guidox / PC
Run **netsh wlan show drivers** for the supported radio types, then **netsh wlan show interfaces** for the current band, channel and rate. The two lists explain most speed complaints.
The driver name and version decide the supported standards. An old driver can leave a Wi-Fi 6 card running as Wi-Fi 5.
Get-NetAdapter -Physical | Where-Object InterfaceDescription -match 'Wi-Fi|Wireless' | Select-Object Name,InterfaceDescription,DriverVersion,LinkSpeed
netsh wlan show drivers
Get-CimInstance Win32_PnPSignedDriver | Where-Object DeviceName -match 'Wi-Fi|Wireless|WLAN' | Select-Object DeviceName,DriverVersion,DriverDateThe output lists 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax and, on newer cards, be. If **ax** is missing, the card cannot use Wi-Fi 6 regardless of the router.
netsh wlan show drivers | Select-String -Pattern 'Radio types supported|Wireless Display|Hosted network'
netsh wlan show drivers | Select-String -Pattern '802.11'
Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name 'Wi-Fi' | Where-Object DisplayName -match '802.11|Band|Channel' | Select-Object DisplayName,DisplayValueThe current band, channel and receive rate are the reality check. A 2.4 GHz connection caps around 100 Mbps even on a fast card.
netsh wlan show interfaces
netsh wlan show interfaces | Select-String -Pattern 'SSID|BSSID|Radio type|Band|Channel|Receive rate|Transmit rate|Signal'
Get-NetConnectionProfile | Select-Object Name,NetworkCategory,IPv4ConnectivityMany cards prefer 5 or 6 GHz only when the driver setting allows it. The advanced property is the switch that keeps a laptop on 2.4 GHz.
Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name 'Wi-Fi' | Select-Object DisplayName,DisplayValue,RegistryKeyword
Set-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name 'Wi-Fi' -DisplayName 'Preferred Band' -DisplayValue 'Prefer 5GHz band' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name 'Wi-Fi' | Where-Object DisplayName -match 'Band|Roaming'Throughput scales with width and streams. The adapter reports both, and the router's channel width decides what is actually used.
netsh wlan show interfaces | Select-String -Pattern 'Channel|Receive rate|Transmit rate'
netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid | Select-String -Pattern 'SSID|Channel|Band|Radio type' | Select-Object -First 20
Get-NetAdapter -Name 'Wi-Fi' | Select-Object LinkSpeed,MediaConnectionStateA card that lacks **ax** cannot be upgraded by software. An M.2 card can be replaced on many laptops, but the firmware whitelist decides whether the board accepts it.
Get-PnpDevice -Class Net | Select-Object FriendlyName,Status,InstanceId
Get-CimInstance Win32_ComputerSystem | Select-Object Model,Manufacturer
Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS | Select-Object SMBIOSBIOSVersion,ReleaseDateThe 5 GHz radio is disabled in the driver or the router. Check the advanced properties and the router's band settings.
Distance, channel width and streams. A 2x2 card cannot reach a 4x4 router's maximum.
Set the roaming aggressiveness to a lower value and prefer the 5 GHz band.
The access point or the band does not offer Wi-Fi 6. The connection negotiates the lower standard.
No. The radio hardware and the regulatory approval decide the bands; software cannot add them.
For a desktop yes. On a laptop it adds a protruding device and often performs worse than a good internal card.
Yes. Vendor drivers usually fix power and roaming issues that the generic Microsoft driver still has.
Reset any advanced property you changed with Set-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty, or restart the adapter with Restart-NetAdapter -Name 'Wi-Fi'.
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