Wi-Fi link speed vs internet speed

Wi-Fi link speed is the raw radio rate between your device and the router. Internet speed is how fast data actually flows between you and the internet. They measure different things, so a laptop showing a 1,200 Mbps link and a 200 Mbps speed test result isn't a fault. Link speed is a ceiling for the Wi-Fi hop only. It's always higher than what you can actually transfer over Wi-Fi, and it says nothing about your internet plan.

What link speed actually measures

The number your device shows is the PHY rate: the rate at which the radio sends bits over the air at that moment. Apple's Wi-Fi specifications define it as the highest rate at which a device can transmit data over Wi-Fi. That figure includes everything the radio sends, not only your data.

The figure depends on three things:

• The Wi-Fi standard both ends support. Wi-Fi 5, 6, 6E or 7.
• The channel width. 20, 40, 80 or 160 MHz. Wider channels carry more.
• The signal quality right now. Strong, clean signal allows denser encoding. Weak signal forces the radio down to slower, sturdier rates.

That's why familiar numbers keep turning up. They're the maximums for common two-antenna devices. From Apple's tables for its own devices:

Connection	Maximum link rate
Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) at 2.4 GHz, 20 MHz	144 Mbps
Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) at 5 GHz, 80 MHz	866 Mbps
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) at 5 GHz, 80 MHz	1,200 Mbps
Wi-Fi 6, 6E or 7 at 5 or 6 GHz, 160 MHz (newer iPhone and Mac models)	2,400 Mbps

A device shows these figures only when it's close to the router with a clean signal. Across the house, the same laptop might report a few hundred Mbps.

Why real Wi-Fi throughput is lower

Even with a perfect link, you won't transfer data at the link rate. Wi-Fi is half-duplex: a radio can't send and receive at the same moment, and the router and the devices on a channel largely take turns to transmit. Each turn carries overhead for timing, acknowledgements and error checking. Retries after interference also take airtime.

As a rule of thumb, real throughput over Wi-Fi lands somewhere around half to two-thirds of the link rate on a good connection, and less on a busy or weak one. So an 866 Mbps link might move 400–550 Mbps. A 1,200 Mbps link might move 600–800 Mbps.

Then the internet has its own limits. If your plan is 200 Mbps, that's the most you'll see, however fast the Wi-Fi link is. For the difference between capacity and what you actually get, see bandwidth vs throughput.

A worked example: Apple TV 4K

Apple lists the Wi-Fi 6 radio in the second- and third-generation Apple TV 4K at a maximum of 1,200 Mbps on 5 GHz with 80 MHz channels. Apple also recommends just 25 Mbps of internet speed for 4K streaming.

The link rate could drop by 95% and still carry a 4K stream. So when a 4K stream buffers on a device showing a healthy link, the cause is rarely the link rate. It's usually signal dropping in and out, interference, or other traffic. The Apple TV speed guide covers that case.

How to see your link speed

• Windows 11: Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi > your network's properties. Look for "Link speed (Receive/Transmit)".
• macOS: Hold the Option key and click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar. "Tx Rate" is the current link rate, alongside the channel and signal strength (RSSI).
• Android: Settings > Wi-Fi, then tap the connected network. Many phones show "Link speed" or separate transmit and receive speeds. The exact menu varies by maker.
• iPhone and iPad: iOS doesn't show the link rate.

Check it where you normally use the device, not next to the router.

Use both numbers together

Compare your link speed, your speed test result on Wi-Fi, and your plan. The pattern tells you where the limit is:

What you see	What it means
Link speed far above plan, test close to plan	Everything is working. Wi-Fi isn't holding you back
Link speed far above plan, test well below plan	The bottleneck is elsewhere: router, ISP, the device, or busy times. Test on Ethernet to check
Link speed below about twice your plan	Wi-Fi is probably the limit at that spot. Expect test results under your plan
Link speed below your plan	Wi-Fi is definitely the limit. Improve the signal or use a cable

The "twice your plan" line is a rule of thumb that follows from Wi-Fi throughput running at roughly half to two-thirds of the link rate.

To check, run the SpeedMetric speed test on Wi-Fi in the spot you care about, then again on Ethernet or next to the router. The Wi-Fi speed test guide explains how to set up a fair comparison. If Wi-Fi is the weak link, start with 5 GHz vs 2.4 GHz, since moving bands is often the quickest win, then read why Wi-Fi is slower than Ethernet for the rest.