WPA3 now required in all routers
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Beginning July 1 2020, any device that’s certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance must support the latest generation of security, known as WPA3. @UI-AmpliFi @UI-Andrey @UI-Brett how will this affect AMPLIFI Alien and HD?
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how will this affect AMPLIFI Alien and HD?
Hi @Richard1864 - why would it affect devices that are not Wi-Fi Alliance certified?
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@Derek-Saville I thought the AMPLIFI Alien WAS certified.
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Hi @Richard1864 - no, it is NOT
AmpliFi have stated they are looking into Wi-Fi 6 certification, but that would also require 160 MHz channel widths, which would also require FCC certification first
There is probably nothing preventing AmpliFi from implementing WPA3 without Wi-Fi certification on Alien, as the chip-set does support it, but no plans have been communicated so far
Even Ubiquiti has NO actual Wi-Fi certified routers, only AP's
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While I would love the have the WPA3, and 160 Mhz-- I could care less about the alleged certification, and some well knows brands that are pure crap. I will take reliability over fake certifications every day of the week.
Any Marketing or other "alliance" that allows the low standards for current offerings have no actual positive consequence, or reflection of quality or reliability IMO.
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WPA3 will be implemented in future on HD and Alien.
It must be because of Security - Attack - etc
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@Richard1864 My understanding is that new mandatory requirements only affect devices seeking certification after the requirement is put in place. I believe the Alien was certified before WPA3 became mandatory!
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@James-Ford it’s retroactive. All Wi-Fi certified devices now need WPA3.
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@Richard1864 I understand why you think it is retroactive but it is not! The reason you think it is retroactive is that most articles (I have read quite a few) fail to include one word and that word is "new". They should be saying "newly certified routers will have to include WPA3".
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@James-Earl-Ford and per the WiFi Alliance directly when emailed: “WPA3 certification is required for all current routers with Wi-Fi certification after July 1, 2018.” Don’t argue with me about it, argue with the Wi-Fi Alliance; THEY are the ones making the requirement.
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Which is all irrelevant since Wi-Fi Allaince "certification" is NOT mandatory and only meaningful if you value a 'Wi-Fi 6 Certified' logo on the box
802.11ax still isn't even a ratified standard yet
The Alien IS certified to the mandatory antenna and radio emissions standards, as lawfully required by the FCC in the USA and ISED Canada, but only up to 80 MHz channel widths and without DFS channels
WPA3 and 160MHz channel widths were a mandatory part of the Wi-Fi Alliance Wi-Fi 6 Certification program from the very beginning of the program, NOT "Beginning July 1, 2020" as stated in the original post
However well intentioned, since it was likely that a lot of Wi-Fi 6 routers, especially in the mid to lower price points, would NOT include 160 MHz channel widths (especially without the 6 GHz '6E' band extension) , the Wi-Fi 6 Alliance was remiss in making them a requirement of their certification program
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Hi @Richard1864 - the title of your thread is complete wrong...WPA3 IS NOT and NEVER HAS BEEN REQUIRED ON ALL ROUTERS
And WPA3 NEVER WILL BE REQUIRED since Wi-Fi Alliance "Certification" IS NOT REQUIRED
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@Derek-Saville Thanks!!!
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Hi @James-Ford - the Wi-Fi Alliance and their certification programs are a little bit of a mess...
A Wi-Fi Certified product requires both Wi-Fi Certified Connectivity and Wi-Fi Certified Security compliance to display the trademark logo...
The still draft 802.11ax IEEE standard can be Connectivity certified under the Wi-Fi Certified 6 program, which does have an independent logo...
This is where requirements such as 160 MHz channel widths can be mandated, which currently prevents the Alien from being Connectivity certifiedThe latest generation of Wi-Fi Alliance Security is the Wi-Fi Certified WPA3 program, which doesn't have a dedicated logo that I am aware of, just the trademarked name
As of July 1st, 2020 the previous WPA2 certification program was stopped and only WPA3 Security certification is available going forward for any product going through Wi-Fi Alliance certification
Based on its chipset capabilities, the Alien could easily support WPA3, but AmpliFi is unlikely using the Qualcomm reference package and rolling their own code
Even if Alien became Wi-Fi Alliance WPA3 certified (which is not mandatory), the lack of 160 MHz channel widths still prevents it from becoming Wi-Fi Certified 6 for Connectivity and Wi-Fi Certified overall
When the Wi-Fi Alliance originally started the Wi-Fi Certified 6 Connectivity program, they indicated that WPA3 was also mandatory for becoming Wi-Fi Certified - you couldn't have Wi-Fi Certified 6 product with WPA2 Security which was still active at the time
There was the question of obtaining Wi-Fi Certified 6 Connectivity certification separately from WPA3 Security certification (in the past you might have seen 'Wi-Fi Certified ac' products which did not bother becoming 'Wi-Fi Certified'), but indications were they did not want to go that route yet, although politics, finances and COVID may have changed things since the start of the program
All of which is currently irrelevant to the Alien as it does not have 160 MHz channel widths for Connectivity or WPA3 for Security, and Wi-Fi Alliance certification is not mandatory
And you are correct that only "newly certified routers will have to include WPA3" when it comes to Wi-Fi Security Certified and Wi-Fi Certified products (assuming they do allow for Wi-Fi 6 Certified Connectivity separately)
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@unseenone I read in a forum that they are working to include 160mhz in a future update but with the WEPA 3 I have not seen any updates of that being implemented any soon which is really sad!
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@Penchito-Martinez They posted in June that they are working on it, but do not have an ETA. So it is in the works. Quality takes time, so we wait.
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@Derek-Saville Thanks again!
