GT-BE98 Pro and Galaxy 6e Capable Phones

[jegesq]

It's been a long time since I've posted on SNB, but I've run into a problem that I just cannot resolve on my own, so I am looking for any advice/help/assistance anyone here may be able to offer.

For several years, I have been using an Asus GT-AXE16000 router, which most are aware is a WiFi 6e-capable device. I also am still using a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, and have had absolutely no difficulty connecting that phone to the 6ghz SSID on the AXE16000;. Works phenomenally well and when I am in the same room as the router, it's like I'm getting wired speeds. Really very nice.

So here's the problem: I recently purchased a GT-BE98 Pro, which has two 6ghz channels, and I cannot get either of them to connect with my Galaxy S21 Ultra. I'm aware that the S21Ultra is NOT WiFi7 capable, and have therefore turned off "WiFi7" in "Network" settings on the BE98Pro. I am using standard Asus firmware (version 3.0.0.6.102_37038), and no matter what settings I have adjusted, I just cannot get the Samsung S21 Ultra to connect to either of the 6ghz channels. I am aware that the S21 is not capable of connecting to 320mhz width channels, so I've set the channel widths to, variously, 160, and when that didn't work, to 80, but neither worked. On my phone I get a message variously that WiFi either "cannot connect" or sometimes get a response of "password incorrect", which I know is not the case, since I am using the same password on the 2.4 and 5ghz SSID's.

I suspect that the issue with the password being rejected/not accepted is because the BE98 Pro must be using GCMP-256 encryption, which the Asus FAQ says is an embedded feature of WiFi7.
And while the "WiFi7" switch can be toggled to seemingly turn WiFi 7 on or off in the BE98 Pro firmware settings (in "Network'), there doesn't seem to be any way to actually toggle GCMP-256 encryption on or off, and thus no way to require that the 6ghz channels on the BE98 Pro use only GCMP-128 encryption that 6e-capable devices like my S21 Ultra require.

Can anyone help with this, please? It's so frustrating to have two 6ghz channels being broadcast on this very expensive router and not be able to connect to either of them or to adjust the router to use 6e broadcast criteria only.

BTW, I am still using my GT-AXE16000, but in "Repeater" mode for the BE98 Pro (I debated setting up the AXE16000 as a mesh node, and may still do that, but for now Repeater works just fine for my purposes). The point though is that on the AXE16000 I have no difficulty at all still connecting my S21Ultra to the single 6ghz channel that is being broadcast on the AXE16000 in Repeater mode.

So, does anyone know if there is a specific configuration for the BE98Pro that will have it replicate the AXE-16000 6ghz channel settings? If so, I've not yet figured out how to do so, and any and all help would therefore be greatly appreciated. .

 

[Gregory Phillips]

I have an S23U and don't have to do anything special to connect to the 6ghz radio. Now once I move out of range of that radio it will connect to the 5ghz radio and stay there and when I come back in range it will connect to the 5ghz radio and remain unless I manually tell it to connect to the 6ghz radio but once connected it will stay there while in range.

 

[jegesq]

I have an S23U and don't have to do anything special to connect to the 6ghz radio. Now once I move out of range of that radio it will connect to the 5ghz radio and stay there and when I come back in range it will connect to the 5ghz radio and remain unless I manually tell it to connect to the 6ghz radio but once connected it will stay there while in range.

Thank you but your reply really has nothing to do with what I posted and it is not helpful. At. All.

 

[sfx2000]

Best I can offer is the following

1) Common SSID across the three bands
2) WPA3 for 6Ghz, and WPA2/3 (if you have clients that cannot support WPA2) with common passphrases

This should get you close...

 

[WiFiphenom]

GCMP-256 encryption is dependent on whether WiFi 7 is enabled or not. If you turn off WiFi 7, it doesn't use the new GCMP-256. The only reason I know this is because there used to be a way to see the encryption under the Wireless settings, but they removed that ability with an update.

 

[jegesq]

Best I can offer is the following

1) Common SSID across the three bands
2) WPA3 for 6Ghz, and WPA2/3 (if you have clients that cannot support WPA2) with common passphrases

This should get you close...

Thanks. The BE98 Pro firmware only allows WPA3 for 6ghz radios. While there is a dropdown selector that makes it appear one can change this it doesn't allow any other level for the 6ghz radios, only WPA3. If I recall, that is also the same setting used on theAXE16000's 6ghz, to which my S21 connects without issue. So I don't think that is what is blocking the connection on the BE98 Pro 6ghz radios.

Also, I am not using a single SSID, whuch is what I assume you mean when you say "common" SSID. I use separate SSIDs because I have a lot of IOT devices (more than 120) and many do not play nice with combined 2.4-5ghz single SSID. And each band uses the same passphrase. Never been a problem and I just don't see that as the way forward with the 6ghz isdue on the BE98. But thanks for the thoughts.

 

[jegesq]

GCMP-256 encryption is dependent on whether WiFi 7 is enabled or not. If you turn off WiFi 7, it doesn't use the new GCMP-256. The only reason I know this is because there used to be a way to see the encryption under the Wireless settings, but they removed that ability with an update.

That is what I thought happens when WiFi7 gets deactivated. But as you say there doesn't seem to be a way to verify it.

 

[jegesq]

I also just played with some of the Developer Settings on my S21 (e.g., turned on and off "WiFi Safe Mode", disabled and enabled "Intelligent WiFi" settings, etc.), and none really had any effect.

Still able to connect to 6ghz on my AXE16000, but no go on the 6ghz radios on the BE98 Pro.

BTW, I have tried to connect with ASUS customer service by phone (using the number that comes with the BE98 Pro package materials) and I must say they are the worst....completely ignorant, and it takes forever just to get a real live human.... Honestly, I've never had to use ASUS customer service or technical support, and now I'm glad...it's the worst.

 

[Tech9]

Is this the only client with connection issue?

 

[jegesq]

Yes. Interestingly, only my Galaxy S21 Ultra seems to be unable to connect to the BE98's 6ghz radios. My wife's Galaxy S22 was able to connect to both 6ghz SSID's on the GT-BE98 Pro, even after both radios were reset to WiFi7-enabled "default" settings (and by that I mean her S22 connected with 6E). But no issues with "incorrect password", which is what my phone keeps reporting if I try to log on to either of the 6ghz radios on the BE98 Pro.

I'm really stumped by this now. My Galaxy S21 Ultra has no problem connecting to the 6E-enabled 6ghz channel on the GT-AXE16000 that is set up downstairs in our home in Repeater Mode (it repeats the 5G channel from the BE98 Pro, which is located upstairs), but my phone absolutely refuses to connect to the BE98 Pro's 6ghz radios no matter what settings I use, and by that I mean, regarless of the settings on both phone and router. Really odd.... It connects with no issues on 2.4 and 5ghz, just not the 6-1 and 6-2 ghz radios on the BE98 Pro.

I really don't want to waste a lot more time on this, and indeed my 5G connection on my phone to the BE98 Pro is certainly fast enough (1.1 Gbps), which is about the same speed my wife's phone gets on the 6ghz radios, so there doesn't seem to be much added benefit to being able to access those 6ghz radios on my phone. And we have no other WiFi 7 devices yet, so not much purpose in pursuing this at the moment. But if I go any further, a last-ditch effort to resolve this may involve resetting my phone back to factory and then reinstalling all apps....but I really want to avoid that if at all possible.

And maybe the path of least resistance is just to upgrade to a new phone, since the Galaxy S21 series is probably not going to get the next Android update nor the Samsung UI 7.0 update either. And with tariffs being threatened by you-know-who, buying a new phone before January 21, 2025 might be the way to go here.

But in the meantime, if anyone else has any suggestions, I'm open to whatever may work.

 

[Tech9]

I really don't want to waste a lot more time on this

Seems like specific client related issue. Just keep it on the 5GHz band and forget about it. You won't see any difference anyway.

 

[sfx2000]

Thanks. The BE98 Pro firmware only allows WPA3 for 6ghz radios. While there is a dropdown selector that makes it appear one can change this it doesn't allow any other level for the 6ghz radios, only WPA3. If I recall, that is also the same setting used on theAXE16000's 6ghz, to which my S21 connects without issue. So I don't think that is what is blocking the connection on the BE98 Pro 6ghz radios.

WPA3 is required for 6GHz, that's why you only see that option

WPA2/3 is optional for the other two bands, so if you want to have seamless access - that's the middle-ground solution for 2.4 and 5GHz

Best would be WPA3 for all radios if you want to have things "easy" - as it should be.

Also, I am not using a single SSID, whuch is what I assume you mean when you say "common" SSID. I use separate SSIDs because I have a lot of IOT devices (more than 120) and many do not play nice with combined 2.4-5ghz single SSID. And each band uses the same passphrase. Never been a problem and I just don't see that as the way forward with the 6ghz isdue on the BE98. But thanks for the thoughts.

If you have 120+ IOT devices, this is actually a problem - each one of those will have a hostapd entry tracking the association ID's and a conntrack entry for NAT tables...

WLAN on the 2.4 side must be a real contention zone there, depending on traffic...

Most BHR's can efficiently handle 32 to 50 devices on the LAN/WLAN side, and this is basically a resource constraint...

 

[Tech9]

If you have 120+ IOT devices, this is actually a problem

I saw it too, but decided not to talk about it. This issue is perhaps coming in another thread.

 

[sfx2000]

I saw it too, but decided not to talk about it. This issue is perhaps coming in another thread.

True that - but it's an item...

I think this is one of misplaced expectations - one is trying to fix one thing when it really is another...

I'm still of the strong opinion of single SSID/Security Passphrase for the major devices in the house - and perhaps either a secondary SSID for IoT devices, or depending on the number of them, a dedicated AP just for those...

As a side note - the Samsung Galaxy devices - it's a bit nuts, as they make a lot of different devices that are market specific, and with grey markets, one can find something that isn't intended for the market in which it is actually used - and this isn't a router problem. They'll still basically work, but folks expect the moon and the stars based on marketing...

OnePlus there, they do tend to be better there, but I can understand that folks might not want a Chinese handset...

 

[Tech9]

I'm still of the strong opinion of single SSID

I actually tried one step further with single dual-band SSID and 4x VLANs with different pass keys on my UniFi system and surprisingly it works very well. All the devices connected and got associated to their respective networks with different DHCP servers, UPnP on/off, DNS servers, filtering, etc. Just had to balance the range between 2.4GHz ang 5GHz bands with about 7dBm difference and select prefer 5GHz. Starting to like it better than separate SSIDs.

 

[pdixon0]

I'm sorry this is ridiculously basic, did you use the same SSID for the GT98 Pro that you had previously been using on the AXE16000? Did you forget the network and reconnect using the S21U?

I'm sure I read about an issue with Apple Mac's not connecting to routers if the router country code didn't match the computer country code, I doubt that is the issue here as I've had imported Galaxy's in the past (albeit a Note8 and lately an S22U but not using as ASUS router at the time) and never had a connection issue.

If you download WiFiMan on the S21U, does it shed any light on the 6e connection on the GT98 Pro that the S21U potentially doesn't like? You might be able to see if there is any broadcast difference between the AXE16000 and GT98 Pro?

I've got an S24U and a GT98 here in the UK and I'm using channel 69 on my single 6GHz band, I also have 'preffered scanning channel' enabled if that's of any help - which it probably isn't

 

[sfx2000]

I'm sure I read about an issue with Apple Mac's not connecting to routers if the router country code didn't match the computer country code,

Old issue there... just saying - goes back to 802.11d stuff which was deprecated as it was, in better words, wrong headed...

Wasn't just Mac's impacted, but pretty much everything when 3rd party router vendors misconfigured things and drove the clients off the cliff of interop...

 

[jzchen]

There is no WiFi 7 toggle on the more/most recent firmware. On the Professional tab selecting 6 GHz you should be able to scroll down towards the bottom. They have now four relevant settings:
OFDMA 802.11ax MU-MIMO
WiFi 7 OFDMA
WiFi 7 MU-MIMO
802.11ax/ac Beamforming

I have a single 6E MacBook Pro and a single WiFi 7 phone, 6-1 and 6-2 set up one for each attached