9560 MU beamforming

[abax2000]

Probe wlan packets report MU Beamforming as not available.

9560 adapter is advertised as MU-MIMO capable.

What could be the culprit?

[Khun_Doug]

There's a lot of information needed to help you. What type of system is the 9560 installed in? What version of OS are you using? What version of the driver is installed? But most importantly, what is the wireless device you are connecting to?

[abax2000]

It is W10 Pro.

Latest driver 22.20.0.6

Router is Asus RT-AC86U.

[abax2000]

Lenovo Thinkpad P52.

[Khun_Doug]

I have the exact router as my backup unit in the event my newer replacement should ever stop. In the router's web interface, there are two places to check wireless link speeds. The first is under General / Network Map. Under the section where it lists Clients there should be a button for View List. The more detailed area is under Advacned Settings / System Log. From there choose the Wireless Log tab. this is the area where the router will list the greatest detail on the wireless connection. Here is where you can see signal strength, channels, and MIMO options.

While thinking about the RT-AC86U, have you updated the router to the latest firmware from Asus? Or are you using the Merlin firmware?

[abax2000]

Will give you full report in appr. 8 hrs.

[abax2000]

Information included in management packets when connected at 5GHz is contradictory.

A "probe request" declares:

                                                      SU Beam-former Capable: Supported

                                                      SU Beam-formee Capable: Supported

                                                      MU Beam-former Capable: Not Supported

                                                      MU Beam-formee Capable: Supported

while "association request"

                                                      SU Beam-former Capable: Not Supported

                                                      SU Beam-formee Capable: Supported

                                                      MU Beam-former Capable: Not Supported

                                                      MU Beam-formee Capable: Not Supported

The TxBF capabilities under HT Capabilities element are always negative.

The router wireless report shows MUBF=No, both when in 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

Please see attached file for full details.

[abax2000]

Driver settings:

802.11a/b/g Wireless Mode or Wireless Mode                                Dual band 802.11a/b/g

802.11n/ac/ax Wireless Mode or HT Mode                                        802.11ac

802.11n mode (for legacy 11n adapters only)                                   

Channel width or 802.11n channel width(band 2.4/5GHz)           Auto

Ad-hoc channel 802.11 b/g

Ad-hoc QoS mode

ARP offloading for WoWLAN                                                                Enabled

Fat channel intolerant                                                                             Disabled

Global BG scan blocking                                                                         On Good RSSI

GTK rekeying for WoWLAN                                                                    Enabled

MIMO power save mode                                                                         No SMPS

Mixed mode protection                                                                           CTS-to-self Enabled

NS offloading for WoWLAN                                                                   Enabled

Packet Coalescing                                                                                     Enabled

Preferred band                                                                                          No Preference

Roaming aggressiveness                                                                        Medium

Sleep on WoWLAN disconnect                                                             Disabled

Throughput Booster or Throughput Enhancement                         Enabled

Transmit power                                                                                         Highest

U-APSD support                                                                                        Disabled

Wake on magic packet                                                                             Disabled

Wake on pattern match                                                                           Disabled

[Khun_Doug]

Your settings are nearly identical to mine. I have MIMO power save set at Auto SMPS. My router is the RT-AX88U, just a step up from the RT-AC86U, the MUBF shows true for my AX adapter, and also a desktop that is using ASUS USB-AC68.

You didn't mention if the RT-AC86U is using the Asus firmware or the OpenWRT firmware. I can tell you from personal experience that OpenWRT does not have all the features that the Asus firmware supports. You would want to look at the Professional settings on the RT-AC86U and see what your MIMO settings are. I have my RT-AT86U in storage as a backup in the event my RT-AX88U should fail (seems you can't afford to be without wireless these days). I don't recall the exact placement of settings and their values. Asus will have documentation on those. But I know I tried OpenWRT on the RT-AX88U and discovered so much was missing.

And yes, some of the documentation is confusing and misleading, or doesn't really explain what the values are. I've had adapters where I couldn't find any direct documentation on settings and needed to go by other information I could. YMMV.

[abax2000]

The router is on latest official Asus firmware

 Firmware Version:3.0.0.4.386_41634

with beamforming and MUMIMO enabled.

But besides what the router is doing or not, the 9560 adapter should declare in its management packets its capabilities, right?

[Khun_Doug]

I would need to get out my AC86U and see how it handles the MIMO adapters I have. I know from my current router that my AX200 and a Samsung Galaxy S9+ both do indeed negotiate MIMO, but my Asus USB-AC68 does not negotiate MIMO but does have the beam options enabled. I know that MIMO was new and experimental in the AC86U when I last used it as my primary router. Today, it is just kept as a spare in the case my primary router should quit.

[abax2000]

Again, besides the quirks of routers, 9560 (and any adapter) advertises its true capabilities, right?

In which case, why this does not happen with the management frames from 9560?

[abax2000]

Any input here?

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hello abax2000,

Thank you for posting on the Intel* Community.

I will check this internally and post back with more details soon.

Best regards,

Maria R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hello abax2000,

Thank you for patiently waiting.

Beamforming is part of the standard certification of 802.11 so the wireless adapter meets the requirement.

There are 2 types of beamforming implicit and explicit. Usually, this is an option that should be enabled at AP level (see screenshot below) however keep in mind this requires the AP to be compatible. You mentioned you are using a very all one. You could try a newer one or check for firmware updates.

MU-MIMO is fully supported by the adapter and there are no settings at the software level to enable it.

I would recommend testing with different APs.

If you are unable to test on a different AP please check with your Access Point (AP) manufacturer for further clarification/configuration on this setting.

Best regards, 

Maria R.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[abax2000]

Hi Maria, than for your follow-up.

The router is Asus RT-AC86U, firmware 3.0.0.4.386_41634 (latest). Settings are set for beamforming:

But the real question here is the difference between the probe frame and the association request frame sent by AC9560. Which advertise different beamforming capabilities, and MU-MIMO is absent from AssocReq (see previous messages).

The advertised capabilities in these two management frames should be the same, right?

Note: Following association and connection, the router reports 9560 as non-MUBeamforming, while my Samsung Note9 is reported as MUBeamforming compliant.

[Maria_R_Intel]

Hello abax2000,

Thank you very much for the information.

I will share the details with our team, please expect a response soon.

Best regards, 

Maria R.  

Intel Customer Support Technician