.

Why this is an important checkpoint is because most affordable mesh networking systems tend to go light on these options, and you might feel it's necessary to have these connections, depending on how you plan on your home connectivity or have the leeway to consider these connectivity options for later. As with more speed/bands, more connectivity options also means more of these would be offered as the mesh networking system or router price tier moves up the ladder.

How do all these considerations come together?

Now that you've read through all these considerations, how does it translate to actual Wi-Fi 7 router or mesh networking system options? To help you visualise this better, the following video covers what ASUS has in their Wi-Fi7 line-up, how they differ and the price points for their offerings, which will help you get a better understanding of what kind of network router or mesh unit is ideal for you.

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