Does Xbox Series X Support WiFi 6?

Xbox Series X brings forth an array of new advancements in both hardware and software. This includes a better processor, a powerful GPU, an SSD, and a lot of quality-of-life improvements.

For the picky ones out there, one of the questions asked is “does Xbox Series X Support WiFi 6?”. You see, just as the rest of the components advanced over time, so did the WiFi protocol.

Unfortunately, Xbox Series X DOES NOT feature the new WiFi 6 module and still conforms to the older WiFi 5 standard.

So what are you missing out on due to the lack of this upgrade? and would it hinder the performance of your gaming experience? In the following text, I will dig deeper into these questions.

WiFi 5 vs WiFi 6 – Brief Comparison

WiFi standard has been evolving since it first started out in 1997. At the time it had a maximum transfer speed of about 2 Mbps. However, the standard has improved over time, and so have the WiFi routers.

So much so that with the latest iteration of this standard i.e. WiFi 6, the transfer rate has increased to as much as 9.6 Gbps.

The following table compares the transfer speed of some of the recent WiFi versions.

As you can, the speed has been drastically increasing over time.

It should be noted that these are only the theoretical maximum speeds, the actual transfer speed you get will be much lower.

So Does Xbox Series X Support WiFi 6?

Unfortunately, No, Xbox Series X DOES NOT support WiFi 6 protocol. This is a bummer since its rival, the PS5 DOES support this standard.

This is a shame because the vast majority of the new gaming devices and PCs come equipped with WiFi 6 protocol. But Microsoft has decided to keep both the Xbox Series X and S consoles conforming to WiFi 5 – the same as their previous gen consoles.

While of course, this is not a deal breaker, those who wish to benefit from the advantage of faster bandwidth and better connectivity with WiFi 6 will feel a bit disappointed.

It should be noted that Xbox Series X can also connect through a wired Ethernet connection.

What Will You Be Missing Out On?

One of the critical features of WiFi 6 is the improved MU-MIMO (multi-user, multiple input, multiple output) technology. This is a technology that allows devices to send and receive data from multiple devices at the same time.

Before this technology, the data had to be queued linearly for transmission but with MU-MIMO, devices can communicate with multiple devices at the same time.

With WiFi 5 simultaneous communication with 4 devices is possible, with WiFi 6, this number increases to 8.

Hence, one area where WiFi 6 significantly improves is in the high-density environment such as in gaming tournaments.

In addition to that, WiFi 6 has more pathways to communicate with your router, thus lowering your latency as compared to WiFi 5 communication.

And finally, the communication speed on WiFi 6 is about 40% faster compared to WiFi 5 interface.

Also Read: Xbox Series X Power Cord Specs

WiFi 6 Connectivity Requires WiFi 6 Router

One downside to having a WiFi 6 capability is that you NEED to have a WiFi 6 router installed in order to use its potential.

In other words, you cannot connect a WiFi 6 enabled gaming console to a WiFi 5 router and expect it to utilize the WiFi 6 speeds or functions.

No, a WiFi 6 device connected to a WiFi 5 router will work at the feature level of WiFi 5.

The vast majority of us have WiFi 5, if not older, routers in our homes. Upgrading to WiFi 6 routers can be expensive and it is not a luxury the vast majority of us have.

As such, as a strategic decision, keeping Xbox Series X at WiFi 5 level makes sense to keep the cost of production low.

We know that while its rival PS5 DOES have a WiFi 6, it does not have a GPU as powerful as that on Xbox Series X (10.3 Teraflops vs 12 Teraflops).

To give you an idea, the improved teraflops allow Xbox Series X to have more titles that support 120FPS.

So you can weigh what matters more to you here.