You wouldn’t be wrong if you reasoned that because a WiFi router’s 5-gigahertz (GHz) band offers a faster connection than its 2.4-GHz band, its 6-GHz band must be faster still. Tri-band routers these days often feature all three frequency bands, although 6 GHz is still a premium option you’ll find only on pricier routers. Do you need it? Most people don’t.

The 5-GHz band is plenty fast. My job involves flogging the latest electronic devices on speed tests, and even I don’t bother connecting to a 6-GHz band if I’m not explicitly testing a router or mesh network. My WiFi 7 router’s 5-GHz band is up to the task of downloading large files and streaming high-resolution videos. When I swap a device’s connection from the 2.4-GHz band to the 5-GHz band, I notice the improved connection speeds. From 5 GHz to 6 GHz, I don’t. But here’s the key reason why: My 5-GHz band isn’t congested. It’s just me at home. If I lived with a bunch of people, each with their myriad WiFi devices grabbing for a piece of the router’s 5-GHz band, it’d be a different story.

Higher frequencies have shorter wavelengths, which means they simply can’t penetrate solid objects as well as lower frequencies. Neither can they maintain as strong of a signal if the connected device is far from the router. That’s why 2.4 GHz is the best WiFi frequency when you’re far away from the router, especially if there are walls or heavy furniture between that router and the phone or computer you’re using. Homes built with especially solid materials, such as brick, are even harder for WiFi signals to penetrate.

The 5-GHz band offers faster connections, but it’s more prone to that physical interference. And the signal weakens more quickly as you put distance between the router and your device. So who actually needs an even more interference-prone 6-GHz band enough to pay a premium for it? Although it’s theoretically faster, the limiting factor is your home’s internet subscription.

Even if you have an expensive gigabit fiber-optic internet connection, a typical router’s 5-GHz band will be able to use the complete extent of it. The gigabit internet is what’s holding it back, not the other way around. So swapping over to the 6-GHz band, you’re still limited by that same internet connection. Meanwhile, while the 6-GHz band is not incapable of penetrating walls and objects, it’s noticeably worse at it than the 5-GHz band.

Routers We Recommend If You Really Want 6 GHz

So why bother with 6 GHz at all? If you’re on a crowded WiFi network, in which lots of people are simultaneously using devices connected to the 5-GHz band, you can connect instead to the relatively open 6-GHz band. Think a small business, sorority house, or apartment with way too many roommates. When a bunch of devices are connected to the same band, they’re competing against each other for the same finite amount of “airtime.” You can think of this as akin to (but distinct from) bandwidth.

Two devices on one channel can’t transmit at the same time, so they have to take turns transmitting and receiving WiFi data. Too many devices means too much time with each one waiting for its turn. Imagine a bunch of cars merging from several roads onto a highway. They have to take their turns when inching up. That’s an overly congested frequency band. Having a router with a 6-GHz band is like building a whole new highway next to the first one to absorb some of the traffic.

We recommend some routers and mesh networks with 6-GHz bands, such as the Netgear RS700S Nighthawk WiFi Router and TP-Link Deco 7 Pro BE14000 Tri-Band Mesh WiFi Network, in our guides to the best WiFi routers and mesh networks. They’re the best options if you demand high performance in households or businesses where many people will be using a lot of devices. But we also have no qualms about pointing people toward dual-band routers and mesh networks that have “only” fast, stable 5-GHz connections, such as the Netgear RS200 Nighthawk WiFi Router and Asus ZenWiFi BD5 BE5000 Dual-Band Mesh WiFi Network, because there’s no reason for a non-congested household to pay a bundle for a 6-GHz band.

The Routers We Recommend for Most People

Let’s say you have a tri- or quad-band router with a 6-GHz band. Some older tri-band routers have a 2.4-GHz band and two 5-GHz bands, so make sure you know which ones your router has. To connect to a 6-GHz band, use your device in the same room as the router, or in a room nearby, in order to minimize the 6-GHz band’s short range and intolerance for passing through walls. Assuming you can get a strong, reliable connection, switching your device(s) to the 6-GHz band could mean that you’re not competing against all those other gadgets on the 5-GHz band, and that could mean more consistently fast speeds in practice.

For devices you’ll take with you roaming all around the home, like tablets and smartphones, don’t bother with the 6-GHz band. I usually use the 2.4-GHz band and not even the 5 GHz because at some point in the day, I’m guaranteed to take it to the rooms where even the 5-GHz signal suffers. The 6-GHz band doesn’t stand a chance.

Where I’d consider the 6-GHz band is for devices that won’t move around much, like a TV, video game console, surround-sound system, or a laptop that lives a sedentary life on a particular desk. Give the 6-GHz band a try if your household already has a lot of devices connected to 5 GHz. If the signal is too unstable, swap to the 5-GHz band. And if that’s too unstable, move to the 2.4-GHz band. It costs nothing to try.

A router with a 6-GHz band is worth it for certain scenarios, but not necessary for most regular uses. For somebody in a building or apartment absolutely jam-packed with lots of people using lots of devices on the 5-GHz band, that 6-GHz band could make all the difference in seeing a consistently fast connection. All others, though, will likely be satisfied with the 5-GHz band on a router. There are lots of variables, but you can expect to spend roughly another $150 for a router with a 6-GHz band.