What is MU-MIMO and Do You Need It?

You might have noticed that when there are too many devices connected to the same WiFi router the internet becomes a little slower. This happens because the industry standard for routers until now has been SU-MIMO, which means a single user connected at a time with the router. You now can imagine why there’s a delay when there are a lot of devices trying to connect to the network.

The router communicates with only one device at a time and when there are a few devices that want to connect they wait in line. However, the technology has advanced, and this issue has been fixed with MU-MIMO. Let’s learn more about what it is and why we should use it.

What is MU-MIMO?

MU-MIMO or Multi-User – Multiple-Input Multiple-Output is the latest technology that allows a WiFi router to connect to multiple devices simultaneously. This is very useful since it dramatically increases the speed of your network. The devices don’t have to wait in line anymore to send and receive information, it gets distributed simultaneously.

If your network has ten or more devices connected, you should make the switch from SU-MIMO to MU-MIMO. You will definitely see the difference in the quality of service from streaming to gaming. Learn more about this tool that will help you optimize your internet even further.

Why You Should Use MU-MIMO?

tp link mu mimo

Image Source: TP-Link

In every household, there are at least five devices connected to the network that are competing to get the data packets as fast as possible. With a SU-MIMO you might notice a slight delay in video buffering or image loading and this can drive you insane. It’s really annoying for every user of the network and this can be avoided by using the MU-MIMO technology.

It can also increase the capacity of devices that you can connect to your home network without losing any performance whatsoever. All the connected devices will operate faster since they don’t have to wait that much to get the data from the router.

On top of that, the MU-MIMO technology also helps you with streaming and gaming since it makes the router more efficient and capable. These intense activities will be much easier to perform if you enable MU-MIMO.

You can enjoy gaming more since there won’t be any network latency or lag which is commonly known by gamers. The improved performance will definitely be worth it so embrace the advances of technology.

Which Routers Support the MU-MIMO Technology?

MU-MIMO is relatively new technology in the market and obviously, not all routers support it.

However, your best way to find a compatible router is to look for writing that specifically indicates that is compatible with MU-MIMO. You can find some routers that support the MU-MIMO technology even under $100.

What Makes MU-MIMO Better?

The MU-MIMO technology has perfected the beamforming technique resulting in stronger network strength. Beamforming is a network signal processing method that is used for directional network transmission and reception. This technique is essential since it makes the system way more efficient and fast.

Instead of releasing signals randomly until a device is found which is how older WiFi networks worked, the beaming method directly fires a signal at the device that wants to use the network. This is what makes the MU-MIMO technology better by increasing the speed and the WiFi range as well.

MU-MIMO as technology can work both on the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz channels for transmitting data which is important. This ability to establish a connection with multiple bands will help cover more channels simultaneously and will allow the network to be faster and more reliable.

What Does the Future Hold for MU-MIMO Technology?

This technology is still considered recent and hasn’t been applied on a large scale yet but that’s going to change. There are always those who refuse to embrace the new technology and those who are forward-thinking. Companies like Qualcomm and Linksys have faith in this new technology and have started preparing for the demand ahead of time.

After a few years, this technology will spread even more. This is a massive step towards expanding the network and helping it become industry standard.

This technology is superior to the old one and it’s only a matter of time until everyone catches up. That’s why companies are preparing a lot of other devices as well such as routers, range extenders, USB client adapters, phones, tablets, and much more to come. If you are thinking about one of those devices then consider preparing for the future and getting the one that is MU-MIMO compatible right away.

Closing Thoughts

With time more and more people are going to see the importance of the MU-MIMO network and will adopt it to their networks. I believe in a few years the SU-MIMO technology is not going to be used at all. This can be understood by looking at the major companies changing their focus from SU-MIMO devices to MU-MIMO ones.

Seeing as there are only benefits from switching to MU-MIMO, I don’t see a reason why not to do it on a large scale and quickly. One thing is that both the router and the device should support this technology but flagship phones have already started to incorporate it. Low to mid-range devices have yet to perform the switch in technologies but it’s going to happen sooner or later.

It’s only a matter of time and everyone will be able to enjoy the benefits of using the MU-MIMO technology.

About The Author

XbitLabs Team

We are a team of enthusiasts thriving to provide you with helpful advice on buying tech.

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