GT-AXE11000 hits the FCC

[gfondeur]

RvR 2.4 GHz @ 20 MHz, 5 GHz @ 80 MHz and 6 GHz at 160MHz channel bandwidths. I think that will represent the settings that a majority of users will end up using.

I like the sound of that

 

[nanochip]

Yes I have it set to 20/40/80/160 MHz. With Enable 160 Mhz checked/on and with Auto select channel including DFS channels unchecked/off. Though that last option may be irrelevant when 160 MHz is enabled.

I haven't noticed such behavior with a Netgear RAX120 configured to 160MHz, so had assumed that this AXE11000 behavior wasn't caused by DFS scanning. Perhaps a different implementation or different timing of the scanning.

Dropping back to the RAX120 @ 160MHz will probably be a better option for me than reconfiguring the AXE11000 to 80Mhz. Transfer speeds seem to be more consistent with the RAX120 too. It may be time to return the AXE11000 and revisit 6E later this year when other router/AP options are available.

It’s not possible to enable 160 MHz in the 5 GHz band without using DFS. The lower 160 MHz channel includes channels 36-64, and 52-64 are DFS. The upper 160 MHz channel uses channels 100-128, which are all DFS. and 120-128 is the weather band in the USA, and you’re likely going to get kicked off of this channel quickly, especially if there’s weather radar in your area. The fcc in 2020 did open up additional channels to create a 3rd 160 MHz channel, but as far as I can tell, no router on the market has enabled these in their firmware.

 

[skriefal]

I'm aware of the DFS limitations. Only noting that I haven't encountered periods of dropped connectivity due to DFS scanning with the RAX120. But seemingly have encountered that with the GT-AXE11000.

The DFS limitations are why I bought the 6GHz-enabled GT-AXE11000. But it seems that Windows 10 and possibly Intel's AX210 driver aren't ready to use 6GHz with authentication enabled. If that worked then I would use 6GHz for high-volume traffic and would reconfigure 5GHz to 20/40/80 MHz channel width for use by other devices.

I've instead decided to return the GT-AXE11000. I'll keep a watch on other 6E router/AP options and on Windows/Intel driver/WPA support. The latter will likely be resolved by the end of the year. Perhaps (I can hope) the additional 5 GHz channels might also be supported by then.

 

[nanochip]

Understood. I hope the market figures 6E out soon. I empathize with the feeling of being an early adopter only to realize the hardware is half baked. That’s how I felt last year when I got the ax89x only to realize it was unstable, and in fact is outperformed by cheaper routers such as the ax86u in 80 MHz mode. Also, my experience with the Rax120 was a disaster. The 5Ghz throughput would drop to 1 mbps within 5 minutes of operation, no firmware update fixed the problem, so I had to return it.

Ever since then, Ive just taken a wait and see approach with Wi-Fi 6 or 6e router gear because to me Asus’s and Linksys’s marketing hype didn’t live up to the reality.

Maybe the 6 GHz experience isn’t all Asus’s fault (maybe intel or Microsoft are also to blame) but I would expect that a router and a client chip advertised as 6E would interoperate at 6 GHz with WPA 2 or 3 enabled without any major problems.

 

[avtella]

You need a feature called SAE Hash to Element (H2E) for WPA3 on 6Ghz as it's part of the requirements on that band. It is not available on the current Intel driver. To get WPA3 on 6Ghz you need an additional intermediary NDA protected Intel driver and Windows 10 21H1 preview along with that. At this point I wouldn't expect WPA3 or official 6 Ghz support in Intel drivers till after the Spring update releases in May or June. Likely a beta driver might release in the meantime for 21H1 Preview with out of the box 6Ghz and H2E support ...

 

[ulaganath]

Understood. I hope the market figures 6E out soon. I empathize with the feeling of being an early adopter only to realize the hardware is half baked. That’s how I felt last year when I got the ax89x only to realize it was unstable, and in fact is outperformed by cheaper routers such as the ax86u in 80 MHz mode. Also, my experience with the Rax120 was a disaster. The 5Ghz throughput would drop to 1 mbps within 5 minutes of operation, no firmware update fixed the problem, so I had to return it.

Ever since then, Ive just taken a wait and see approach with Wi-Fi 6 or 6e router gear because to me Asus’s and Linksys’s marketing hype didn’t live up to the reality.

Maybe the 6 GHz experience isn’t all Asus’s fault (maybe intel or Microsoft are also to blame) but I would expect that a router and a client chip advertised as 6E would interoperate at 6 GHz with WPA 2 or 3 enabled without any major problems.

So RAX120 is not worth upgrade 6E releases on top of line and no clients yet would consume 2021 to release clients
Does the router not even performance stable on ac 5Ghz or ax is unstable

 

[thiggins]

So RAX120 is not worth upgrade 6E releases on top of line and no clients yet would consume 2021 to release clients
Does the router not even performance stable on ac 5Ghz or ax is unstable

The Samsung S21 Ultra supports 6E and WPA3. The Intel AX210 supports 6E, but only OWE right now.

Performance on both 5 and 6 GHz seems stable. https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wir...asus-gt-axe11000-rog-rapture?showall=&start=1

But, yes, it's early days for 6E. I would not have spent $550 on the router for my personal use. There will be more and less expensive options available later this year.

 

[ulaganath]

True exactly getting 6E as extender when enough mobile or portable device clients exist which would take atleast complete 2021 and may be mid 2022 for mass production.

So i seen 20h1 have issues with 6E and wpa3 what about 20h2 is that also dont have support.

 

[Oscar0411]

Microsoft just updated AX210 driver on Microsoft insider program OS, can follow ASUS FAQ to DL or update MS insider program directly to use 6E band now, no need to modify registers anymore!!

[Wireless Router] How to connect ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 6GHz SSID with Intel ® AX210 WLAN Card? | Official Support | ROG Global (asus.com)

 

[RMerlin]

Microsoft just updated AX210 driver on Microsoft insider program OS, can follow ASUS FAQ to DL or update MS insider program directly to use 6E band now, no need to modify registors anymore!!

This involves installing a beta version of Windows. I strongly recommend against doing this on a production system where stability is important to you...