Intel AX200 - 'The selected band (5Ghz) is not available' (oh yes it is! and has worked in the past)

[mckens02]

I am having issue with connecting using the 5ghz channel (Wifi 6) with my intel AX200

I am trying to enable 5Ghz hotspot so other devices can connect to my computer which is connected using ethernet cable.

Every time I select 5Ghz as band for hotspot i get the message that the current band is unavailable. See picture 1.

After some reading around I found out that the 5Ghz band is not available because it is a limitation by Windows/Intel and lots of people have the same issue with no solution given.

I was able to connect once using the 5Ghz, but has not worked since for me. I am unclear why it is not allowing the connection.

I have tried re-installing the drivers (see specs list - details hardware and drivers)

I have tried following the guides online by connecting to a 5Ghz hotspot/router then create a hotspot - however this does not work either.

I have tried to set the preferred channel to 5Gz in the device setting - not working either.

Really hope you can help

Thanks

[Jean_Intel]

Hello @mckens02

Thank you for posting on the Intel️® communities.

I would like to have more inside about your issue to provide you with the most effective troubleshooting, so provide me with the following information:

• When did it start to happen?
• I understand that your unit was capable of connecting to the 5GHz band before. However, were you able to have your wireless connection in a normal/expected performance?
• Is this the original adapter that came pre-installed in your system, or have you changed/installed a new adapter recently?
• Have you checked if this issue happens on different 5GHz networks?
• Is the system able to connect to any other wireless band, such as a 2.4GHz network?

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards, 

Jean O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[mckens02]

• When did it start to happen? I connected my Quest 2 to the Wifi band 5ghz last week. Tried again this week, getting the error message (5ghz not available) in windows. Only ever had it working once on first use. Never worked again since. 
• I understand that your unit was capable of connecting to the 5GHz band before. However, were you able to have your wireless connection in a normal/expected performance? I am not able to connect to my device using the 5ghz channel. As in the picture, it says, 5ghz band is not available. However, it was connect via 5ghz last week without issue, it said 5ghz in the band area. The performance was high, fast. Now it wont even turn on, just shows me the error message. Prior to using as a hotspot, the wifi card was connecting to my router using mixed 5ghz and 2.4ghz bands. Now the computer is connected via lan.
• Is this the original adapter that came pre-installed in your system, or have you changed/installed a new adapter recently? The AX200 is a stand alone card inserted into the motherboard PCI slot. I have had this wifi card for over a year and has worked perfect as main wifi card. Now I am connected to my router by LAN and the wifi card is being used as a hotspot only.
• Have you checked if this issue happens on different 5GHz networks? I have no way to connect to other systems. I only have this system. So unable to check. It worked last week. I know it worked because the connected device is VR and it had really high fidelity and high bitrate connect. Now the only way to connect is via 2.4ghz and this is not sufficient enough bandwidth to be useful. 
• Is the system able to connect to any other wireless band, such as a 2.4GHz network? Yes I am able to connect to the 2.4ghz channel but the speeds and data rate are very poor compared to what I had on the 5ghz the previous week. I cannot use my device using 2.4ghz, as the bandwidth is lacking, hence why i want the 5ghz, which worked last week.

[Jean_Intel]

Thank you for the information provided.  

I will proceed to check the issue internally and post back soon with more details. 

Best regards, 

Jean O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[mckens02]

Thanks Jean, here hoping for a speedy solution, let me know if you need any more info. You are also welcome to remote desktop my system if needed.

[Jean_Intel]

Hello @mckens02

Thanks for waiting for a response.

The hotspot setting depends on the Operating System and not the wireless adapter. The first thing you must check is if your Access Point is set to a 5GHz channel that is allowed in your country. If the Operating System determines that Access Point is broadcasting in a not allowed channel then the 5Ghz OS hotspot option will be disabled.

If you do not share the hotspot and if connected wirelessly, do you get connected to the 5GHz band?

You can also try and run the following command, this is to make sure your hardware is supporting 5GHz:

On the Command prompt window, type: netsh wlan show drivers and press the Enter key.

Then, you can see Radio Types Supported if If it says that the adapter supports 802.11a and 802.11g, 802.11n, and 802.11ac network modes, it means that the computer has 2.4 GHz and 5GHz network capability.

However, if the issue persists on the hotspot then this could be related to your configuration or router/modem.

Best regards,

Jean O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[mckens02]

Hi Jean

The hotspot setting depends on the Operating System and not the wireless adapter. The first thing you must check is if your Access Point is set to a 5GHz channel that is allowed in your country. If the Operating System determines that Access Point is broadcasting in a not allowed channel then the 5Ghz OS hotspot option will be disabled. How do i find out on Windows 11 what channel it is trying to broadcast on? I don't see any reference to 'channels' to select from on Windows 11. Only the 'bands' is an option of either 2.4ghz or 5ghz as in the picture sent. Do you guys have any Intel software to help choose the channel? Any intel on what channels are legal in UK?

If you do not share the hotspot and if connected wirelessly, do you get connected to the 5GHz band? If I don't share the hotspot there is nothing for my Quest to connect to. I can not share at 5gz band, i get the error saying 5ghz not available. I can connect at 2.4Ghz but not what is needed - too slow. I need the hotspot to share the ethernet internet connection and connect my device to PC. I am not using the Wifi on the router in this scenario. The router is wired directly into my PC. I am trying turn the PC wifi card into a hotspot/tunnel for my Quest 2.

You can also try and run the following command, this is to make sure your hardware is supporting 5GHz:

On the Command prompt window, type: netsh wlan show drivers and press the Enter key.

Then, you can see Radio Types Supported if If it says that the adapter supports 802.11a and 802.11g, 802.11n, and 802.11ac network modes, it means that the computer has 2.4 GHz and 5GHz network capability.

Here is the netsh wlan show drivers report. It supports all those you listed and 802.11ax. So this doesn't seem  to be the issue.

Interface name: WiFi

Driver : Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX200 160MHz
Vendor : Intel Corporation
Provider : Intel
Date : 02/01/2022
Version : 22.110.1.1
INF file : oem52.inf
Type : Native Wi-Fi Driver
Radio types supported : 802.11b 802.11g 802.11n 802.11a 802.11ac 802.11ax

However, if the issue persists on the hotspot then this could be related to your configuration or router/modem.

I don't see how it is related to the router. My router connects directly into PC by ethernet. It is a Asus RT-AC88U, up to date bios, no issues to date. My issue is with the wifi card inside the PC (AX200) not broadcasting as a hotspot on the 5ghz band. It did work once so know it can be done.

Hope you can help further

Thanks

[Jean_Intel]

Hello @mckens02

About your question regarding if there is any Intel software to help you choose the Channel, unfortunately, there is no software that can provide you with that in particular. All channel configuration is usually configured on the device manager or in the operating system settings.

Since the hotspot settings depend on 100% of the OS and not the wireless adapter, the best practice for your issue is to contact Microsoft to check if they have any suggested configuration that may solve your problem.

You also asked for information about channels supported in the UK; however, we have no control over this; due to this being a country policy, we have no control or information over what is allowed and what is not.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Best regards,

Jean O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[mckens02]

Ok Jean - I have contacted Microsoft - discussion continues here.....

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_11-wintop_connect/intel-ax200-the-selected-band-5ghz-is-not/ac12c7ad-9ba2-4560-a12c-36604454e2d6

[Jean_Intel]

Thanks for letting me know. 

Since you contacted Microsoft, I would be waiting for this case for a short period of time. Let me know if you still need assistance from us.

Best regards, 

Jean O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Jean_Intel]

Hello @mckens02

We hope you are doing fine.

We have not heard back from you. So we will close this thread, if you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitor

Best regards.

Jean O. 

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[mckens02]

Please keep the thread open. i am still working through some options and will need your assistance shortly. thank you

[Jean_Intel]

Thanks for contacting us again.

As you requested, I've reopened the community. Let me know if you need assistance.

Best regards.

Jean O. 

Intel Customer Support Technician.

[Jean_Intel · Accepted solution]

I hope you are doing fine.

This post is to check if you have any other questions regarding your issue.

Let us know if you still need assistance.

Best regards, 

Jean O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[mckens02]

Hi Jean

Yeah the issue is with Windows interface, the wifi card is working correctly. I can connect the device on the 5Ghz to the card using 3rd party software from my device to PC (Virtual desktop). Able to get what I need by 3rd party app but still not able to create a 5GHz hotspot on Windows. Thanks very much for your help

[Jean_Intel]

Hello @mckens02

I am glad to know you found a solution. Keep in touch with Microsoft, so you can find a solution for your issue, as the problem is related to the operating system.

Please, keep in mind that Intel will no longer monitor this thread. Thanks for your understanding.  

Best regards, 

Jean O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician.