Does Virtual Desktop need 5Ghz Wi-Fi?

If youre into virtual gaming or virtual desktop, or any virtual apps for that matter you must have been aware of Oculuss Air Link. With luck, maybe youve even been able to use it with a certain level of success.

Among other things, the most significant about this feature is the fact it enables you to use the Oculus Quest 2 headset without being tethered to your computer via a USB cable. Instead, youll use the headsets built-in Wi-Fi for the connection.

And that opens up to a whole lot of possibilities. You can walk around somewhat freely in the real world when being inside your virtual one. In return, it makes picking up the right Wi-Fi router for your VR headset an even more consequential task.

This post will help you figure this all out and include a list of the best VR Wi-Fi routers currently on the market. The key here is the bandwidth.

Dongs note: I first published this piece on May 21, 2021, and last updated it on October 5 to add more relevant information.

The TP-Link Archer AX90 Wi-Fi 6 Router vs Netgear RAX200

Best VR Wi-Fi Routers: Understanding virtual realitys bandwidth requirement

When it comes to VR and bandwidth, the quick take is the more, the better. VR is easily the most bandwidth-demand application theres a lot of information going between the headset and your computer.

The bandwidth requirements depend on things that happen in real-time and how high the resolutions you want to appear in front of your eyes.

From my own experience and with the inputs of some vendors, here are my guesstimates on the bandwidth required for any 360-degree real-time immersive graphic rendering:

• Low [sub-HD] resolutions: 25Mbps. [This is the bandwidth required for 4K video streaming, by the way.]
• Full HD [1080P]: 80Mbps to 120Mbps.
• 4K: 800Mbps or even more.

Again these are ballpark numbers, but the idea is you need a lot of bandwidth. However, dont assume right away that this is what you need from your Wi-Fi. That depends.

The Wi-Fi requirement for virtual reality

Indeed, despite the high bandwidth demand, VR apps need for Wi-Fi depends on how you use the headset.

Wired VR

Traditionally, when the headset [and therefore, you] links via cable to a computer, its the USB connection that handles this bandwidth.

And in this case, chances are you will use USB 3.0 or higher so youll have around 5Gbps [5000Mbps] or more at your disposal thats plenty. In return, you have to stay close to the computer and risk tripping on the wire.

[And in most cases, you have no other options.]

In this case, the VR app doesnt need more Wi-Fi than any other apps. So, in terms of home networking, you only need an excellent router or a good gaming one if you play VR games.

So the gist of this is: using a wired headset makes VR similar to any regular application in terms of networking needs. Your VR computer uses Wi-Fi only to connect to the Internet, so theres no special bandwidth requirement, other than, well, a fast broadband connection and a good router.

Wireless VR: Oculuss Air Link and Wi-Fi

Things change, though, with Oculuss new Air Link feature. It opens up to a new and more accessible way to be in the virtual world.

Thats because, in this case, the USB cord is no longer, and the headset uses Wi-Fi to link to VR the computer wirelessly.

And that dramatically puts more stress on the wireless connection since the VR-related bandwidth requirements remain the same.

As you can imagine, in this case, a couple of VR apps will virtually, pun intended, saturate a high-end routers entire 5GHz bands bandwidth. Just a reminder, this band currently caps at 24000Mbps [on paper] with Wi-Fi 6, in the best-case scenario. If you use Wi-Fi 5, that number is much lower.

In my experience, most of the time, you should only expect no more than around 800Mbps of sustained speed out of Wi-Fi. And thats enough for just one wireless VR application.

And that brings us to the best way to handle home networking for full wireless VR, applicable to the Quest 2 headset with Air Link or any other fully Wi-Fi headset.

Best Wi-Fi setup for Oculus Quest 2 with Air Link

Considering the bandwidth mentioned above, in this case, it would be best if you dedicated as much Wi-Fi bandwidth to the headset as possible.

By the way, since you might be close to the broadcaster [router] anyway and you should set up your VR computer near the router, better yet use a network cable to connect it , the range is not the most important here.

And there are two ways to achieve this: Getting a top-notch tri-band router or turning your computer into one. Lets find out more about the latter first.

Here are a loose [laptop] Intel AX210 Wi-Fi 6E card and an Intel AX200 card already on a PCIe adapter ready to be installed inside a desktop computer. You can use either as your dedicated VR Wi-Fi broadcaster youd want to use the 5GHz band anyway. [For illustration only, you can use an actual adapter of your choice]

Cool VR Wi-Fi trick: Turn your computer into the broadcaster

Thats right. You can turn your VR computer itself into a dedicated Wi-Fi broadcaster for the VR connection. In other words, the computer itself will host the VR headset via an exclusive Wi-Fi network.

Make sure you use the 5GHz band [or the fastest supported] for the VR-exclusive Wi-Fi network.

The gist of this is you add a Wi-Fi adapter to the computer and then turn the computer itself into a hotspot. I detailed the steps in this post on how to turn your computer into a mobile spot.

Which adapter card to get, you might wonder. And thats a good question.

Technically, you can use any Wi-Fi adapter for this job, but Id recommend a PCIe adapter your VR machine must be a desktop for the best result. Here are my suggestions:

• If your VR set supports the 60GHz band, get a 60GHz adapter card there are not many of them on the market.
• Get a top-tier Wi-Fi 5 card. Like this Asus PCE-AC88.
• If you want Wi-Fi 6, the Intel AX200 or AX210 are the only options for now.

After that, follow the detailed steps in this post to add the card to your computer.

[If your computer doesnt connect to your router using a network cable or has an existing Wi-Fi card, you will need two such adapters. One for the Internet connection, the other for the dedicated Wi-Fi VR link.]

Once youve installed the new adapter[s], look for a Mobile hotspot on Windows 10 [or 11]s Start Menu, run it, and turn the newly available Wi-Fi adapter into a Wi-Fi network to use for the VR headset. For the task, make sure you use the 5GHz band or the fastest band supported by the VR headset.

Mission accomplished.

Turning an additional Wi-Fi adapter into a mobile hotspot will give you a dedicated Wi-Fi link for the VR headset.

Getting the right router or mesh setup

If turning your computer into proves too much work, getting a suitable router might be the right way to go, especially when you might want or need a new router any.

In this case, keep the following in mind:

• Your VR computer should connect to the network [router] via a network cable when possible.
• The Wi-Fi broadcaster [router] should have a dedicated band for the VR application. Specifically, this band is used only for the headset [and the VR computer, if the wired connection is not an option].

Consequently, using a traditional tri-band router one with an additional 5GHz band is an easy choice. Dedicate one of the two 5GHz bands preferably the one with upper channels to VR Wi-Fi with a separate SSID [network name].

[In the future, when a headset that supports the 6GHz and is available, you can also consider a Wi-Fi 6E router. But the idea is that you use a Wi-Fi network solely VR.]

If you live in a large home and need a mesh system, then:

• Wired backhaul is a must. Still use tri-band and dedicated a 5GHz band for VR.

• If wired backhaul is not possible, you should use VR only at the main routers location. Again, this router must be tri-band and has the ability o separate the two 5GHz bands.

Depending on how crowded your home is, a dual-band router might still work out, but a fully wireless mesh system, like the Netgear Orbi or ARRIS mAX, definitely wont cut it.

With that, let check out the current list of the best routers you can get right now for the Oculus Quest 2 with Air Link.

Best Wi-Fi 6 Routers for Oculus Quest 2 with Air Link [or any fully wireless VR headset]

This list uses the review order, with the latest on top. The numbers in front of their names are just numerical and not meant to be the ranking. Youll note that these are all traditional tri-band routers.

6. TP-Link Archer AX90: A simple Tri-band Wi-Fi 6 router with lots of bandwidth

Best VR Wi-Fi Routers: The TP-Link Archer AX90 is a well-performing and straightforward tri-band Wi-Fi 6 router.

The TP-Link Archer AX90, for the most part, is a simple and well-performance router.

Thanks to the excellent performance and the tri-band setup, itll make an excellent standalone broadcaster for those who need one for virtual desktop applications.

5. Asus RT-AX92U: The litter Wi-Fi 6 tri-band router that could, as a single broadcaster or part of a mesh system

Best VR Wi-Fi Routers: The Asus RT-AX92U is one little cute tri-band router that packs a huge bunch.

The Asus RT-AX92U is like the mini version of the GT-AX1100 below. Its a mini tri-band gaming router.

If you live in a relatively small home, itll make an excellent single broadcaster. But those in a large house can also use it as part of an AiMesh system. And when using wired backhaul, you can dedicate its 5GHz-2 band for VR.

4. TP-Link Archer AX11000: A hip chicken who thinks hes a duck

Best VR Wi-Fi Routers: The TP-Link AX11000 is a massive router with eight removable antennas.

The TP-Link Archer AX11000 gaming router is not what TP-Link wants you to believe since its not a gaming router.

But it looks great and has plenty of bandwidth via its two 5GHz bands. Itll make an excellent router for wireless VR.

3. Ubiquiti AmpliFi Alien: The one-of-a-kind tri-band mesh-ready Wi-Fi 6 router

The AmpliFi Alien is a bit weird. In a good way. The design makes it somewhat of a router for VR since its a bit out of this world. Its not a gaming router, so its best for those using virtual desktop apps.

This one is also a tri-band router, and you have the option to get two to form an Alien mesh system. Just make sure you use wired backhaul.

2. Netgear RAX200: A sleek-looking tri-band router

The Netgear RAX200 is the rival of the Asus GT-AX11000 below. This router is a powerful tri-band Wi-Fi 6 machine with a ton of bandwidth.

However, its not a gaming router, so its more suitable for those needing a broadcaster for virtual desktop or alike.

1. Asus GT-AX11000: A powerful gamer-edition Wi-Fi 6 router with mesh capability

The Asus GT-AX11000 is a top-tier tri-band gaming router. You can easily dedicate one of its two 5GHz bands to a VR Wi-Fi network, and the plenty of gaming features will help gamers, too.

The good thing about this router is that, like the RT-AX92U above, its also part of Asuss AiMesh ecosystem. So, you can use it with other broadcasters to form a mesh. Just make sure you use wired backhaul.

The takeaway

When it comes to virtual reality, bandwidth is the key. Moving from a wired connection [USB] to a wireless one is significant. But if you understand the concept of how to dedicate the most bandwidth to the VR set, youll be able to get that done with a satisfying result.

Things will get easier down the road when VR sets that are more optimized for a wireless connection and the support for Wi-Fi 6E become more commonplace.