Can't connect to 6GHz networks

The WiFi 6E spec involves broadcasting a hidden open SSID on the 6GHz band that allows devices to properly synchronize with the AP (a “control” beacon). Some devices that were early adopters of 6E had glitchy draft revisions of the standard that couldn’t connect with 6GHz at all if this control SSID was hidden.

So, TP-Link’s workaround was to actually broadcast the SSID, instead of leaving it hidden, which fixed the issue for those early devices. Per their post, most offending devices have received firmware/driver updates to address this, so they are considering hiding it again in a future firmware revision of the AP.

You can’t control it - it is active any time 6Ghz is enabled. It has no security risk, as the spec calls for a TX-only config on that SSID - nothing can actually connect to it, as it merely broadcasts an informative beacon for clients to sync up with. It doesn’t affect network performance at all and all 6E/7 APs use one, but it’s usually hidden. I’m sure TP-Link will eventually hide it again in an upcoming update, since people are constantly asking about it and the problem should be mostly resolved in the wild.

That was a little long winded, I know, but hopefully that clears things up for you. :grin:

Not long winded at all! In fact, you explained exactly what the TP forum didn’t, so thank you!

The missing part of their explaination that you filled in was that the WIFI 6E spec involves broadcasting a hidden open SSID on the 6 GHz band. I never knew that. Since this was never a thing prior to 6 GHz, who would have thought!???

That’s good to know, and I don’t know why I never read anything like this in everything I ready when researching 6E and 7 until now.

Also, now that I now what to look for, I found this:
https://community.ui.com/questions/U7-Pro-SSID-6ghz-control/65ee7fdf-0cb7-42af-9ef9-58cf3a302e5e

Again, no one explained it well enough so you see people freaking out about it (like I was).

Why isn’t this something that’s talked about more widely? Why aren’t WIFI AP manufacturers letting people know that this is a required beacon and is part of the 6E (6 GHz) spec? Is it also required for WIFI 7 (at 6 GHz)?

I haven’t dug into the 7 spec to know for sure, but I suspect it is. 6GHz spectrum use isn’t exclusive to WiFi, so the beacon gets around some of the shared spectrum aspects and the way WPA3 works for both Enhanced Open and secured networks, as far as I know. Reading the full spec is practically it’s own full time job, so I’ve only read up on some relevant bits as they’ve come up in my dorky ventures.

I did find one other bit of reading that helps explain the need for the extra SSID, but even it seems a little incomplete in some aspects:
Wireless Security in a 6 GHz Wi-Fi 6E World | Extreme Networks.

(edit: fixed link to include anchor highlight of relevant section… only to find out this forum strips them, anyway! :sob: Scroll down to “Enhanced Open” section for what I was referencing.)

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