CR1000A WiFi6E Band Connectivity Issue

[dataqueue]

My environment: Dell XPS 8920, Win11, Wi-Fi 6E AX210, and VZ CR1000A

The new VZ router CR1000A is now available in DC metropolitan market and I have been using one last few weeks. The wifi speed is fantastic on 2.4 and 5Ghz but the 6Ghz band connectivity is horrible.

When to expect a firmware update/upgrade on the new router to correct the 6Ghz connectivity issues?

[Cang_Household]

Do you have any other WiFi 6E devices to test? I would be careful of the sample size of one.

[dataqueue]

No, I don't have any other 6E devices to test but my daughter will soon come home with her latest Samsung S22 Ultra to try. I hope to learn from others in their success with the Wi-Fi 6E implementation. Now back to my 6 Ghz connectivity problem with the new router, I did have few 20-second connection and the speed was stunning 1.2+ Gbps. Some suggested it's Win11 and WPA3 compability and stability, others blamed the router.

[Cang_Household]

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@dataqueue wrote:

...others blamed the router.

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That's why I would be careful with the sample size of one.

Win11 is new. WPA3 is new. 6 GHz WiFi is new. So any of these could be a source of problem.

[dataqueue]

I am looking for a suitable solution and came across a similarity trouble with 5Ghz when G1100 was new

 re: https://forums.verizon.com/t5/fios-internet/quantum-g1100-router-suddenly-not-keeping-5ghz-connectio...

I best hope for a firmware upgrade from the new router's manufacturer ...

[Cang_Household]

G1100 was not new in Dec of 2017. G1100 was released in 2014. The user described in your referenced post is likely a unit-specific issue.

To conclude something as a firmware issue requires multiple users with identical setup to report the same issue.

[dataqueue]

I finally tested the 6Ghz band with a Samsung S22 Ultra. I could _NOT_ get connected. The Samsung kept complaining about incorrect password (WPA3 on Samsung or the router, not working, or could be both). So let put the blame on Samsung, and not the new kid, CR1000A. My Fios connectivity problem does not stop there. I signed up the 2G Gigabit and received the Fios Extender, E3200. Noted, the E3200 does not work with the new router, CR1000A. The only way to pair the two is hard wired them with a cable (ethernet or coax) which makes the extending pointless and useless. They cannot be paired thru Wi-Fi. My research pointed me to get the Wi-Fi Extender Mini as replacement. Another problem is, the Wi-Fi Extender Mini, CME1000, is in short supply. (Re: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fios/comments/udhl4k/help_cant_get_new_model_verizon_router_to_connect/)

I best hope for a firmware upgrade to satisfy my itchy 6Ghz band and Wi-Fi connecting and extending capabilities!

[Cang_Household]

You might want to double check whether your CR1000A is using WPA2 or WPA3 on the 6GHz band.

The Fios Extender thing, all previous generations of Fios Extender or Fios Network Extender require a hardwire to the router. Fios Extender can connect to G3100 wireless but this was never prevalently advertised as a feature and is deemed as a last resort.

Now, consider the engineering part. If Fiso Extender can be wirelessly connected to CR1000A, it needs to use one of the 5GHz band. Now, CR1000A only has one 5GHz band, as opposed to two on G3100, because one is replaced with 6GHz band. If Fios Extender occupies the only 5GHz band on CR1000A leaving all other wireless devices to either the 6GHz band (which not many devices have adopted) or the slower 2.4GHz band. Neither option is desirable.

Second of all, even 4 x 4 MIMO 802.11ax has some trouble delivering 2Gbps at an acceptable range for extending purposes. Ethernet cannot deliver 2Gbps either because E3200's MAC/PHY is 1Gbps. Coax is your best option as it runs MoCA 2.5 which delivers 2.5Gbps. You can connect 16 MoCA nodes in a coax network so you got a free 16-port multigigabit switch as well. 

[Rkkeller8]

I received this today and have not had time to really do anything yet.  I am mostly Apple,  M1 Mini, iPhone 13 Pro Max so don't think I have anything 6E to test.

[Rkkeller8]

There is no choice on the 6 band, WPA3 only.