They keep changing.
If you’re having trouble connecting to a Wi-Fi hotspot — open and public, or otherwise — it could be a mismatch between the capabilities of your Wi-Fi hardware and the hotspot providing the wireless networking.
To do this, we need to figure out which protocols — that whole “802.11” thing — your card is capable of. Once we have that information, we can make a few assumptions.
Fortunately, your card’s capabilities are easily discovered.
Which Wi-Fi?
To check your Wi-Fi protocols, open Command Prompt and type netsh wlan show drivers. Look for “Radio types supported” to see which protocols are possible. Then go to Settings > Network & Internet > Properties to see which protocol and frequency you’re using right now.
Examining capabilities
On a computer with Wi-Fi, enter the following command:
netsh wlan show drivers
The result will be a lengthy list.
Look for the line “Radio types supported”. That will tell you the WI-Fi protocols your adapter is capable of using. In the example above, that includes: 802.11b, 802. 11g, 802.11n, 802.11a, 802. 11ac, and 802.11ax.
Great. What’s all that mean?
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802.11 variations
802.11 is a formal standard for the wireless protocol used by what we typically call Wi-Fi. It defines the signals, frequencies, and other characteristics of how wireless devices communicate with one another. Originally released in 1997, there have been, and continue to be, revisions to the protocol.
| Generation | IEEE standard |
Adopted | Speed Range (Mbit/s) |
Frequency (GHz) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.4 | 5 | 6 | ||||
| Wi-Fi 1 | 802.11 | 1997 | 1–2 |  |
||
| Wi-Fi 2 | 802.11b | 1999 | 1–11 | |
||
| Wi-Fi 2G | 802.11a | 6–54 | |
|||
| Wi-Fi 3 | 802.11g | 2003 | |
|||
| Wi-Fi 4 | 802.11n | 2009 | 6.5–600 | |
|
|
| Wi-Fi 5 | 802.11ac | 2013 | 6.5–6,933 | |
||
| Wi-Fi 6 | 802.11ax | 2021 | 0.4–9,608 | |
|
|
| Wi-Fi 6E | |
|
|
|||
| Wi-Fi 7 | 802.11be | 2024 | 0.4–23,059 | |
|
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| Wi-Fi 8 | 802.11bn | TBA | |
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|
|
(Source: Wikipedia)
Each generation (1, 2, 2G, etc.) of the protocol differs in its range of transmission speeds and the frequencies over which the protocol might be used.1
The rows I’ve highlighted in blue correspond to the “Radio types supported” in my earlier example. My laptop can use the 802.11b, 802. 11g, 802.11n, 802.11a, 802. 11ac, and 802.11ax protocols.
Great. But what am I actually using?
Wi-Fi in use
In Settings, open Network and Internet. There you’ll find at least one piece of the puzzle.
“Properties” indicates that this connection is using the 5GHz frequency, but that doesn’t tell me which 802.11 protocol is in use.
Click on Properties for more information.
Along with other information, here you can see that my laptop is connecting using 802.11ac, also known as Wi-Fi 5.
Side trip: DFS
The original question was submitted by an individual whose Wi-Fi was having problems aboard a cruise ship. He was told his device probably didn’t support something called “DFS”, or Dynamic Frequency Selection. This is another formal specification — 802.11h — dealing with interference when using the 5GHz frequency.
There are other devices that use certain frequencies in the 5GHz range, including ships’ radar. On a cruise ship, you do not want your Wi-Fi signal to interfere with the radar. DFS is a protocol addition that allows your Wi-Fi device to sidestep possible interference, so it makes sense that your cruise ship might require your device to support DFS.
Determining whether or not your specific device supports it is a little unclear. The rule of thumb seems to be that any device supporting 5 GHz Wi-Fi made after 2019 likely supports DFS channels. Prior to that, things could get iffy.2
Do this
Most of this is completely transparent in normal use. Your laptop will generally note what your local router or Wi-Fi access point makes available and use the option best suited to the situation.
But if you’re curious about what your device’s capabilities are and what choices were made when connecting, now you can peek under the hood.
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