{"id":231714,"date":"2026-01-07T05:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T05:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/231714\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T05:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T05:04:10","slug":"got-wi-fi-headaches-light-based-li-fi-sounds-like-a-bright-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/231714\/","title":{"rendered":"Got Wi-FI headaches? Light-based Li-Fi sounds like a ‘bright’ idea"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Stephen Schenck \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

TL;DR<\/p>\n

Li-Fi is a wireless data system remarkably similar to Wi-Fi, but uses light to send information.
\nData rates can hit a gigabit a second, while maintaining line-of-sight privacy.
\npureLiFi is showing off a home solution for using Li-Fi to send data through windows, for outside 5G reception.<\/p>\n

Old-school smartphone fans didn\u2019t get started using a Galaxy, iPhone, or even a Nexus \u2014 back before smartphones as we know them first took form, we had the PDA. But prior to ubiquitous cellular connectivity, communication with PDAs was always a bit of a struggle. One of the more unique solutions to emerge was IrDA, employing infrared light to wirelessly transfer information between devices. Now, over 20 years later, we\u2019re wondering if light-based wireless communication could be about to make a return.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/p>\n

\"google\"google<\/a><\/p>\n

This year at CES<\/a>, pureLiFi is showing off its latest tech based on Li-Fi. As you can probably surmise from the name, this is basically Wi-Fi that uses light, rather than radio waves, to communicate. pureLiFi has developed a tiny Li-Fi module that phone manufacturers are evaluating now, combining a miniature LED and receiver in a convenient package.<\/p>\n

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For CES, the company is demonstrating the tech incorporated into a phone case, but there\u2019s no reason this couldn\u2019t be baked right into a phone itself. Maybe the coolest thing about it, though, is just how seamlessly this ends up working \u2014 your phone doesn\u2019t even have to know anything special about Li-Fi in order to use it.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because the underlying communication structure of Li-Fi is the same as radio-based Wi-Fi \u2014 you know how all those flavors of Wi-Fi we\u2019ve had over the years are known as 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11ac, and so forth? Well, Li-Fi is a member of that club, too: 802.11bb<\/a>. That promises to make it incredibly easy to add to phones.<\/p>\n

Before that, though, pureLiFi is getting started with a consumer product designed to help out when you\u2019re trying to use 5G for home internet access, but have trouble getting a signal indoors.<\/p>\n

\"lifi<\/p>\n

Stephen Schenck \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

The pureLiFi Bridge XC mounts on your window and uses light to send a data signal through it \u2014 at speeds up to a gigabit a second. It even sends power wirelessly to the outside unit, so you don\u2019t have to worry about separate power wires. Then, it can connected to a 5G access point you\u2019ve set up wherever you\u2019re able to get a strong signal.<\/p>\n

The company is also showing off the LiFi Cube Mini, which is basically your indoor access point for any Li-Fi-enabled devices. The signal it sends is largely line-of-sight (it can handle limited reflections), which pureLiFi is positioning as a privacy feature \u2014 there\u2019s no way anyone is eavesdropping remotely, like they might with radio waves. And for people living in dense urban areas, this also means avoiding Wi-Fi interference from their neighbors.<\/p>\n

Li-Fi tech has been in development for years now, but with these advancements it feels like we\u2019re finally getting to a place where it might just make sense to start deploying widely, just like we have Wi-Fi or Bluetooth in phones today. Who knows? Gigabit IrDA on steroids could end up being the alternate wireless communication method that solves your next Wi-Fi headache one day.<\/p>\n

Thank you for being part of our community. Read our\u00a0Comment Policy<\/a> before posting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stephen Schenck \/ Android Authority TL;DR Li-Fi is a wireless data system remarkably similar to Wi-Fi, but uses…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231715,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[73188,61,60,202,80],"class_list":{"0":"post-231714","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-ces-2026","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-mobile","12":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}