Editing Wi-Fi (section)

==Versions and generations==
{{Wi-Fi generations}}

Equipment frequently supports multiple versions of Wi-Fi. To communicate, devices must use a common Wi-Fi version. The versions differ between the radio wavebands they operate on, the radio bandwidth they occupy, the maximum data rates they can support and other details. Some versions permit the use of multiple antennas, which permits greater speeds as well as reduced interference.

Historically, the equipment listed the versions of Wi-Fi supported using the name of the IEEE standards. In 2018, the [[Wi-Fi Alliance]] introduced simplified Wi-Fi generational numbering to indicate equipment that supports Wi-Fi 4 ([[802.11n]]), Wi-Fi 5 ([[802.11ac]]) and Wi-Fi 6 ([[802.11ax]]). These generations have a high degree of backward compatibility with previous versions. The alliance has stated that the generational level 4, 5, or 6 can be indicated in the user interface when connected, along with the signal strength.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wi-fi.org/news-events/newsroom/wi-fi-alliance-introduces-wi-fi-6 |title=Wi-Fi Alliance Introduces Wi-Fi 6 |publisher=Wi-Fi Alliance |date=3 October 2018 |access-date=24 October 2019 |archive-date=3 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403165940/https://www.wi-fi.org/news-events/newsroom/wi-fi-alliance-introduces-wi-fi-6 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="generational" />

The most important standards affecting Wi‑Fi are: 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n ('''Wi-Fi 4'''), 802.11h, 802.11i, 802.11-2007, 802.11–2012, 802.11ac ('''Wi-Fi 5'''),<ref name="generational" /> 802.11ad, 802.11af, 802.11-2016, 802.11ah, 802.11ai, 802.11aj, [[802.11aq]], 802.11ax ('''Wi-Fi 6'''),<ref name="generational" /> [[802.11ay]].