The Netgear R6300 AC1750 dual band gigabit 802.11ac router after one and half years from its launch, is now equipped with the latest firmware update (v1.0.2.68). This latest update means that this model (and the R6200, R6250 models) will now have improved wireless performance and a wider coverage area. Based on the Beamforming Technology, this update is capable of providing a 60% improved performance at a distance of 50feet (As per Netgear’s tests).
What Is Beamforming Technology?
Beamforming, is one of the most simplest approach where in which the router instead of broadcasting signals in all directions, does it in one specific direction. This means that there will no longer be any broadcasting hoping it would reach the target, but instead there will only be aiming the signal to a specific targeted device. Looks quite simple isn’t it?
Actually in the retail point of view it wasn’t. Due to this reason, the market was stuck with routers only capable of broadcasting in all directions, in spite of suffering several disadvantages like the RF interference and dead spots. Anyways, thanks to NETGEAR for already making it a reality. But let’s see how actually this Beamforming Technology could be implemented.
How Beamforming Works?
Firstly, take for instance a bulb which radiates light in all directions equally. And obviously as you move away from the bulb the intensity keeps on decreasing where at a point there is no light at all. This is the case every other router which doesn’t support Beamforming.
Now consider the light radiated is forced to travel along a particular channel, now a fixed point along the channel there is increased intensity than in the earlier case. This is basically how a device supporting Beamforming is expected to work.
To elaborate, the beamformer (the device that transmits) focuses the entire signal towards a beamformee (a client receiving device) thus enabling less interference thus establishing a stronger, faster and more reliable wireless communication.
What’s NETGEAR Beamforming+ About?
NETGAR has developed a full range of wireless routers and adapters based on the 802.11ac standard which come with the integrated BeamForming Technology. In the earlier routers Beamforming was offered as an optional feature but not much emphasis was given until all benefits surfaced.
This option could only be utilized when both the router and the client device supported beamforming. This anyway isn’t the case with the NEATGEAR Beamforming+ wireless routers, where the client device need not necessarily support Beamforming.
In a nutshell, Beamforming+ refers to the various products of NETGEAR which have implemented the Beamforming Technique; hence obtaining improved Wi-Fi performance across all the Wi-Fi devices specially designed to work in the 5Ghz band.
Netgear isn’t the only manufacturer which is implementing the Beamforming technique. It is now fast becoming a common feature being employed in almost all high-end routers.
