![]() ![]() ![]() The first company to debut 6 GHz design capabilities is a new company from Finland called Hamina Wireless. The great news is that almost all the commercial solutions now offer 6 GHz Wi-Fi design, planning, and validation features. Just as important is a post-deployment validation survey to verify the WLAN design. ![]() The bulk of troubleshooting calls can be prevented if a WLAN is well planned and designed before deployment. I am a big proponent of proper WLAN planning and design regardless of the frequency. Perhaps the iPhone 14 this year? In the meantime, Numerous Networks, iPhone Wi-Fi analysis tool, nOversight, will be ready for 6 GHz support when Apple joins the party. Once again, we are still waiting for Apple to announce Wi-Fi 6E capable phones. As I mentioned, expect a rash of Android-based 6 GHz-capable apps I just tested it with my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. The analiti Speed Test WiFi Analyzer works with 6 GHz. Wi-Fi 6E smartphones can test and provide analysis with the app. Pretty soon, I could probably write a separate blog about the numerous Android apps that provide 6 GHz visibility however, I will quickly mention two: Epitiro has recently released a network agent app in the Play store that can be installed on any Android smartphone. There have always been many more Wi-Fi diagnostic tools for Android smartphones because the OS is open-source. Even though I am a Mac-guy, I still use Windows, and this is one of the top apps to consider.įigure 2 – Wi-Fi Scanner from AccessAgilityĪnd what about 6 GHz tools for smartphones? Most Wi-Fi 6E smartphones use the Broadcom BCM4389 radio with full 6 GHz support. All you need is one of the many Windows-based laptops that use an Intel® Wi-Fi 6E (Gig+) radio. So, are there any WLAN discovery tools that are Windows-based? A good place to start is Wi-Fi Scanner from AccessAgility. In the meantime, let’s all hope that Apple announces support for Wi-Fi 6E with 6 GHz radios in MacBooks soon so we can leverage the full potential of this outstanding application. Finally, Wi-Fi Explorer three offers integration support for third-party spectrum analyzers and remote external Wi-Fi sensors such as the WLAN Pi. Packet captures from 6 GHz radios in other devices can be imported into the app. Wi-Fi Explorer Pro 3 is often classified as a WLAN discovery tool however, it offers many more capabilities. How is this possible? Well, knowledge about APs with 6 GHz radios can be extracted from the reduced neighbor reports (RNRs) found in 2.4 and 5 GHz beacons and probe responses. Even though there are currently no Wi-Fi 6E radios inside MacBooks, Wi-Fi Explorer Pro 3 offers complete 6 GHz visibility. Wi-Fi professionals have used Adrian’s Mac-based Wi-Fi troubleshooting tools for many years. In this blog, I will share information about many of the 6 GHz-capable software and hardware gadgets that all seasoned Wi-Fi professionals might add to their toolbox.įirst, I must shout-out to Adrian Granados of Intuitibits because Wi-Fi Explorer Pro 3 was the very first third-party application to support 6 GHz analysis. However, another foretelling indicator of the explosive growth for Wi-Fi 6E is the support for 6 GHz in third-party Wi-Fi design and diagnostic tools in the last few months. We are still at the very beginning at what I believe is a renaissance of technology innovation spurred by 6 GHz Wi-Fi. Currently, 61 smartphone models support Wi-Fi 6E.”Įnterprise networking vendors such as Extreme Networks began shipping Wi-Fi 6E access points in Q4 of 2021, with many more models debuting in 2022. And according to Claus Hetting of Wi-Fi Now, we have seen an explosion of available Wi-Fi 6E client devices: “In particular, the number of PCs released with Wi-Fi 6E capability (633) has been impressive (both laptop and desktop versions). Wi-Fi 6E client devices with 6 GHz capabilities began to trickle into the marketplace in 2021. Over 60 countries across the Americas, Europe, and APAC already have or are considering new regulations for Wi-Fi use in 6 GHz. The availability of 6 GHz Wi-Fi began in the United States, and Wi-Fi 6E is spreading across the globe. So effectively, it triples the available unlicensed spectrum available for Wi-Fi. To put this in perspective, the new 6 GHz spectrum available for Wi-Fi is more than double the usable channels of the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz channels combined. This, my friends, is an enormous spectrum bonanza. As I have written in numerous blogs, Wi-Fi 6E brings us up to 1,200 MHz of new spectrum in the 6 GHz band. ![]()
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