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silentnomad's avatar
silentnomad
Aspirant
Feb 18, 2024

Unable to connect at 6 GHz to the Orbi RBRE960

Hi. I have an Orbi RBRE960 (Wi-Fi 6E) with two satellites. I’m in the UK and it’s on firmware V6.3.7.10_3.3.3 which I believe is the latest firmware for this region. This is running in AP mode and no...
CrimpOn's avatar
CrimpOn
Guru - Experienced User
Feb 18, 2024

I agree entirely that this HP laptop should connect to the Orbi 960 WiFi on the 6Ghz channel.  Also, you were correct in not creating the separate WiFi network for 6G only connections.  There may be times when the laptop is too far from an Orbi unit to get a good 6G connection and a 5G (or even 2.4G) connection is better than no connection at all.

 

Perhaps it would be worth checking the settings on the WiFi adapter.  From the Windows Control Panel, select Network and Sharing Center, then Change Network Adapter Settings.  Right click on the WiFi adapter and select Properties.

 

In particular, look at the configuration settings for Preferred Mode. (My old adapter does not support WiFi6E, so your adapter may have different settings.

 

One would hope that this Intel 211 adapter would prefer 6G first.

 

silentnomad's avatar
silentnomad
Aspirant
Feb 20, 2024

Hi, thanks for the advice. The laptop is supplied from work and so is pretty much locked down in what I can do. However, I've raised it with the work Service Desk and I'll see what they find. Thanks again, hope to report back in a few days!

  • CrimpOn's avatar
    CrimpOn
    Guru - Experienced User
    Feb 20, 2024

    The IT staff at work may take an intellectual interest in your situation, as the implementation of 6GHz WiFi may be something they have in mind. (or have done already?)  It appears that a 6G WiFi connection must use WPA3 authentication, whereas the millions of legacy WiFi devices are simply not capable of WPA3 which means the 2.4G and 5G WiFi networks need to keep supporting WPA2.  This article from 2022 goes "down the rabbit hole" in discussing this issue:

    https://www.extremenetworks.com/resources/blogs/wireless-security-in-a-6-ghz-wi-fi-6e-world 

     

    It might be helpful to explain the context of the request: "I have a WiFi router that uses the same SSID for 2.4G, 5G, and 6G WiFi and the authentication is set to .....  But, my company laptop never connects at 6G.  6G would be faster because (a) it simply IS faster, and (b) there is only one device in the entire house that supports 6G WiFi so there can be no competition for the bandwidth.  (p.s. the WiFi link between router and satellites uses a 5G WiFi link, so this laptop is all by itself on the 6G frequency.)"

     

    Just a crazy thought: It might add to the knowledge base to temporarily enable the 6G only SSID and see if the laptop will connect to it.  This feature supports only 6G capable devices.