6 GHz Channel Allocation and Notation

6 GHz low power (LP)

For the following APs, 6 GHz radio operates in Low Power (LP) mode:

AP3000
AP4000
AP5010
AP5020
AP5050U/D (indoor) - AP5050 supports LPI indoor in certain countries. Refer to the compliance information included with the access point. In the U.S. and Canada, AP5050 does not support LPI.

6 GHz standard power (SP)

For AP5050U/D (outdoor) and AP5020, 6 GHz radio operates in Standard Power (SP) mode under the control of the AFC server.

The 6 GHz band supports a large number of channels (LP supports UNII-5,6,7 and 8, while SP supports UNII-5 and 7).

Preferred Scanning Channels (PSC) are highlighted below.

It is recommended to select Preferred Scanning Channel (PSC) of 20 MHz & 40 MHz channel widths for better performance.

Because numerous channels are offered on the 6 GHz band, it is a best practice to configure the Preferred Scanning Channel (PSC) so that the amount of probing is kept to a minimum. Preferred channels function as primary channels at each channel width: 20, 40, 80,160 MHz, and 320MHz (AP5020).

If 80 or 160 MHz channel width is selected, the beacons are automatically transmitted over PSC channels.

Note

All channels on the 6 GHz band are supported when 20 MHz and 40 MHz are used. It is a best practice to configure Preferred Scanning Channels for faster scanning.

Example

Example: 6 GHz channel notation 47e/160

47 — Selected channel
e — Represents 6E (6 GHz band). Differentiates 6 GHz overlapping channel numbers with bands 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.
/160 — Channel bonded to 160 MHz

For all channel widths:

20M and 40M only for very for high density deployments
80M default channel width, recommended mainly because the primary channel is automatically set to a PSC channel.
160M and 320M channels to be used only in special circumstance, usually point to point links.

For the 47e/160 – The center channel is the 160M channel (not bonded) and channel 37 is the associated primary channel.

Note

6GHz Wi-Fi Preferred Scanning Channels

Preferred Scanning Channels (PSC) in 6 GHz Wi-Fi are specific channels designated for beacon and discovery purposes. For in-band discovery, clients can only send probe requests on every fourth 20 MHz channel. The complete list of 6 GHz PSC channels is 5, 21, 37, 53, 69, 85, 101, 117, 133, 149, 165, 181, 197, 213, and 229. These channels are spaced every 80 MHz apart, ensuring efficient connectivity and reducing the time spent scanning for an optimal channel.