cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

AXE-11000, WIFI 6E and new macbook pro with M2 Pro

tommy7600
Level 9
Hi,
is there anyone who managed to run WiFi 6E with new macbook pro m2 pro that supports Wifi 6E?

I have some hardware that supports 6 GHz and only Apple machine doesn't see 6G SSID 😞 I read suggestion that all bands should use the same SSID for Apple but it doesn't work for me.
1,632 Views
14 REPLIES 14

jzchen
Level 14
My son got a MacBook Pro M2 Max version. *I have gotten it to work on the latest firmware it works best, although I'm a little puzzled/concerned about 5 GHz channel at the moment.

My AXE11000 is a node to my AXE16000 if that matters.

So steps I took:

AX mode is enabled (I know it has a warning about compatibility so I note it, but I think it's enabled by default.

SmartConnect is enabled, mine is enabled for all channels but if you research Apple's instructions you should have 5 GHz and 6 GHz the same SSID, (and the only way I found to do that is via Smart Connecting them).

Check the Preferred Scanning Channel (PSC) box to enable preferred scanning channel.

The important two that I know are SmartConnect and PSC. (AX I did not tinker with).

My son's MacBook now readily moves from AXE16000 downstairs to AXE11000 upstairs on 6E now. If for some reason it is not working hard reset your AXE11000.

(OH, be sure you update your MacBook to the latest OS)!*** Before hard resetting, the last resort.

Saltgrass
Level 13
tommy7600 wrote:
Hi,
is there anyone who managed to run WiFi 6E with new macbook pro m2 pro that supports Wifi 6E?

I have some hardware that supports 6 GHz and only Apple machine doesn't see 6G SSID 😞 I read suggestion that all bands should use the same SSID for Apple but it doesn't work for me.


As you can see, @jzchen had the same problem. The only thing I have read you can try is to sign into the network even if you don't see it shown.

Can we assume you have been to the Apple forums and they do not have an answer? It may need the OS updated.

Some countries are restricted and that restriction is in the driver for the Wi-Fi card. What version of that card do you have?
Maximus Z790 Hero,
Intel i9-13900k
Intel BE200

tommy7600
Level 9
I was on Apple forum, tested probably all the answers 😞 Thank you all 🙂 If i will find solution for my case, will post it here.

tommy7600 wrote:
I was on Apple forum, tested probably all the answers 😞 Thank you all 🙂 If i will find solution for my case, will post it here.


There really aren't many settings to play with on the MacOS. @Saltgrass I had tried connecting to the 6 GHz SSID directly when I separated it from the rest of the channels and it just says Network not found or something similar.

Tommy how do you access the AXE11000 configuration? For example on my Android phone I can separate 5 GHz and 6 GHz AND assign the same SSID, but if I log into ASUSwrt (WebGUI) it gives a warning and forces me to give 6 GHz a different SSID name. Are you on the latest MacOS? Which version? (I'll check what my son's is on when I get a chance).

Attached is an image of ASUSwrt AiMesh tab showing 6 GHz connection to my son's MacBook.

jzchen
Level 14
Concerned I was having trouble with a Bluetooth connection, I turned on Bluetooth Coexistence Preemptive. *I noticed when my son’s MacBook connected with this setting it would connect to 2.4 GHz. *After disabling Bluetooth Coexistence it took me some time before his MacBook reconnected to the 6 GHz band. *I’m afraid I’m going to have to recommend a hard reset then add 6 GHz to Smart Connect and Enable PSC.*

tommy7600
Level 9
Just updated FW to 388.2_alpha2-g1edc12db87 from Merlin and my macbook see 6G SSID and works fine 🙂

97576

jzchen
Level 14
That’s great news thank you for sharing!

I ended up getting a (cheap) TP-Link RE815X, set it up as an Access Point (AP mode), and wallah, MacBook connects readily to 6 GHz on the RE815X. *I noticed something different in the default WPA settings. *(I set all SSIDs to the same name). *2.4 GHz and 5 GHz are WPA2 PSK and 6 GHz WPA 3 Personal.

I ended up trying the beta firmware again, (without rebooting via power switch). *A couple of nights later (last night) I was awakened by the alarm beeping that it lost connection to the internet. *I eventually connected my computer and reloaded 388_22525 then had to rebuild from scratch. *I checked the option to have 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz-1, and 5 GHz-2 have same SSID (Smart Connect), then changed the SSID of 6 GHz to the exact same name, which ASUSwrt (web interface) allows. *This automatically sets 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz to WPA 2 Personal, and 6 GHz to WPA 3 Personal. *By default 5GHz include DFS channels box unchecked. *Low and behold his MacBook is connecting to 6 GHz again. *(6 GHz PSC is checked).

jzchen
Level 14

Still having buggy connection with 6 GHz (6E).  I tried to mimic the limited number of settings available on the RE815X:

TWT (already disabled/unchecked on the extender)

Switched back to WPA 2/WPA 3 Personal (recommended setting on the RE815X)

Disabled OFDMA/MU-MIMO (copying extender setting)

Tried both with 6 GHz added to SmartConnect or separate with same SSID.  The MacBook readily connects to the TP-Link 6 GHz channel but hasn't been for the AXE16000 nor AXE11000 node for a while...

I have been working with this very sensitive/moody connection for a while now.  The TP-Link RE815XE (HW v 1.6, my apologies for missing the “E” in prior posts) has had a firmware update.  I noticed from the more advanced settings area that:

it is recommended to set security to WPA2/WPA3, so I did revert back on my ASUS router(s).  (Poor connectivity does not seem related to this setting).

OFMDA/MU-MIMO is disabled on the TP-LINK, so I disabled it on the ASUS settings.  Now I can “Bind” my son’s MacBook to a nearby 6E node and it will connect to the 6 GHz band.  Do try this setting and please report back so it may help others with the same problem.