Some WiFi 7 devices at overseas sites cannot detect 6GHz wireless services
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Network Topology
Cloud AP mode, 6 GHz band dot1x and PSK encryption service template
Problem Description
The field Cloud AP (WA7320i) has bound a dot1x and a PSK encryption service template to its 6 GHz radio frequency (RF).
Field testing was conducted on: iPhone 16 Pro Max, Samsung S24, equipmentWindows PCs equipped with Realtek 8852CE WiFi 6E network cards and Windows PCs equipped with Intel AX211 network cards.The main service configuration of the Cloud AP is as follows:
#
wlan global-configuration
region-code xx //specifies the country code supporting 6 GHz channel
#
wlan service-template a1
ssid akv
akm mode psk
preshared-key pass-phrase cipher xxx
cipher-suite ccmp
security-ie rsn
wpa3 personal mandatory
akm sae pwe h2e
pmf mandatory
bss transition-management enable
service-template enable
#
wlan service-template b1
ssid akm
akm mode dot1x
cipher-suite ccmp
security-ie rsn
wpa3 enterprise-only-mode
client-security authentication-mode dot1x
dot1x domain ipenet
bss transition-management enable
service-template enable
#
wlan service-template kk
ssid kkm
beacon ssid-hide
service-template enable
#
interface WLAN-Radio1/0/1
service-template a1
service-template b1
type dot11be
#
interface WLAN-Radio1/0/2
shutdown
channel band-width 20
#
Process Analysis
1. Check whether the service template has beacon ssid-hide configured, i.e., the service template is hidden, and found that no relevant command was configured.
2. Check whether the correct region-code for the country or zone is configured in the global view of the Cloud AP, and verify via the WiFi Alliance website (https://www.wi-fi.org/regulations-enabling-6-ghz-wi-fi) whether the corresponding zone code supports 6 GHz, which was confirmed to be supported without issues.
3. Inquire whether some of the terminals used on-site were purchased locally or acquired from regions like China's Mainland where regulations do not support 6 GHz. This is because terminal manufacturers adjust the wifi chip in their devices based on whether the sales country or region's regulations support 6 GHz. For example, iPhone 16 series terminals purchased in China's Mainland, although supporting wifi7, have their wifi chips disabling the discovery function for the 6 GHz band. After inquiry, the on-site feedback confirmed that all terminals were purchased locally, which is also acceptable.
4. First, the service template bound to the 6 GHz radio frequency (RF) of Wi-Fi 7 must use one of the following encryption methods: PSK, dot1x authentication, or OWE. Wireless services without access layer encryption cannot be bound to the 6 GHz RF. Additionally, referring to the Wifi7 One-Page Guide regarding the configuration parameters for WPA3 PSK or dot1x, it was found that the configuration of the service template bound to the 6 GHz RF is also correct.
5. Attempt to adjust the channel of the 6 GHz Radio. Since the on-site country only supports the low-frequency band of 6 GHz, we tried adjusting the channel and bandwidth of interface Wlan-Radio 1/0/1. As a result, terminals that previously could not detect 6 GHz services still failed to do so, while terminals that could originally detect 6 GHz services continued to discover and associate normally with the 6 GHz wireless service.
6. It is understood that some terminals, such as iPhones (models supporting the 6 GHz band), have network cards that only support out-of-band (OOB) discovery function when searching for 6 GHz services (i.e., the terminal discovers 6 GHz services through the BSSID, channel, and SSID information of 6 GHz wireless services carried in the Beacon frames sent by the APs radio frequency (RF) ports in the 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz bands), but do not support inband discovery function (i.e., the terminal network card automatically scans each channel in the 6 GHz band to discover 6 GHz wireless services using the same method as discovering 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz services).
Regarding this:
① First check whether the global view of the Cloud AP has enabled the out-of-band (OOB) discovery function. This function is enabled by default, so according to the configuration of the Cloud AP, this function is enabled by default.
#
wlan global-configuration
wlan out-band 6g-discovery enable
#
② To ensure the out-of-band (OOB) discovery function works effectively, at least one 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz radio frequency (RF) port on the WiFi7 AP must be up and bound to at least one enabled wireless service template (no encryption requirement). This is mainly to allow the 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz RF port to broadcast Beacon frames carrying 6 GHz service information, enabling terminals to discover the 6 GHz wireless service through the OOB discovery function. Configuration checks revealed that the Radio 2 port of the Cloud AP was not bound to any wireless service and was also shutdown:
#
interface WLAN-Radio1/0/2
shutdown
channel band-width 20
#
Therefore, a new service template was created and enabled on the Cloud AP, then bound to Radio 2 port, and undo shutdown
After this operationiPhone 16 Pro Max and Samsung S24 can also detect the 6 GHz wireless service and connect normally, but Windows PCs equipped with Intel AX211 NICs still cannot detect the 6 GHz wireless service.
7. On a Windows PC equipped with an Intel AX211 network card, entering netsh wlan show drivers in cmd revealed that its driver version was outdated. Therefore, the on-site personnel were instructed to download and install the latest driver for the corresponding network card from the Intel official website. After installation, the Windows PC with the Intel AX211 network card could successfully search for and connect to the 6 GHz channel.
Solution
1. Bind an enable service template to Radio 2, undo shutdown this interface, and ensure the out-of-band (OOB) discovery function works properly.
2. For Windows PCs equipped with Intel AX211 network cards, update the network card driver to the latest version.