The topic of routers and trends in their development has been widely discussed online. Many reviews of Wi-Fi routers are tested and investigated based on various factors and features. We have researched and studied those reviews and came up with a comprehensive report on Wi-Fi routers. Once again, the data used in the article were taken from various sources online.
Research aim
- Establish Wi-Fi penetration standards and frequent use of channels and ranges.
- Indicate the security protocols that are utilized.
- Identify the prevalence of different models and manufacturers.
Data collection process
The presented Data about the Wi-Fi environment have been gathered at different locations with the help of the app called Anliti and an Android smartphone. Because of the privacy measures, the Analiti “scrub identifiable information” option was used. This feature allows to hide 2 bytes in the BSSID and alters the SSID. In some particular cases, the approximate place where the information was collected had to be kept. As later discovered, this information turned out to be useful for delineating data from businesses and the private sector.
As a result, the specialists who conducted the research received data on 283 Wi-Fi access points, which include:
- BSSID – Unique network identifier.
- Manufacturer, Model - based on BSSID, using the capabilities of the Analiti application and open databases.
- Supported security protocols.
- Signal level (rssi).
- Frequency range (2.4 or 5 GHz).
- Main channel (beacon channel).
- Channel width.
- Supported Wi-Fi standards (a, b, g, n, ac, ax).
- The maximum transmission speed of the physical level (max PHY speed).
Data Filtering and Pre-processing
One should understand that a Wi-Fi access point in the air and a physical device (a router) differ from each other greatly. Modern routers may contain two (for example, two-band) or more (three-band, with a guest network, etc.) virtual or physical access points. On the other hand, in corporate and mesh systems, one Wi-Fi network can have several physical devices that increase coverage.
Later in the article, we describe the distinction between an "access point" and a Wi-Fi router or device. One router can contain several access points (physical or virtual).
Thus it was:
- Dropped Wi-Fi access points (71 of 283) and duplicates (11 of 283).
- Several access points identified as mobile phones, TVs, printers, auto recorders, etc., were discarded.
- By grouping by SSID and BSSID, routers with multiple access points were identified.
- As a result, there were 166 devices that "radiate" 201 access points.
Analysis
Now, let’s move on to the interesting part! Of the 166 routers, 121 are commercial, and 45 are corporate. Business divisions include three shopping centers, a building supply store, a market, an airport, a bank, and even a fire station.
The rating is conditional because enterprise-class routers are used in homes. On the contrary, small businesses especially often use cheaper models for the domestic market.
Technologies
Distribution of devices relative to the highest standard supported:
|
Standard |
Name |
Year |
Number |
Percentage |
|
802.11a |
Wi-Fi 1 |
1999 |
0 |
0% |
|
802.11b |
Wi-Fi 2 |
1999 |
4 |
1% |
|
802.11g |
Wi-Fi 3 |
2003 |
9 |
5% |
|
802.11n |
Wi-Fi 4 |
2007 |
138 |
78% |
|
802.11ac |
Wi-Fi 5 |
2014 |
27 |
14% |
|
802.11ax |
Wi-Fi 6 |
2019 |
5 |
2% |
As you can see, the Wi-Fi 4 standard of 2007 is dominating. As a rule, those are inexpensive single-band routers. Only 14% of Wi-Fi 5 are standard devices. Those are mostly dual-band models (Wi-Fi 4 at 2.4 GHz and Wi-Fi 5 at 5 GHz) or business solutions.
Specialists have come across three devices that work with the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard. Out of pure curiosity, the researchers looked closely at his two routers in the 802.11b standard. One of them turned out to be the billboard control system, and the other was his OBDII diagnostic module for cars.
Security measures
|
Authentication method |
Year |
Number |
Comment |
|
Turned off |
0 |
Mainly coffee shops and IoT devices. Captive portal or MAC address filtering was not checked. |
|
|
WEP |
1999 |
11 |
WEP provides a very weak protection that breaks in minutes. It’s good that it is not used so often. |
|
WPA Personal |
2003 |
0 |
WPA is also not secure enough. Devices that require this are very rare. |
|
WPA/WPA2 Personal |
2004 |
0 |
Even in compatible mode with WPA2 it's worth going without WPA. |
|
WPA2 |
2004 |
1 |
WPA2 provides acceptable protection only with strong passwords and updated software. |
|
WPA3 |
2004 |
78 |
Our sample included several modern Wi-Fi 6 devices, but our analysis did not find any access points that support WPA3. |
|
WPA2/WPA3 |
2018 |
111 |
This could be a limitation of the analytics program or the phone used to collect the data. The author acknowledges that at least one device has WPA2/WPA3 mode enabled |
Advice on data protection
Authentication is typically configured through the router's web interface in the Wireless Security section. Leave WPA2 and WPA3 alone if your device supports them. All others don't provide enough protection in the long run. Choose a WPA2 complex password.
As you can see, today's most popular router is the cheap and reliable TP-Link TL-WR841N. However, the factory WiFi password consists of 8 digits and is easy to choose. So change your password! Next time, we will continue to investigate and analyze the status of indicators such as frequency range and channel width.