Bea Beltran Tech 01.26.2023 01:Jan AM EST

Upcoming iPhone 15 Lineup Might Feature Wi-Fi 6E Compatibility

In just a few months, Apple users will once again be provided with a new line of iPhone 15s which include the iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. As a bonus, the phones might support Wi-Fi 6E which can operate over the 6GHz band.

Why It's Likely to Happen

There were speculations about the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 lines supporting Wi-Fi- 6E, but evidently, that wasn't the case. However, Apple already applied that support to some of its devices, meaning that it is entirely possible.

According to MacRumors, the devices are the latest 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models. There is also the research note from Barclays analysts Blayne Curtis and Tom O'Malley that backs the possibility.

It was not specified in their research notes whether the support for Wi-Fi 6E applies to all the iPhone 15 models. It's possible that Apple will only add the feature to the iPhone 15 Pro just to give the model an edge over the others.

How It Works

The Wi-Fi 6E uses the 6GHz wireless band which means that the device that supports it will get faster and more reliable wireless connections. In order to use the feature at maximum capacity, you will need a Wi-Fi router or access point that supports Wi-Fi 6E.

It will also need to have its 2.4GHz or 5GHz bands enabled, preferably using a single network name or SSID across all bands, according to Apple. If you don't have a Wi-Fi 6E router, you can look for one with brands like TP-Link, Asus, and Netgear.

In the event that the router isn't using the same name for all bands, your device will identify the network as one with limited compatibility. Then, it will look for the name of the 5GHz network wherein you will be asked if you want to join that network.

This will lead to two choices. One is that you'll join the 5GHz network and you won't get to experience the benefits of Wi-Fi 6E. The other is that you'll tap "Not Now" and you'll use the 6E network, but the overall quality for some activities might not be as good.

If you're able to configure your own Wi-Fi router, you can go to its webpage or app and change the names for each band so they will all be similar, You can then reconnect your device to the Wi-Fi 6E network with full compatibility.

If the setup is too much work for you, you can always choose to turn off the Wi-Fi 6E mode on the device you're using. For the iPad, you can go to Settings, and under Wi-Fi, tap on the name of the Wi-Fi 6E network you're connected to. Tap Wifi-6E mode and toggle it off.

For Mac, you can head on to the Apple Menu, and then click Wi-Fi under System Settings. Once that's done, click on the Details button which you'll find beside the name of the Wi-Fi 6E network you're connected to. Click Off from the pop-up menu found beside Wi-Fi 6E mode.