IEEE 802.11be-2024 or 802.11be, dubbed Extremely High Throughput (EHT), is a wireless networking standard in the IEEE 802.11 set of protocols which is designated Wi-Fi 7 by the Wi-Fi Alliance. It is built upon Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax), focusing on WLAN indoor and outdoor operation with stationary and pedestrian speeds in the 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz frequency bands.

In a single band, throughput reaches a theoretical maximum of 23 Gbit/s, although actual results are much lower.

Development of the 802.11be amendment began with an initial draft in March 2021 and the final version was published on 22 July 2025. Despite this, numerous products were announced in 2022 based on draft standards, with retail availability in early 2023. On 8 January 2024, the Wi-Fi Alliance introduced its Wi-Fi Certified 7 program to certify Wi-Fi 7 devices as the technical requirements were essentially complete.

Core features

The following are core features that have been approved as of Draft 3.0:

4096-QAM (4K-QAM) enables each symbol to carry 12 bits rather than 10 bits, resulting in 20% higher theoretical transmission rates than Wi-Fi 6's 1024-QAM, at the same symbol or baud rate. This feature is optional for Wi-Fi 7 certification.

Contiguous and non-contiguous 320/160+160 MHz and 240/160+80 MHz bandwidth. This feature is optional for Wi-Fi 7 certification.

Multi-link Operation (MLO), a feature that increases capacity by simultaneously sending and receiving data across different frequency bands and channels. (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz). This feature is mandatory for Wi-Fi 7 certification. Wi-Fi 7 builds on the technology of Wi-Fi 6 through the introduction of Multi-Link Operation (MLO), allowing users to connect to 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands simultaneously.

8 spatial streams and Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) protocol enhancements. (Initial 16 but removed from the specs in 2024).

Flexible Channel Utilization – Interference currently can negate an entire Wi-Fi channel. With preamble puncturing, a portion of the channel that is affected by interference can be blocked off while continuing to use the rest of the channel. This feature is mandatory for Wi-Fi 7 certification.

Multiple Resource Unit (MRU) – Improves OFDMA technology from Wi-Fi 6, allowing a single user to have multiple Resource Units. This feature is mandatory for Wi-Fi 7 certification.

Candidate features

The main candidate features mentioned in the 802.11be Project Authorization Request (PAR) are:

Multi-Access Point (AP) Coordination (e.g. coordinated and joint transmission), Enhanced link adaptation and retransmission protocol (e.g. Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ)).