If you’re into virtual gaming — or virtual desktop, or any virtual apps for that matter — you must have been aware of Oculus’s Air Link. With luck, maybe you’ve 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, you’ll use the headset’s 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.
Dong’s note: I first published this piece on May 21, 2021, and last updated it on October 5 to add more relevant information.
Best VR Wi-Fi Routers: Understanding virtual reality’s bandwidth requirement
When it comes to VR and bandwidth, the quick take is the more, the better. VR is easily the most bandwidth-demanding application — there’s 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:
Again these are ballpark numbers, but the idea is you need a lot of bandwidth. However, don’t 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, it’s the USB connection that handles this bandwidth.
And in this case, chances are you will use USB 3.0 or higher — so you’ll have around 5Gbps [5000Mbps] or more at your disposal — that’s plenty. In return, you have to stay close to the computer and risk tripping on the wire.
[And with certain headsets, you have no other option.]
In this case, the VR app doesn’t need more Wi-Fi than any other app. 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 there’s no special bandwidth requirement, other than, well, a fast broadband connection and a good router.
Things change, though, with Oculus’s new Air Link feature. It opens up to a new and more accessible way to be in the virtual world.
That’s 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 router’s entire 5GHz band’s 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, conservatively, you should only expect no more than around 800Mbps of sustained speed out of a 5GHz Wi-Fi band. And that’s enough for just one wireless VR application to perform at its best, with the highest resolutions.
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.
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. Let’s find out more about the latter first.
Cool VR Wi-Fi trick: Turn your computer into the broadcaster
That’s 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.
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 that’s a good question.
Technically, you can use any Wi-Fi adapter for this job, such as one among the plenty of USB options, but I’d 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.
If you go with a USB, get a high-end USB 3.0 stick. After that, follow the detailed steps in this post to add the card to your computer.
Read this Wi-Fi 6/E Upgrade: Here's How You Can Add It To Your PC Today
By the way, if your computer doesn’t connect to your router using a network cable — it should! — 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 you’ve 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.
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.
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 router’s 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 won’t cut it.
With that, let’s check out the current list of the best routers you can get right now for the Oculus Quest 2 with Air Link.
Other routers will work, too. It’s just a matter of degrees. Again, the key here is to give the connection between your computer and the VR set the most Wi-Fi bandwidth.
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. You’ll note that these are all traditional tri-band routers.
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, it’ll make an excellent standalone broadcaster for those who need one for virtual desktop applications.
Reliable and fast Wi-Fi performance, excellent range
Tri-band, 160MHz, and a 2.5Gbps Multi-Gig port
Standard web interface with optional mobile app
Mobile app, login account, and a monthly subscription required for advanced features
Relatively slow NAS performance when hosting a portable drive
5. Asus RT-AX92U: The litter Wi-Fi 6 tri-band router that could, as a single broadcaster or part of a mesh system
The Asus RT-AX92U is like the mini version of the GT-AX1100 below. It’s a mini tri-band gaming router.
If you live in a relatively small home, it’ll 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.
Compact design, tri-band specs
Good performance, large coverage
Excellent set of features, including online protection, WTFast VPN for gamers, and system-wide Guest network when working as a mesh
Link Aggregation and Dual-WAN support, wall-mountable
Wi-Fi 6 available only on one of the 5GHz bands
The TP-Link Archer AX11000 gaming router is not what TP-Link wants you to believe since it’s not a gaming router.
But it looks great and has plenty of bandwidth via its two 5GHz bands. It’ll make an excellent router for wireless VR.
Fast and reliable Wi-Fi performance
2.5 Gbps WAN port with eight Gigabit LAN ports
160 MHz channel bandwidth support
Excellent, Antivirus, QoS, and Parental Control features
Robust full web user interface, helpful mobile app
Eye-catching and convenient hardware design
USB-C ready, wall-mountable
Misleading gaming veneer, no actual gaming-specific features
No multi-gig LAN port, bulky design
Not mesh-ready [at launch]
Artificial" "Game" items make the interface unnecessarily confusing
Mobile app requires a login account
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 it’s a bit out of this world. It’s not a gaming router, so it’s 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.
Reliable and fast Wi-Fi with excellent coverage
Sleek design, sufficient web interface, and well-designed mobile app
Convenient and free Teleport VPN
Built-in ad-blocking feature
Limited in conventional settings and features
Unconventional tri-band setup with no dedicated backhaul when used in a mesh setup
VPN requires an app or an Android emulator to work on regular computers
No Multi-Gig port, not wall-mountable
Read this Ubiquiti AmpliFi Alien Review: A Peculiarly Good Wi-Fi 6 Router
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, it’s not a gaming router, so it’s more suitable for those needing a broadcaster for virtual desktop or alike.
Reliable and fast performance
Helpful mobile app, robust web UI
Multi-Gig support [2.5Gbps]
Comparatively super-expensive with nothing extra
Shallow Wi-Fi customization, spartan feature set
Comparatively low CPU clock speed
No 5Gbps or 10Gbps LAN port, not wall-mountable
Read this Netgear RAX200 Review: Nice and Super-fast but Overpriced
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, it’s also part of Asus’s AiMesh ecosystem. So, you can use it with other broadcasters to form a mesh. Just make sure you use wired backhaul.
Fast and reliable Wi-Fi performance with an excellent range
Lots of useful features for home users
Unique and effective settings for online gaming
Multi-Gig network port, Dual-WAN, Link Aggregation
Bulky design, loose antennas, non-wall-mountable
Fewer LAN ports than the previous model
Long boot-up time, buggy [at launch], fluctuating Wi-Fi throughputs
Read this Asus GT-AX11000 Wi-Fi 6 Router Review: Gamers' Delight
The takeaway
When it comes to virtual reality, the connection between your VR computer and the headset is the key, and moving from the USB cord to Wi-Fi puts a lot of stress on the latter.
That said, understanding the concept and dedicating the most possible Wi-Fi bandwidth to the VR set will help deliver satisfying results.
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.