What's in a Name, WiFi

Finally the tech industry does something to make our life easier. Instead of the current WiFi being called 802.11ac, it will soon be called WiFi 5, because it is the fifth version.

Wi-Fi 1: 802.11b (1999)
Wi-Fi 2: 802.11a (1999)
Wi-Fi 3: 802.11g (2003)
Wi-Fi 4: 802.11n (2009)
Wi-Fi 5: 802.11ac (2014)
Wi-Fi 6: 802.11ax (2019)
Instead of wondering whether “ac” is better than “n” you will be able to look at the number. WiFi 5 is higher than WiFi 4, so it is newer. WiFi networks have always worked together, so WiFi 5 devices should be backward compatible and connect with WiFi 4 devices.

Because the WiFi Alliance represents just about every major company that makes any kind of product with WiFi in it, its actions usually reflect what the industry wants. So presumably, tech companies agree with the branding change and will start to advertise it this way.


The WiFi Alliance even wants to see this branding go beyond hardware. So in the future when you connect to a WiFi network on your phone or laptop, your device will tell you what WiFi version you are connected to, so if two networks are available, one showing “4” and the other “5” you can choose the newer option.