This Wednesday, April 10 was an important day for Orange which presented its two new livebox with Wi-Fi 7. A welcome update for the historic operator who joins his rivals (Free and Bouygues Telecom) in this battle which allows you to take advantage of higher flows and better management of connected devices. While the fiber flows are very high (up to 8 GB/s), the arrival of the last Wi-Fi 7 standard at Orange has something to give birth to great expectations. And a frustration that makes us fear that the Livebox S and the new Livebox 7 will not be up to it.
Wi-Fi 7 generally uses three frequency bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz) to optimize connections. The 6 GHz band, introduced with the 6th Wi-Fi (which Orange had been the first to offer in France in 2022), offers a sort of additional “highway”, less congested, allowing very high speeds, but on a short range. It is often limited to the room where the box is located.
Curiously, Orange decided to do without this 6 GHz band on its new livebox, opting for Wi-Fi 7 known as “bi-band” (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz only). A choice that challenges and sounds backwards, while recent devices (smartphones, computers) are increasingly compatible with 6 GHz.
Wi-Fi 7 “Dead”: a bet on stability?
The operator did not dodge this question during the presentation of his new boxes, relying on several observations from the use of his previous 6 GHz compatible boxes. According to Orange, the removal of the 6 GHz band “releases” the 5 GHz band for the benefit of Wi-Fi coverage and still allows to improve, on average, by 70 % the quality of Wi-Fi. Announced as a major evolution for Wi-Fi, the 6 GHz frequency band is very sensitive to distance and obstacles such as walls, making the connection not reliable from what is away from Livebox. After many tests carried out on a Livebox 7 with 6th Wi-Fi, we can confirm that the 6 GHz connection is only possible.
More problematic, according to Orange, the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands disrupt themselves and this would create interference on the 5 GHz band. This degrades the experience for the majority of users and if a filter helps to avoid interference, it degrades performance. It is too much for Orange who preferred to optimize the 5 GHz band with the other improvements made by Wi-Fi 7. “It’s a little less seller, but it’s a little more responsible”entrusts an orange official to our colleagues in Numerama.
Unanswered reviews and questions
However, this choice may not be unanimous since competition continues to bet on Wi-Fi 7 Tri-Bande. Some users will regret the absence of this rapid frequency, especially those looking for a high -end offer and who have compatible devices. In addition, we can be surprised by the decision of the FAI of launching livebox which emit on two frequency bands (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) while this same operator offers Wi-Fi 7 on three frequency bands (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz and 6 GHz) in Spain or Poland.
Furthermore, if we welcome the livebox S to make Wi-Fi 7 accessible from the entry-level offer, Orange has not yet updated its Wi-Fi repeaters. They remain in Wi-Fi 6 and it will still be necessary to wait before discovering Wi-Fi 7 models, even if the operator ensures that they will be launched soon.
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Detail
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Livebox S
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Livebox Up Fibre
Downspout 8 GB/S.
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Detail
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Livebox 7
Option (s): 2nd TV 6 decoder: on request
See +
2
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