Which wifi routers have the highest transmit power

Hardware Questions and Recommendations
1

which wifi routers are the most powerful?
let's compare models running openwrt since it's easy to find the maximum transmit power of each model.

these are the maximum transmit power per band.
for example United States:
2.4 GHz: Up to 1000 mW (30 dBm) is allowed for channels 1-111.
5 GHz: Channels like 149-161 allow up to 4000 mW (36 dBm) under certain conditions

Short overview of the ETSI standard:
– 2.4 GHz: 100 mW (20 dBm)
– 5 GHz channel 36 to 64: 200 mW (23 dBm)
– 5 GHz channel 100 to 140: 1000 mW (30 dBm)
– 5 GHz channel 155 to 171: 4000 mW (36 dBm)

2

It's a mistake to think about looking for more power because it's not the smartest option when the installation site is large, with walls and lots of people around. It's best to have several low-power access points.

3

Sorry this was never legal. Even 10 years ago when that webpage as baked

See here.
https://web.git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/wens/wireless-regdb.git/tree/db.txt

Microwave oven is 60dBm , not a router running openwrt though.

4

what is the maximum legal transmit power on the 5ghz band?
on 2.4ghz i know for sure is 1000mw or 1 watt

i would like to know the power of openwrt running wifi routers. maybe we can add a transmit power field on the Techdata database

5

Depends on the place, 20dBm EIRP in EU, less than 0.1W by the antenna amp factor.

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6

are there routers with powerful transmitters?

7

Those sold in Australia show the specifications.

8

have the devices receiving the signal equally powerful transmitters ?

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9

Which is relevant for most indoor cases. Maybe the OP can install on a tower? :man_shrugging:

10

when router sends data to the mobile device you need quite high transmission power from the router and the mobile to have a capable/sensitive? receiver.

11

I assumed this was an outdoor scenario, but I was only guessing :wink:

you know internet isn't about blindly sending data, right ?

what do you think happens if your router have a 300m transmission radius, but the same radius for the client's 30m ?

12

i have a quite powerful router, this is why i am asking. i want to see how many openwrt routers have powerful transmitters. believe me the difference a powerful router in a house make is big

13

you completely missed the point, oh well, have fun ...

14

Repeating what i stated- check Australia or Brasil router specs towards 30dBm/1W transmissions. Manufacturers are a bit timid sharing useless stats nobody can legally achieve in other places.

Electric power does not mean antenna is constructed in any meaningful way.

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15

Generally true, however it’s also relevant for router to router communications (e.g over-the-air 802.11r), where 10/15% power difference may greatly facilitate router placement.

I found that my Archer C7 v2 have better range than my WAX206s (200mW) - which I attribute to different antenna factors… as @brada4 points out

16

Improving throughput in one direction only can also be desirable. There is much greater download than upload traffic on my network (around 15:1).

My primary desktop client transmits at 22 dBm and receives data from a moderately distant AP. Upload from this client to the AP is ~420 Mbps at AP transmit powers of 22 dBm or above. Download from the AP to the client is ~475 Mbps with the AP transmit power at 30 dBm and 28 dBm, but drops to ~420 Mbps with the AP transmitting at 22 dBm.

I run the AP at 28 dBm to maximize download throughput to the less powerful transmitter in my desktop client.

The difference is not large in my case, but may be greater for clients with even less powerful transmitters.

Of course, there is another nugget here for the OP. An AP "shouting" at 30dBm+ does not necessarily improve throughput.

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