5 ms·

5GHz support on an ESP32 is something everyone has been waiting for for a loooong time. So, that would be good I guess? But in general, 802.11ax is orthogonal

5GHz support on an ESP32 is something everyone has been waiting for for a loooong time. So, that would be good I guess? But in general, 802.11ax is orthogonal to 'non-stop battery-based connectivity', so we'll have to wait and see how well that works out. (Assuming they ship this one, and assuming anyone will be able to buy one in the next 2 years or so.)

ihattendorf 4y ago
Target Wake Time (TWT) in 802.11ax could actually substantially increase battery life for devices that need to remain connected and can't modem/deep sleep.
- MarkovChain242 4y ago
  Yes, could, assuming that the AP supports it -- and nobody seems to be in a big hurry to implement that. After all, 802.11h has been standardized since, like, 2018 or so, with exactly zero mass-market support so far. Absent a proper 'how to join the local Wi-Fi network' story, IoT connectivity is converging around LoRaWAN anyway. As I said, I like the 5GHz support, but spinning it as 'power efficient' is a reach.
  - R0b0t1 4y ago
    I see lots of LoRaWAN for sale, but nothing really using it. There's 802 series standards for WiFi-compatible-ish packet switched radio on the ISM bands, I suspect that will get more traction once it's finally in real products.
  - Havoc 4y ago
    >nobody seems to be in a big hurry to implement that. Just checked & my 2 year+ old APs do support it according to Asus website (Asus RT-AX92U)...so can't be that uncommon
    - londons_explore 4y ago
      The problem is, until nearly all networks support it, nobody can release a product that relies on it. If you buy a battery powered IoT doorbell and it's box claims a battery life of 1 year, but then the battery is dead in a week because your router doesn't support the right 802.11 extensions, are you going to blame the router maker or the doorbell?
      - Havoc 4y ago
        These things are always chicken & egg. Has to start somewhere & seems like good progress
  - Kadin 4y ago
    Really? Don't think I've ever seen a LoraWAN product in the wild. Lots of ZigBee stuff, lots of ESP8266-based WiFi stuff (which generally requires a crummy phone app to perform the initial WiFi setup), and a bit of Insteon stuff hanging on despite whatever the heck is going on with the company.
    - gh02t 4y ago
      I have seen farmers using LoRaWAN, and The Things Network has pretty good availability in Europe. It's not really for smart home uses, more industrial/long range applications.
    - lawrenceduk 4y ago
      We have 10s of thousands of street lights using LoRaWAN amongst other things. It’s very much being used! Just might not be that obvious.
    - ClumsyPilot 4y ago
      I have a lorawan weather station, it's for outdoor long-range stuff
      - gh02t 4y ago
        I'm curious, what station are you using?
    - SEJeff 4y ago
      LoraWAN sort of dominates agriculture IoT (the S is for Security) market. I guess it depends on your target area, but it is alive and very well. Even if you aren't a blockchain fan, Helium[1] is still alive and well. It is helping spread LoraWAN even further. I live in central KY and have several helium networks near me. Never in a million years did I expect blockchain to end up on farms in Central KY, but here we are. [1] https://www.helium.com https://www.helium.com
  - oasisbob 4y ago
    Portions of 802.11h like DFS are widely supported by pretty much all manufacturers. Without DFS, many of the 5GHz channels are unavailable for use, so there are strong incentives for manufacturers to implement support. Other WiFi features which allow power savings like APSD (802.11e) have widespread support too.

ihattendorf 4y ago

Target Wake Time (TWT) in 802.11ax could actually substantially increase battery life for devices that need to remain connected and can't modem/deep sleep.

MarkovChain242 4y ago
Yes, could, assuming that the AP supports it -- and nobody seems to be in a big hurry to implement that. After all, 802.11h has been standardized since, like, 2018 or so, with exactly zero mass-market support so far. Absent a proper 'how to join the local Wi-Fi network' story, IoT connectivity is converging around LoRaWAN anyway. As I said, I like the 5GHz support, but spinning it as 'power efficient' is a reach.
- R0b0t1 4y ago
  I see lots of LoRaWAN for sale, but nothing really using it. There's 802 series standards for WiFi-compatible-ish packet switched radio on the ISM bands, I suspect that will get more traction once it's finally in real products.
- Havoc 4y ago
  >nobody seems to be in a big hurry to implement that. Just checked & my 2 year+ old APs do support it according to Asus website (Asus RT-AX92U)...so can't be that uncommon
  - londons_explore 4y ago
    The problem is, until nearly all networks support it, nobody can release a product that relies on it. If you buy a battery powered IoT doorbell and it's box claims a battery life of 1 year, but then the battery is dead in a week because your router doesn't support the right 802.11 extensions, are you going to blame the router maker or the doorbell?
    - Havoc 4y ago
      These things are always chicken & egg. Has to start somewhere & seems like good progress
- Kadin 4y ago
  Really? Don't think I've ever seen a LoraWAN product in the wild. Lots of ZigBee stuff, lots of ESP8266-based WiFi stuff (which generally requires a crummy phone app to perform the initial WiFi setup), and a bit of Insteon stuff hanging on despite whatever the heck is going on with the company.
  - gh02t 4y ago
    I have seen farmers using LoRaWAN, and The Things Network has pretty good availability in Europe. It's not really for smart home uses, more industrial/long range applications.
  - lawrenceduk 4y ago
    We have 10s of thousands of street lights using LoRaWAN amongst other things. It’s very much being used! Just might not be that obvious.
  - ClumsyPilot 4y ago
    I have a lorawan weather station, it's for outdoor long-range stuff
    - gh02t 4y ago
      I'm curious, what station are you using?
  - SEJeff 4y ago
    LoraWAN sort of dominates agriculture IoT (the S is for Security) market. I guess it depends on your target area, but it is alive and very well. Even if you aren't a blockchain fan, Helium[1] is still alive and well. It is helping spread LoraWAN even further. I live in central KY and have several helium networks near me. Never in a million years did I expect blockchain to end up on farms in Central KY, but here we are. [1] https://www.helium.com https://www.helium.com
- oasisbob 4y ago
  Portions of 802.11h like DFS are widely supported by pretty much all manufacturers. Without DFS, many of the 5GHz channels are unavailable for use, so there are strong incentives for manufacturers to implement support. Other WiFi features which allow power savings like APSD (802.11e) have widespread support too.