Nowadays in our homes to connect to the Internet we mainly use the Wi-Fi wireless network provided by our router, either the one provided by the operator, or one we bought ourselves. Starting from the Wi-Fi 5 standard, a technology called MU-MIMO appeared that allows us to improve the global WiFi performance of the wireless network, today in this article we are going to explain in detail what this MU-MIMO technology consists of. to allow optimizing the wireless network to get the most out of it.
Starting with the Wi-Fi 4 standard, or also known as Wi-Fi N, MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology was launched. This technology allows us to receive and send data simultaneously through several Wi-Fi antennas, each of these antennas is capable of providing a simultaneous data stream. For example, today home routers with Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6 usually support 2 or 3 data streams for each frequency band, and up to 4 data streams for higher-end routers. This allows us to obtain high connection speeds, as long as the wireless clients also have more than one data stream. In an ideal scenario, if we have a router with four data streams, a client that also has four data streams will be able to exchange information at the highest possible speed, making the most of all the bandwidth.
However, as there are still many devices such as smartphones and tablets that only have a single data stream, or at most two data streams, it will have an impact on us having a slower wireless network, in which the main losers will be the fastest devices. Usually we have many devices connected to our router, nowadays, it is normal for a person to have several devices connected at the same time, such as a smartphone, a laptop, tablets, a Smart TV and any other IoT device.
The problem happens when we connect with many devices at the same time. Then we find ourselves with a loss of speed, because a router can only exchange traffic with one device at the same time, making the “slower” devices that only have one data flow irreparably harm the fastest ones that have more data flows. .
To improve this situation, MU-MIMO technology was created, a feature that optimizes the total performance of the wireless network and which we are going to talk about next.
What is MU-MIMO and what is it for?
MU-MIMO technology stands for ” Multiple-User MIMO “, or also known as ” Multiple-user, multiple input and multiple output “. This feature was incorporated into the Wi-Fi 5 standard, or also known as Wi-Fi AC, however, it was optional, and many routers with Wi-Fi 5 do not have this technology that only benefited the 5GHz frequency band. , since in the 2.4GHz band we were still using Wi-Fi 4.
With the launch of Wi-Fi 6, MU-MIMO is available in both frequency bands, both in the popular 2.4GHz band and also in the 5GHz band, since we have Wi-Fi 6 in all bands frequencies. A very important feature is that in addition to MU-MIMO, Beamforming technology is essential to achieve good coverage. Both technologies are related because they work together in home and professional routers.
Brief explanation of Beamforming technology
With the arrival of Wi-Fi 5, which corresponds to the 802.11ac standard, as we discussed earlier, Beamforming technology also arrived. Thanks to it, we can focus the signal towards a receiver that is connected. Thus the objective is for the client to get better coverage, and also a higher wireless speed. In practice, the use of Beamforming technology, in addition to providing greater coverage against a router or AP that does not have this technology, we will also achieve a little more Wi-Fi range. To end this section in relation to distance, this is what we can contribute:
- When we are close to the router or AP unless there is a wall or large obstacle we will not notice any improvement.
- In the case that we are at a medium distance from the router or AP , this is where we will get the most out of Beamforming technology. Thus, we will achieve greater coverage, and also greater speed.
- If we are at a very large distance from the router or AP , we will not notice much improvement, but it is possible that we will obtain a little more coverage, with which we would gain some stability, but the speed difference will be little. It is capable of simultaneous transmissions to clients , in the “upstream” direction, that is, from the access point to the clients. However, with Wi-Fi 6, MU-MIMO is bi-directional, both downloading and uploading, and is already available on some ASUS routers.
A very common example of the great improvement that MU-MIMO technology brings us is when we have a router with three data streams, but we connect clients that are from one stream. The wireless network, instead of working at the maximum speed that these three data streams provide, will work at the maximum speed that one stream provides. Therefore, we will not be able to take full advantage of the real potential of the wireless router that we have purchased.
On the other hand, if we use MU-MIMO technology, the router can send (and receive if we have bidirectional MU-MIMO) a data flow to each of the clients. Therefore, the data will be sent simultaneously, and we will make the most of the available bandwidth. Thus, the three clients will send and receive data at the same time in parallel, and not in series as occurs when SU-MIMO (Single-User MIMO) technology is used. Here you have an example of how both technologies work
In the image above we can clearly see that the performance (overall network) has tripled when using MU-MIMO technology. In addition, not only will it allow us to maximize bandwidth, we will also be able to get more WiFi clients to transfer their data and save additional time by sending the data simultaneously to the clients. We must remember that with Wi-Fi 6 MU-MIMO is bidirectional, therefore, we can both send data and receive data simultaneously.
What we need to make MU-MIMO technology work
The first thing to comment is that this technology may be present in the Wi-Fi 5 standard (Wi-Fi AC) in which it would only work in the 5 GHz band. It is also available in the new Wi-Fi 6 standard ( Wi-Fi AX), but unlike the previous Wi-Fi 5, in this new standard it allows us to operate in both the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz bands.
The MU-MIMO technology allows, in theory, that up to a maximum of 4 devices share the same Wi-Fi connection time, in which the data will be sent simultaneously. Here is an example of the difference that it makes to operate working with the previous SU-MIMO technology, which only allows to operate with one device at a time.
A very important fact to keep in mind is that both the router and the wireless client devices have to be compatible with this technology . This means that, even if you buy a recent high-end router that supports this technology, if your devices do not support it, you will not get any benefit. In addition, to take advantage of MU-MIMO technology, we will need to have at least two devices that support it in our house. Otherwise, we will not notice any improvement because a group of a single team is formed which is the same as working with SU-MIMO technology.
Currently, MU-MIMO technology works only for downstream data for Wi-Fi 5 technology , that is, from the router to our devices. However, with the arrival of 802.11ax technology, also known as WIFI 6, it will now be able to work both downstream and upstream. Currently the manufacturers have not yet incorporated the bidirectional functionality in the MU-MIMO, or at least they have it in the testing phase and it has not yet reached the public.
This technology does not improve the range of our wireless router at all . However, thanks to the Beamforming technology that we talked about before, and which is already included in the Wi-Fi 5 standard, we will be able to notice some improvement.
MU-MIMO performance: is it worth having it in our router?
The performance that MU-MIMO can offer us is important, and as we have already seen in previous examples, we can even triple the performance. While it is true that we need at least two clients compatible with this technology to be able to take advantage of it, in any case, the fact that the router has it is not going to harm us at all, but it will only improve the overall performance of the network. In this way, if you are going to buy a new router, it is recommended that you incorporate it so that we can take advantage of it in the future.
Right now we can already have a router with this technology at a good price and even one with cheap Wi-Fi 6 could be within our reach. Therefore, as it is a technology that has been on the market for some time, buying with a router with MU-MIMO technology is more than recommended, so that when we buy new smartphones, USB or PCIe WiFi cards and other compatible devices, we can squeeze to the maximum the wireless network.