topic Re: Wifi 6E vs Wifi 7 in Wireless

Wifi 6E vs Wifi 7

carl_townshend — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 12:53:37 GMT

Hi All

I have recently been purchasing the Cisco Meraki CW9164i access points, however after a discussion I believe lots of companies like Ruckus, Aruba etc are now pushing Wifi 7.

I looked at pricing this morning for the CW9164i vs the CW9172i access point and the 9172 is cheaper.

What is the best option here guys? will Cisco also go the same way ?

Re: Wifi 6E vs Wifi 7

Mark Elsen — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 13:20:29 GMT

- @carl_townshend It's a coming standard (or already a standard), for benefits have a look at : https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/networking/wireless/wifi7-future-of-wireless-dg.html
Cisco will go the same way

Re: Wifi 6E vs Wifi 7

Leo Laohoo — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 15:05:53 GMT

@carl_townshend wrote:
I looked at pricing this morning for the CW9164i vs the CW9172i access point and the 9172 is cheaper.

Compare the price of 9162 vs 9172. Compare the price of the 9164 vs 9174.

Do not compare the price point of 9164 against the 9172 because that is not apples-to-apples.

Re: Wifi 6E vs Wifi 7

pieterh — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 11:59:40 GMT

I agree with @Mark Elsen new technology will be the new standard in a short timespan,
but first check if this will actually be used in your environment.
remember : to profit from WiFi-7, your clients need to move along too!

there is no EoL announcement for the CW9164 yet
and it could be profitable for you to use the same model AP in your whole environment
this from perspective of management, troubleshooting, spare-devices etc.

if you plan to deploy WiFi-7 you may need a new site-survey to determine where this is profitable (concentration of WiFi-7 clients)
and you may need a new AP placement plan.

if you have a large install base of non-WiFi-7 clients and do not plan to replace them shortly,
then wait some time for the next generation of Wi-Fi-7 accesspoints, when the need for WiFi-7 has grown