What is the Best practice for Wi-fi 7 MLO(Multi-Link Operation)?

Zyxel_HsinBo

Recommendation:

Create a separate SSID for MLO rather than enabling MLO on an existing SSID

Reasons include:

1. The current WPA3 settings on Nebula are with transition mode enabled for better compatibility. However, WiFi 7 MLO requires strict WPA3 (pure WPA3, without transition mode). This means that certain devices, such as Apple iOS devices, may recognize the MLO SSID as a separate profile, requiring users to establish a new SSID profile. This could lead to unpredictable roaming behavior.

2. Additionally Many legacy Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) and Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) clients still exist, and a number of them are unable to connect to WPA3-only SSIDs. To support these devices, we recommend maintaining WPA3 with transition mode on the existing SSIDs.

3. For consistent coverage, we recommend providing Wi-Fi 7 MLO coverage throughout the entire desired area. This avoids potential issues when devices attempt to roam between the MLO SSID and the previous non-MLO SSID. Some clients may not recognize these as the same SSID and will therefore stay connected to the existing SSID until the signal is too weak, only then switching to the MLO SSID.

4. Since MLO is still in the early stages of development, we suggest that users with Wi-Fi 7-capable devices who want to experience MLO enable auto-join (on Wi-Fi 7 end device) for the MLO SSID and disable auto-join for the other SSIDs in the same coverage area (e.g., in an office setting). This approach ensures that the client always connects to the MLO SSID instead of spotty coverage of MLO SSID, and then disconnect, and then connect to other SSID, which further emphasizes the importance of providing comprehensive WiFi 7 MLO coverage where possible.