Intel ax210 windows 11 not seeing 6GHz networks

[vannimmenb]

I have upgraded to windows11 and installed latest drivers but still the 6GHz ssid of my AP does not appear.

I can connect to 2,4 and 5GHz radios, only the 6GHz is not vissible.

Reading on this forum similar reported issues tried all suggested changes ( upgraded from win10 to win11 ) clean install of the drivers, running now latest driver 22.110.1.1

I can see the 6GHz AP and login using an ubuntu labtop.

Verified the AP channel to check if it is  on a supported channel:

root@vodafone:~# wl -i wl0 status
SSID: "vdf6G"
Mode: Managed RSSI: 0 dBm SNR: 0 dB noise: -90 dBm Channel: 6g69/80
BSSID: A2:B5:3C:1D:F4:32 Capability: ESS
Beacon Interval: 100 msecs
Supported Rates: [ 6(b) 9 12 18 24(b) 36 48 54 ]
HE Capable:
Chanspec: 6GHz channel 71 80MHz (0x6147)
Primary channel: 69
Supported HE MCS:
20/40/80 MHz:
NSS1 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS2 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS3 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS4 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
160 MHz:
NSS1 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS2 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS3 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
NSS4 Tx: 0-11 Rx: 0-11
QBSS Channel Utilization: 0x0 (0 %)

Running out of ideas on what could be causing this.

[Alberto_R_Intel]

vannimmenb, Thank you for posting in the Intel® Communities Support.

In order for us to provide the most accurate assistance on this matter, we just wanted to confirm a few details about your system:

What is the model of the motherboard?

If this is a laptop, what is the model of it?

What is the model of the Router?

Is this a new computer?

When did you purchase it?

Was this same machine being able to connect to 6GHz networks before?

When did the issue start?

Did you make any recent hardware/software changes that might cause this problem?

The wireless card, did you purchase it separately or did it come installed on the computer?

Does the problem happen at home or in the work environment?

Please attach the SSU report so we can verify further details about the components in your platform, check all the options in the report including the one that says "3rd party software logs":

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows-?product=91600

Any questions, please let me know.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[vannimmenb]

Correct ssu scan now attached

It is a desktop Dell optiplex 5060, about 2years old.

The router is a VDF Gigahub AP we have under test, it is BRCM based 6GHz radio

We ordered a seperate intel ax210 card to use it for 6GHz radio testing.

It is the first time we try to connect it to a 6GHz radio.

System was recently upgraded to win11, clean install all drivers updated.

[Alberto_R_Intel]

vannimmenb, Thank you very much for providing that information and the SSU report.

Based on the information showing in the SSU report, we can confirm, as you mentioned, that the wireless driver version currently installed on your computer is 22.110.1.1, provided by Intel®:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/19351/windows-10-and-windows-11-wi-fi-drivers-for-intel-wireless-adapters.html?wapkw=ax210

The Intel® wireless drives are generic, they might not work as they should since they do not contain the customizations done by Dell. Based on that, even though the wireless card was installed separately, we recommend to install the wireless driver provided by the manufacturer of the computer, since that driver was customized by them to work with your specific platform.

I looked on Dell's website and actually, the wireless cards supported by your device are Intel 9560/9260/8265/7265/3165 and the driver version they provide is 22.100.0.3, A29:

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/optiplex-5060-desktop/drivers

When you install the wireless card on a laptop that is what is called "Wireless Integration", and the thing about that process is that there are a lot of components that come into play, like for example: board, Wireless card, drivers, PCI adapters antennas, m.2 port, all those parts need to be compatible for the proper functionality of the Wireless connection. There is also regulatory information about the "Wireless Integration" that you can verify in the following links:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005687/network-and-i-o/wireless.html

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005846/network-and-i-o/wireless.html

So, it seems this is a compatibility problem and at this point, we recommend that the next thing to do then will be to get in contact directly with Dell support to check that all the parts are fully compatible, also to report this scenario, for them to release a newer Wireless driver version that supports the Intel® AX210 card. If there is a fix that they need to add to their customized driver they will work with Intel® internally on trying to add a fix to the driver that is available on their website:

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[vannimmenb]

Our informal contact with Dell is suggesting there is nothing special on the specific hardware the intel card is plugged in and that the standard intel driver should work...

The vendor AP support told us that it might be due to regional settings and that they have seen that for many countries the clients still do not allow the use of the 6GHz band and advice to check with the vendor of the clients if it is supported for Belgium.

Checking with Wifi aliance we see the european union has adopted the 6GHz band but they do mention regional approval.

Checking with Belgium regulatory department, it seems Belgium has approved it last November.

Hence my question:

1)how does intel driver decide to allow or disallow the 6GHz channels ? And could this be the reason the 6GHz AP is not seen ? Is there any way to debug or confirm this ?

[Alberto_R_Intel]

vannimmenb, Thank you very much for sharing those details.

In reference to your questions, we will do further research on this matter, as soon as I get any updates I will post all the information on this thread.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hello vannimmenb, I just received an update on this matter.

In reference to your questions, just to let you know, for this scenario, it is not only about the drivers, there are things that need to be taken into consideration such as:

6E certification in that country

BIOS configuration at the OEM level

Driver support/enablement

So, it is needed to make sure your Region/Country has the necessary approvals, it might be possible that regulatory approvals are still in progress, and spectrum was approved but this is something on the Region/Country. Also, the use of the 6GHz band might not be enabled on your platform by the system manufacturer.

Any of the supported cards mentioned above, Intel 9560/9260/8265/7265/3165, support 6GHz, so this could be related to the integration as the system on BIOS-level could be only for 2.4GHz & 5GHz, that is something to be confirmed directly with the manufacturer of the computer.

Is it possible for you to test a different access point?

Are you running the latest FW of the router?

Do you have the option to test a laptop or any other device like a cellphone that natively supports 6GHz on your access point?

For optimal performance and compatibility, enable support for all wireless modes. Enable Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 6 or AX mode for 11ax devices as per instructions in the link below

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000057574/wireless.html

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hello vannimmenb, I just wanted to check if you saw the information posted previously and if you need further assistance on this matter?

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[vannimmenb]

I read you reply and have investigated this further. 

We have installed the same driver on another device ( a dell lattitude E5450) and at first the same result : no 6GHz channels

We did a clean install of windows11 and this cleared the issue, we can see the 6GHz ssid and can connect.

Used the same procedure on the dell optiplex but without success. Going to your remarks the above findings rule out AP and local regulatory status as same driver on other device does work. The only remark which could make sense is the BIOS settings you mention but it would be strange that at BIOS level you can disable a 6GHz channel. Is there anyway to debug this further ?

[Alberto_R_Intel]

vannimmenb, Thank you very much for letting us know those results.

"We did a clean install of windows11 and this cleared the issue, we can see the 6GHz ssid and can connect.", Perfect, excellent, it is great to hear that the problem got fixed after doing a clean install of Windows* 11 and now you can connect to 6GHz networks.

"Is there anyway to debug this further ?" Since the PC was built by Dell, everything in there was customized by them. So, in order to further debug this case, it will be necessary to get in contact directly with Dell support so they can provide further insights on this topic. Especially in this case that a "Wireless Integration" was done and that the wireless card that is now installed on the computer was not the one that came with the machine originally which may cause system instability:

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us

Any other inquiries, do not hesitate to contact us again.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician