Anyone who’s used a laptop knows what “good Wi-Fi” versus “bad Wi-fi” feels like. Your home network is fast and reliable, whereas that coffee shop connection can be sketchy at best. While it’s true that some laptops seem faster than others, it might be more precise to say that some laptops fare better on bad Wi-Fi than others, whereas some perform better under optimal conditions.
Also: We tested 7 business laptops for the fastest Wi-Fi speed – the winner surprised us
We tested seven different laptops’ connections by measuring their raw throughput capability across distances and physical interference, as well as performance across all three Wi-Fi bands: 2.4 GHz, 5.0 GHz, and 6.0 GHz. Rather surprisingly, a different laptop got the top score for each band.
2.4 GHz vs. 5.0 GHz vs. 6.0 GHz
You’ve no doubt seen different bandwidth options on Wi-Fi networks, so what’s the difference? To put it simply, the lower the band, the slower the speed, but the better the distance it covers. 6.0 GHz (utilized by laptops with Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7) is very fast, but you need to be close to the router to take full advantage of it.
2.4 GHz is slower, but the range is much more forgiving, even if you’re far from the router, behind multiple walls, or even on a different floor. So, in that case, you might have better luck connecting on a (technically slower) 2.4 GHz band than a 6.0 GHz band that’s struggling to get through the wall.
The MacBook Pro M5 had the best throughput on the 2.4 GHz band, suggesting that it maintains a good overall connection with the least amount of drop-off, particularly in suboptimal networks. Good news for Mac users in large offices, at the coffee shop, or on airport Wi-Fi.
Also: Wi-Fi 7 adoption in the US quadrupled in a year – is it time to upgrade?
However, it scored the lowest on the 5.0 GHz band, meaning that on the high end, other laptops surpass it when it comes to especially fast connections under perfect conditions.
Interestingly, the results were inverted for the laptop that scored the best. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 14), one of our favorite laptops of the year for its modular build, performed the best when it came to average throughput across all three bands but, notably, scored the worst in the 2.4 GHz band — nearly half of what the MacBook Pro was able to get.
When it came to the 6.0 GHz band, results across all seven laptops were mixed and overall much closer together than on the other two bands (except for the MacBook Pro, which was last after the results were weighted).
Other laptops that stood out for excellent Wi-Fi throughput include the Microsoft Surface Laptop for Business and the Dell XPS 16, both of which are powerhouse business devices with exceptional connectivity. The Microsoft Surface for Business scored right around the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 in every metric — and even surpassed it on the 2.4 GHz band, implying it might fare better under some suboptimal conditions.
The MSI Prestige AI 16 is also noteworthy for being blazing fast at the top end, making it a great option for an office with reliable high-speed Wi-Fi that doesn’t need to cover a wide physical area.
Also: The best Wi-Fi routers of 2026: Expert tested and reviewed
It’s important to note that these metrics are all theoretical to some degree. In actual everyday use, a throughput number within 10 Mbps of another doesn’t translate to any noticeable impact on the user. All seven of these laptops performed very well with capable, modern connectivity hardware.
We were primarily interested in locating patterns where certain laptops pulled ahead in some situations and were able to see that with the aforementioned results. In the end, all seven of these laptops are excellent choices for different business users, depending on what features are being prioritized.
How we tested these laptops
Our lab engineer, Schylar Breitenstein, used automated Python data collection scripts and the widely used network testing tool iPerf3 to test Wi-Fi connectivity with the Netgear Nighthawk RS700S router (which won our July 2026 Lab Award for widest coverage).
Also: Slow home internet? Here are 3 things I always check first to regain fast Wi-Fi speeds
We placed a router at a fixed location in our lab throughout testing to establish a local area network (LAN). It was also isolated from the internet, with no Ethernet connection from the modem to the router, to eliminate ISP-related variables such as bottlenecks, traffic congestion, and jitter. On this network, a high-end computer (the MSI Vector 16 HX AI) acted as the server, with the laptops as the clients.
About the Author
