Netgear firmware updates offer 60% faster WiFi with Beamforming+

 
Netgear announced support for Beamforming+ with the new NETGEAR R6300 802.11ac Dual Band Gigabit WiFi Router and the NETGEAR A6200 802.11ac Dual Band WiFi USB Adapter.
 
Beamforming+ will also available through a free firmware upgrade for current NETGEAR users of the R6300 WiFi Router and the A6200 WiFi USB Adapter. With this upgrade, the firmware will improve WiFi performance and range when connecting to other WiFi devices. In a prepared statement sent to the press, Netgear states, “You’ll see even more improvement in WiFi performance and reliability when you connect your R6300 Router to a PC or laptop configured with an A6200 Adapter or with an 802.11ac device with Beamforming support”. A second R6300 acting as a client bridge would also provide a higher performance solution for critical video over WiFi applications.
 
If you are new to “NETGEAR Beamforming+” it is a “signal-focusing” technology aimed to extend coverage, reduces interference and stop dead spots, while boosting the speed of your 802.11ac WiFi connections. The name refers to NETGEAR’s use of the Beamforming standard with a “fine-tuned WiFi design for improved WiFi range and performance”.
 
According to NETGEAR reps from CES 2013, Beamforming+ “recognizes the location of a wireless device on your network and directs the WiFi signal directly at the device”, the devices are “constantly checking and tracking moving devices such as your mobile phones and tablets” offering a better connection and faster speeds. Netgear states that this “amplifies the WiFi signal by adjusting the phase of the transmitted signal, delivering stable WiFi connections for voice and video”.
 
“Beamforming is the next big thing in WiFi signal technology, and NETGEAR is proud to bring it to you on our market-leading 802.11ac wireless products. 802.11ac is the wireless standard you need to support the increasingly heavy demands on your network for voice, video and data,” said Sandeep Harpalani , NETGEAR director of product marketing for retail networking products. “With NETGEAR Beamforming+, we raise the bar further by providing significant improvement in performance, especially at long distances where connection speeds and reliability are challenging. Our test data demonstrates that when we enable Beamforming+ on our R6300 WiFi Router, we see performance increase by 60 percent at a distance of around 50 feet when connecting to an 802.11ac device.”
 
more info: netgear