Better Wi-Fi performance

The R5, R7 and R7Ex that have Wi-Fi now support IEEE 802.11 k/v/r.

802.11k allows a Wi-Fi Access Point to provide a connected radio with a list of neighbours and their signal/channel information. Without this, the radio would have scan all channels to find a better Access Point, causing delays and service interruptions.

802.11r reduces the time required for the radio to re-authenticate and re-associate with a new Wi-Fi Access Point in the same network using a process called Fast Transition. In the past, roaming involved a lengthy, four-way handshake and key exchange every time, especially when WPA2/WPA3-Enterprise is used. This standard allows the radio and Access Points to pre-share or pre-compute the security keys across the so-called mobility domain. As a result, the authentication time is reduced to a few milliseconds.

802.11v provides mechanisms that allow the network infrastructure to exchange information and influence the a radio's roaming behaviour on Wi-Fi, primarily through a feature known as BSS Transition Management (BTM). This is a mechanism that allows the Wireless LAN Controller to actively guide a connected device to a better Wi-Fi Access Point.

This proves useful when used with features like Seamless Voice Handover and OTAP via Wi-Fi. It does however require M2025.03 firmware and the Wi-Fi network must also support the above services.