Nintendo Switch and WPA3
Nintendo Switch and WPA3
I don't really need help, so if this is the wrong forum I apologize. My old Linksys WRT3200ACM has started having some intermittent issues lately. I've been running OpenWRT on it for ages now because Linksys stopped publishing firmware updates for it many years ago, but lately it's been having some quirks with the WiFi dropping out while all the wired clients would keep working fine. I did some troubleshooting and narrowed it down to either a hardware failure brought on from years of 24/7/365 usage, or a problem with the proprietary firmware for the wireless chipset, neither of which I can do anything about. So, I ordered us a shiny new OpenWRT based router (The GL-inet Flint2). Got everything set up, static IPs assigned and ports forwarded for the home server, and the WiFi upgraded to WiFi6 with WPA3. Proceeded to connect everything; phones, laptops, Steam Decks (both OLED and original models), etc. Even our Samsung washer and dryer, while they had to use the 2.4 Ghz network, handled the WPA3 just fine. But the Nintendo Switch on the other hand apparently doesn't support it. That puts it in the same league as our decade-ish old HP printer that only really ever gets used for scanning documents as the only two devices that won't connect to WPA3 networks. Even the Switch OLED was a no-go. Honestly, I'll probably just leave everything at straight WPA3 without the WPA2 compatibility. I only ever play the Switch docked anyway where I have an ethernet cable connected to it, because the thing is anything but ergonomic for an adult man to play in handheld mode for any length of time. I am curious though; is this a hardware limitation, or a software one? I have the network set to run in a/n/ac/ax mode for frequency compatibility, so I'm guessing the sticking point is the WPA3. I could understand if I was on a frequency the WiFi chip couldn't physically interact with, but encryption is a software thing with hardware acceleration for things like AES in certain scenarios. Unless the encryption is something they're afraid would slow the Switch down because it doesn't have the hardware to do hardware accelerated encryption/decryption, it seems like WPA3 support is something that Nintendo could just include in a system update or something. On the bright side though, my WiFi speeds doubled from 400 Mbps to almost pegging my gigabit internet speeds,
I believe the Switch relies on a very old Wi-Fi chip that was already outdated at the time it launched. It's probably impossible for Nintendo to upgrade it for modern security standards. This seems like a classic Nintendo decision. The build feels heavy with thick plastic, and the parts are extremely inexpensive.
the nintendo DSi ran exclusively on WEP well into the WPA2 period. essentially it debuted near the end of WEP, which makes complete sense. they didn’t bother to plan for future security upgrades. at least in part, this points to a hardware constraint. still, nintendo has a history of ignoring future-readiness during design, and they seem unlikely to patch issues unless they directly affect exploitability. that’s why, when compared to their spending, nintendo appears technically richer than apple.
I finally decided to lower my 2.4Ghz network to a mixed WPA2/WPA3 setting. The only connected devices are the washing machine, dryer, and now two Nintendo Switches. It’s not that the Switch can really benefit from the quicker WiFi6 speeds either—given its EMMC storage and extremely slow processor.
Speed and comfort issues remain challenges, particularly around the Steam Deck which can reach 60MB/s (WiFi might even go beyond Gigabit, though downloads likely hit CPU limits). It stands out as the most user-friendly console I've had, with the exception of being a bit slow.