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Wifi 6
When are you going to bring Wifi 6 devices?
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When are you going to bring Wifi 6 devices?
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Hi @Pedro
WiFi 6 devices are currently being developed, but there is no release date set for them yet.
When they're announced, they'll go through a beta process before they're released, so if you're interested, I'd suggest joining the beta community at watchguard.centercode.com.
-James Carson
WatchGuard Customer Support
Almost a year later and still nothing? Most of the requests we get are for WiFi 6 AP's - which means we have to sell them Merakis instead of Watchguards.......
Hi @mgbsystems
There will be a WiFi 6 product coming soon. WathGuard is focused on having a stable supported release. Many of the vendors that released WiFi 6 APs early did so under draft standards.
-James Carson
WatchGuard Customer Support
Is there an ETA of wifi-6 device availablity?
Hi @rblack @Gopher
There is not currently an ETA for this. Products are currently being developed, and will be announced via sales/partner channels when they are finalized.
-James Carson
WatchGuard Customer Support
-Removed partner specific information -- James C.
~T
Next month will be two years since initial certification. Not a good look to be announcing the lack of an ETA, even with COVID.
> Next month will be two years since initial certification. Not a good look to be announcing the lack of an ETA, even with COVID.
It’s coming…. They are currently beta testing them now.
They updated their portal to have new info.
https://www.watchguard.com/wgrd-products/secure-wifi/cloud-management
Note: AP330 and AP430CR have physical WIPS radios in them but new cloud portal doesn’t have options coming yet. It will probably be there early Q1.
Old WAPs from pre October 2021 will not be migrated to new portal… they will need to be replaced by new ones. I can’t speak specifics on why… I advise going to partner or partner rep for details.
Hello,
as I read, "WatchGuard is excited to announce the release of Wi-Fi 6 access points and centralized management of Wi-Fi in WatchGuard Cloud".
I read about new WG WiFi6 AP's and it seems, that many customers, who uses gateway wireless controllers for their AP management, can't upgrade to WiFi6 with WG devices.
I understand, that Watchguard trying to increase revenue from AP market, but i think, this forces some clients to other WiFi vendors.
I itself (and I have not many Watchguard customers) have two clients, who can't allow any access from internal devices to outside of perimeter. And this is based on very strong security policy not on client "good idea".
It seems to be good idea to allow WiFi6 AP's to be manageable from GWC or directly thru AP's web interface (or at least ssh/telnet).
For many clients is enough basic features from AP and all features from Cloud solution is not needed.
So question - Any possibility to manage WiFi 6 devices on premise via WGC (not via cloud) planned?
Regards,
D
Hi @Dagnar
At this current point in time, the new APs will only be manageable via WatchGuard Cloud (WGC.)
-James Carson
WatchGuard Customer Support
The current "features to be announced" for the new WiFi range and the lack of a roadmap for the existing products has meant we have to look elsewhere for clients. We can't sell a new product on "wait and see" or an old product with no future.
The new WiFi 6 units are going to be WG’s future and is where most of their WiFi development resources appear to be focused on.
It has to do with how the Old wireless units were mojo network (now owned by Arrista) and Arista is preventing partners from adding features so that they can sell their stuff (which has the features already) instead.
That said, the cloud.WatchGuard.com wireless units (imo) are lacking in a lot of the features that the current units do… but I’ve acquiesced to the fact that this product is where the features are going and that we have to bear a product starting over in feature-set….
Roadmap for units before October 2021, I’ve assumed is “keep alive until EOL”… that said a roadmap for the new units is definitely desired.
WatchGuard is prioritizing the development of the latest technology in the Wi-Fi market. Our goal is to deliver Wi-Fi 6 technology to organizations of all shapes and sizes because the way the world is using wireless networks has changed dramatically since the release of WatchGuard's previous wireless family of products.
We will develop feature sets that directly align with customers' and MSP's needs on our new Wi-Fi 6 product line. Looking forward, we will continue to support our previous wireless devices to ensure our partner's business remains intact.
The manufacturer impacts the deliverability on the expectations of our partners. WatchGuard is committed to delivering deep levels of support through the WatchGuard Support team to ensure our customers and partners have their needs heard and built into the development of the future product family we create.
We want to build a product that aligns with our partner's expectations. The WatchGuard beta program for wireless products is always happy to accept new participants to ensure their needs are heard and built into our products.
Sincerely,
The WatchGuard Wi-Fi Team
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Mark Boscolo
WatchGuard Moderator.