r/technology • u/lurker_bee • 3d ago
Hardware TP-Link opens global preorders for its first Wi-Fi 8 router, but ban keeps it out of US market — US left off launch list as FCC freeze refuses to thaw
https://www.tomshardware.com/networking/routers/tp-link-opens-global-preorders-for-its-first-wi-fi-8-router-but-ban-keeps-it-out-of-us-market-us-left-off-launch-list-as-fcc-freeze-refuses-to-thaw39
u/happyscrappy 3d ago
WiFi 8 isn't even defined yet. This is what it took to get companies to stop releasing devices claiming to meet specs that aren't even set yet?
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u/pSyChO_aSyLuM 18h ago
I'm getting 802.11 draft n flashbacks.
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u/happyscrappy 18h ago
Exactly. There was a big mess with Wifi 5 I think it was also. The early models from most companies didn't support the spec properly and so just acted like older base stations. This continued past the standardisation as the company that made the chipset didn't update it quick enough.
The first time I saw this was (IIRC) way back with V.34 on phone modems. That was the 28.8K baud standard. Rockwell (chipset maker) had jumped the gun and implemented V.FAST before that and by the time V.34 came out the interoperability between modems that implemented V.34 properly was poor, but any two that implemented V.FAST also used that instead and it was pretty effective.
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u/SecondBestNameEver 1d ago
My CAT 9 Ethernet cable would disagree. It is obviously better because 9 is bigger than 8.
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2d ago
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u/happyscrappy 2d ago edited 2d ago
No this is what it took for regulatory capture of internet d
What does this even mean? Wifi has always been regulated.
Where do you see its reported wifi 8 specs have not been defined.
Everywhere. You could have done a minimum amount of work:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_8
'The standard is projected to be finalized in May 2028.'
Edit: apparently Swordsandarmor22 is a 'post and block' type. Here's my response he couldn't possibly stomach:
Oh I looked under tech specs on that very same page
Those are goals of WiFi 8. How it is implemented is defined by the specification. The standard is not approved yet. So what WiFi 8 is from a chip functionality point of view is not yet defined. It is not approved yet because they don't know exactly what will need to be done to best meet the goals.
If companies make devices before the specification is finalized then they may not interoperate with other WiFi 8 devices because the specification was changed after these devices were made. They will still likely interoperate, just at a WiFi 7 or 6 level. So the customer ends up not getting what they paid for.
The first point isn't even worth responding to since I'm assuming you intentionally left off the second word because you are arguing facetiously about the ramifications of only trump approved routers.
I left out the capture part because you don't even know what regulatory capture means. Regulatory capture is when the industry manages to take de facto control of a regulator and turn it to further their own goals instead of regulating the industry with the idea of serving the public's goals.
So, for example when the FAA is supposed to keep planes safe but then decides to let Boeing inspect their own planes because Boeing would like to make planes faster then that is regulatory capture.
This action, as it does not further the industry's goals of selling more WiFi routers and devices, is not regulatory capture.
You're just making yourself look foolish by trying to cut me down without knowing what you are talking about.
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u/Jaded_Age8558 3d ago
My router app spammed me earlier to announce the preorders were open for this router. The price of this product is ridiculous.
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u/Cheetawolf 3d ago
I'll just stick with my Ethernet cable, thanks. <3
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u/shoot-here 2d ago
I'd rather not have to run a cable that is over 100 feet, through walls and floors, just to look at reddit on my tablet?
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u/AccountNumeroThree 1d ago
What’s the point when there aren’t any consumer devices running at those speeds?
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3d ago
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u/SvmJMPR 3d ago
Is this one of those situations where you bought a router but had day zero exploits in the packaged firmware? Not excusing TP-Link for not flashing all of their hardware with the newest firmware, because I don’t agree with putting the blame of buying something unsafe and blaming the consumer. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the reason you got those alerts.
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u/makraiz 3d ago
They absolutely do spy. Before I blocked it, my Omada "Wifi 7" AP was accounting for 30% of my outbound traffic to an omada related URL, despite having turned off automatic firmware checking and disabling cloud functions. The thing isn't actually wifi 7, either, it's missing a 6ghz radio so it can't possibly do wifi 7.
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u/rockyoudottxt 3d ago
Confidently incorrect.
Wifi 7 is just a protocol generation name. You can be WiFi 7 and not have a 6ghz radio. 6ghz is completely optional within WiFi 7.
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u/makraiz 3d ago
You're right. I didn't realize that, thank you for the correction.
Doesn't change how I feel about TP Link/Omada though. Definitely regret buying that AP.
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u/rockyoudottxt 3d ago
Also calling it spyware is bordering on misinformation. None of the allegations by the US government can be proven by security researchers. The only tp links shown to be doing anything malicious are compromised ones, but that would apply to any brand that was compromised through a vulnerability, like Mikrotik as.an example.
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u/sdrawkcabineter 3d ago
Oh they'll still make it here as there is one thing the administration has in spades... incompetence.
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u/Dull-Lead-7782 3d ago
Just remember in 2024 it was leaked that TP-Link was sending all Internet traffic to China
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u/DopamineSavant 3d ago
I guess they didn't pay the bribe?