Small problem with WiFi 6 connection Issue appears intermittently Performance drops occasionally
Small problem with WiFi 6 connection Issue appears intermittently Performance drops occasionally
Hello, I’m dealing with a persistent problem where my PC occasionally switches between WiFi 5 and WiFi 6/AC. It occurs about 40% of the time. I’m curious if there’s a way to make it consistently use WiFi 6. My machine is an Asus PCE-AX58BT. I’ve also tested TP Link Archer TX3000E, which sometimes works with WiFi 5, and two Firesticks that always connect fine on WiFi 6. My router is a HUAWEI WiFi AX3, and it’s functioning normally without any issues. I checked if I could enable an ‘ax’ only network mode, but that didn’t help. I’ve downloaded the latest drivers from manufacturers and Windows, but nothing seems to resolve the matter. I’m hoping someone can assist me with this. Thanks!
The topic isn't clearly defined. You're not connecting to WiFi 5 or 6 directly. Those are standards and capabilities that either exist on the device or don't. Essentially, it's either a WiFi 5 or WiFi 6 setup, not both at once, and it doesn't alternate between them. There are several frequency bands—2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz—with WiFi 6E available. It's typical for a device to shift between these bands based on signal quality. The 2.4GHz band has a longer wavelength, making it slower but more effective at passing through walls. The 5GHz and higher bands offer quicker speeds but are more prone to interference. If your PC is placed awkwardly, it might struggle to maintain a stable 5GHz connection and could switch to 2.4GHz, which would be ineffective if you restrict it to only 5GHz. Disabling this behavior isn't advisable because switching to 2.4GHz would simply result in no signal at all. If that's your concern, the fix is to adjust the positioning of the PC and router or choose a router with improved coverage and mesh technology so the device receives a stronger signal.
I understand the distinction between 2.4 and 5GHz frequencies. My router supports both, but I only have 5GHz enabled since I don’t need 2.4. I also experimented with toggling 2.4 to see if it resolved my issue, but it didn’t. The problem seems to be that my PC is a Wi-Fi 6 device (Asus PCE-AX58BT), yet it still connects using the older 5GHz/AC protocol instead of the newer 6/AX. I’d like to make sure it always connects via AX if possible.
You're certain about this? I've only experienced slower speeds, not a return to older protocols. A good approach might be to install the Intel AX200 driver instead of the ASUS version. Vendor drivers are rarely up-to-date, so it's usually safer to stick with official ones.
It's technically accurate since 802.11ax encompasses all earlier versions, yet drivers and operating systems sometimes label it differently. When you move away from 1024-QAM back to 256-QAM, the connection speed is often shown as 802.11ac. Sometimes the access point firmware will transmit 802.11ac to the client if it can't manage 1024-QAM at a usable signal-to-noise ratio.
I've never seen it fall below wifi 5/AC and my ink speeds stay around the minimum 780mbps even after checking. Odd since another PC nearby, using WiFi 6, can reach mid-500mbps speeds but always stays on WiFi 6. I'm sure the issue lies with my problematic device. I also tried the Intel driver without any improvement.