You may have noticed that Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax and Wi-Fi 5 802.11ac Access Points come with multiple radio chains to support MIMO either 2×2 3×3 4×4 or even 8×8. Simply put MIMO adds more capacity without using more spectrum. Each radio chain will increase speed but the client and AP must match to take advantage of this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However most clients like smartphones, tablets and laptops only support 2×2 MIMO to save power. So what is the advantage of those extra antenna \/ radio chains? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If there is a mismatch in MIMO levels between the client and AP the antennas do not go unused, but are used for ‘diversity’ and ‘beamforming’, which extends range, and improves speed at range. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So a AP with more radio chains is better for all types of clients and usually has more memory and CPU allowing the AP to manage more connections faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Check out the EWS377AP it supports Wi-Fi 6 and has 4×4 radio chains https:\/\/www.keenansystems.com\/store\/catalog\/product_info.php?products_id=564<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You may have noticed that Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax and Wi-Fi 5 802.11ac Access Points come with multiple radio chains to support MIMO either 2×2 3×3 4×4 or even 8×8. Simply put MIMO adds more capacity without using more spectrum. Each radio chain will increase speed but the client and AP must match to take advantage … <\/p>\n