Wifi 6E not working through AIMesh - GT - GT-AXE11000 and ET8

[bigfire]

I have an AXE11000 as my router, and two ET8s as the satellites. They are connected via ethernet cables, and I've set up the backhaul to be ethernet. I have a Wifi 6E turned on as a separately named band on the router.

If I connect through the router, the 6E works fine. If I try connecting through one of the nodes, it doesn't work, complaining about the password. This is with both a Samsung Fold 3 and a windows notebook (with registry changes to enable the 6E on my network card). Both devices connect with the router, neither will connect with the ET8. Changing from WP3 to Open Enhanced doesn't help.

I've been fighting this for almost a month. ASUS support is friendly, but they have no idea what's going on. I think it's a firmware problem, and all of the devices are updated to the latest firmware. Is anyone else seeing this?

[Saltgrass]

First, you are using Windows 11?

Looking at something with a Mesh router involved can be confusing. The AXE11000 used to give the WPA3 old security message prior to Win 11 but it works now. If you see the 6 GHz network through the Mesh node it may not be connecting the way it appears.

One thing I did prior to Win 11, to understand what exactly was happening, was to turn off the Wi-Fi on the AXE11000. That way, if you try to connect to the 6 Ghz radio it would have to be going through the Mesh Node, since it is a 6e device.

What type of connection do your mesh nodes show, 100% Ethernet so the 6 Ghz radio is not involved?

Edit: I just noticed this in the Specs on those ET8s.. If this is the case then you cannot connect to them using the 6e radio without WPA3.. Now why would ASUS build a 6e Router without WPA3 ability?

Wi-Fi Encryption : WPA2-PSK, WPA-PSK, WPA-Enterprise , WPA2-Enterprise , WPS support

[bigfire]

I am using Windows 11, but aside from that, I have a Samsung phone with 6E. When it's connecting to the router, it automatically connects. When i walk across the house so that I'm connecting through a satellite, it complains about the password. Two devices with different OS's and the same behavior would seem to rule out the devices.

Well, that would be a kick in the head if the ET8s just didn't support WP3, but it would explain it. I guess I'll just send it all back and wait a year for them to come out with a unified product line.

[bigfire]

More information. I factory reset the two ET8s, turned off the 11000, and started up a new network with the ET8s with one being the router. On the router, I see WP3 for Wifi 6E (and it works fine connecting to that ET8). The second ET8 has the same problem as before - I can see the 6E network, but when I try to connect to it (with the same phone that had connected to the other ET8 on 6E) it fails, asking for a new password.

I'm not sure it's the ET8s not supporting WP3, as it's using WP3 fine for the one acting as the router.

[Saltgrass]

So the ET8s do show a WPA3 sign in option for the 6 GHz radio?

I don't exactly what happens to a Mesh unit when in that configuration. I assume it is just an extension of the Router and as such, does not really accept passwords for different networks. The situation can get very confusing but if you can sign into the AXE11000 and use the 6 GHz radio, the Mesh units should be able to pick up the 6 GHz radio connection when you move out of range of the AXE11000.

Just don't let it fool you is you can see certain networks on a Mesh device since it may not be what it appears..

[bigfire]

Yes, the ET8 acting as a router is set to use WPA3 in the UI.

And yes, I would expect the Mesh unit to let me connect using the exact same info I used to connect to the AXE11000 (and now one of the ET8's acting as a router). I.e., it should work exactly like it does with the 5G unit.

If you take away the 6E capability, the equipment is working very well. I think I'm going to keep it and wait (and hope) for a firmware fix. What's sad is that this is a trivial issue to reproduce. Clearly, ASUS support doesn't work very closely with their test group, and their test group is falling down on the job. Doesn't give me a ton of confidence, but what other 6E solutions are there? I was waiting for Amplifi Alien but who knows when they'll ever upgrade their units to support 6E?

[Saltgrass]

I get the impression, you are having the exact same situation whether you use the AXE11000 as primary or one of the ET8s.

I don't have a 6e phone I can test, but my Windows 11 computers are using the 6e radio just fine. My Windows 10 systems can not see the 6 GHz radio but can see the SSID through a Mesh unit.

I tried to go back and repeat the registry hack which allowed use of the 6 GHz but would not allow the WPA3 password to be accepted.

I think I would try setting the 6e radio up as the Backhaul to see if the two ET8s can communicate.

I just checked the ASUS site and do not see the AXE11000 available for purchase. The only 6e routers/mesh devices showing are the ET8s..

Just a note, one of the last updates for Windows 11, did indicate that it added an additional component to the WPA3 authorization. If that were to be the case, the routers may have been shipped with that component or be able to pick it up with a Bios Update. The last AXE11000 update was about a month ago.

[bigfire]

Saltgrass wrote:
I get the impression, you are having the exact same situation whether you use the AXE11000 as primary or one of the ET8s.

Yes, I have the exact same situation if I'm using the AXE11000 as the primary or one of the ET8s. I also have the same problem if I'm testing with a Windows PC or my Samsung phone. Both can connect to whatever unit's acting as the router, neither can connect to a mesh.

[bigfire]

As an FYI, I returned the ET8s and got a set of new units. I then set them up as a new mesh network, one as a router, the other as an AINode, and reproduced the problem I've been having.

I've reported this to ASUS, but I'm shocked that they don't have this on their test matrix (what is anybody else doing with a pair of ET8s?). I'm going to keep the units as everything else works great, but I hope they get around to issuing a firmware fix soon.

[Saltgrass]

If you ever get Win 11, maybe you can test again. There is a chance, the Samsung phone has some special requirement for a direct connection to the 6 GHz and the Mesh situation does not offer that.

I read that ASUS recommends the 6 GHz radio for a stable Backhaul situation. I don't know if you ever tried my suggestion about this but the range of the 6 GHz radio seems to be about as far as a good Bluetooth connection. The higher frequency does limit its range so the Ethernet backhaul you have would be better, except for a testing situation.

Good Luck with it. Maybe in the near future someone else with have your configuration and can advise of a fix.