BQ16 - Is AFC fully working now?

[snovvman]

I find no conclusive discussion about BQ16 Pro and AFC. For the U.S. market, now that it's been released for some time, is it fully working and providing better 6Ghz range? Thanks.

 

[jzchen]

As far as I am aware AFC is only authorized to be used in the USA, so since the BQ16 model is not sold here there is absolutely no way it has AFC enabled currently...

 

[erick_e]

I have a pair of BQ16 pro's and I've never seen them transmit higher than 19-20dBm on the 6GHz channels, even though they are approved for AFC power levels. -edit- I'm also in the US

 

[Tech9]

Not unique to ASUS limitation.

Ubiquiti UniFi:
6 GHz operation is supported in these countries.
Long-range 6 GHz performance with AFC available in FCC/IC region only.

 

[RMerlin]

Asus only support for US, they don't support it for Canada so far despite it being allowed by IC. Could be something to do with Broadcom vs Qualcomm.

I suspect a lot of people wishing for AFC support will change their mind once they understand how AFC actually does its thing.

 

[jzchen]

Asus only support for US, they don't support it for Canada so far despite it being allowed by IC. Could be something to do with Broadcom vs Qualcomm.

Being allowed vs database setup and support/access: Does Canada have the server(s) set up with the database of licensed radios?

 

[snovvman]

As far as I am aware AFC is only authorized to be used in the USA, so since the BQ16 model is not sold here there is absolutely no way it has AFC enabled currently...

I edited my OP, I meant the BQ16Pro in the U.S. market.

 

[snovvman]

Not unique to ASUS limitation.

Ubiquiti UniFi:
6 GHz operation is supported in these countries.
Long-range 6 GHz performance with AFC available in FCC/IC region only.

I edited the OP for clarification. I was talking about the BQ16Pro in the U.S. market. I know Ubiquiti E7, U7 Pro Outdoor, maybe others are advertised to support AFC.

I would like to know if the BQ16Pro supports AFC in the US.

 

[Tech9]

I personally don't remember anyone reporting AFC operational on any ASUS or other AIO home router. For ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro in particular - there is no word about AFC support in presentation or specifications on ASUS website.

And take a look at this quite long thread before you purchase this product:

Struggling with Asus ZenWiFi BE30000 aka 3 node BQ16 Pro bundle

Hey folks - I found this forum a few weeks ago when troubleshooting some issues with my previous Asus mesh network, and based on threads here and the review on Dong Knows Tech, I decided to pull the trigger and buy the Asus ZenWifi BE30000 from BestBuy. The layout of my house makes running an...

www.snbforums.com

 

[RMerlin]

Being allowed vs database setup and support/access: Does Canada have the server(s) set up with the database of licensed radios?

That probably depend on the manufacturer. From what I gathered, Qualcomm is setup for Canada. No idea about Broadcom.

List of designated Dynamic Spectrum Access System Administrators (DSASAs)

List of designated Dynamic Spectrum Access System Administrators (DSASAs)

ised-isde.canada.ca

 

[RMerlin]

I personally don't remember anyone reporting AFC operational on any ASUS or other AIO home router. For ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro in particular - there is no word about AFC support in presentation or specifications on ASUS website.

Based on recent source code, AFC support is currently only enabled in two GS-* models (I forgot which).

 

[snovvman]

I personally don't remember anyone reporting AFC operational on any ASUS or other AIO home router. For ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro in particular - there is no word about AFC support in presentation or specifications on ASUS website.

And take a look at this quite long thread before you purchase this product:

Struggling with Asus ZenWiFi BE30000 aka 3 node BQ16 Pro bundle

Hey folks - I found this forum a few weeks ago when troubleshooting some issues with my previous Asus mesh network, and based on threads here and the review on Dong Knows Tech, I decided to pull the trigger and buy the Asus ZenWifi BE30000 from BestBuy. The layout of my house makes running an...

www.snbforums.com

Thanks for the link. Certainly gives one pause on the BQ16. This talks about the BQ16Pro not yet certified for AFC but I haven't found any news about it.

With your knowledge of Unifi products--do you know if the U7 Pro Outdoor can run AFC at 320Mhz? This page talks about the peculiarity of the U7 Pro Outdoor when it comes to AFC and 6Ghz. It would seem that do enable 6Ghz, AFC must be enabled. I couldn't find any information about AFC and 320Mhz support.

 

[Tech9]

With your knowledge of Unifi products--do you know if the U7 Pro Outdoor can run AFC at 320Mhz?

No idea and not interested in Wi-Fi 7 in general. As per Ubiquiti's own document AFC is required for outdoor use of 6GHz band and this limits such products to US and Canada markets only. To me Wi-Fi is just convenience technology with biggest real advancements in Wi-Fi 5. Everything after is mostly bumping marketing numbers with much lower % real world usability due to ever increasing requirements on both sender and receiver sides. I have installed my 4th residential UniFi system just 2 weeks ago and it's once again tested working well Wi-Fi 6. When the support of this generation products ends I'll eventually see what is available and makes sense.

 

[jzchen]

Thanks for the link. Certainly gives one pause on the BQ16. This talks about the BQ16Pro not yet certified for AFC but I haven't found any news about it.

With your knowledge of Unifi products--do you know if the U7 Pro Outdoor can run AFC at 320Mhz? This page talks about the peculiarity of the U7 Pro Outdoor when it comes to AFC and 6Ghz. It would seem that do enable 6Ghz, AFC must be enabled. I couldn't find any information about AFC and 320Mhz support.

320 MHz requires 4x4 radio or 11.6 Gbps (per Unifi specs 5.8 x 2).
6 GHz is authorized for indoor use ONLY, UNLESS AFC is implemented. So Outdoor units such as this or the Omada (Outdoor) will not broadcast 6 GHz without AFC. (A great way to self verify you do have AFC working)...

 

[snovvman]

320 MHz requires 4x4 radio or 11.6 Gbps (per Unifi specs 5.8 x 2).
6 GHz is authorized for indoor use ONLY, UNLESS AFC is implemented. So Outdoor units such as this or the Omada (Outdoor) will not broadcast 6 GHz without AFC. (A great way to self verify you do have AFC working)...

Good point about 320Mhz needing 4 streams. Thanks!

 

[jvl1986]

Asus only support for US, they don't support it for Canada so far despite it being allowed by IC. Could be something to do with Broadcom vs Qualcomm.

I suspect a lot of people wishing for AFC support will change their mind once they understand how AFC actually does its thing.

Hi RMerlin, to your knowledge, do you know if the hardware of the BQ16 Pro is sufficient to support AFC via a future firmware update (if it's something ASUS is even considering doing).

 

[RMerlin]

Hi RMerlin, to your knowledge, do you know if the hardware of the BQ16 Pro is sufficient to support AFC via a future firmware update (if it's something ASUS is even considering doing).

The BQ16_Pro has a pressure sensor according to its build profile. However you will have to ask Asus if AFC support is still planned for that device.

 

[fruitcornbread]

Hi RMerlin, to your knowledge, do you know if the hardware of the BQ16 Pro is sufficient to support AFC via a future firmware update (if it's something ASUS is even considering doing).

Based on FCC C2PC letter, hardware version R1.40 has the barometric pressure sensor. They selected EUT 2 for the AFC DUT harness test back in May 28 2024. However, I'm not even sure if H/W R1.4 has ever reached into the market though.

 

[chris2025]

Based on FCC C2PC letter, hardware version R1.40 has the barometric pressure sensor. They selected EUT 2 for the AFC DUT harness test back in May 28 2024. However, I'm not even sure if H/W R1.4 has ever reached into the market though.

Last week I happened to be reviewing various new Asus routers by FCC ID trying to find which one(s) may be getting AFC, and I noticed that the following seemed to have 4 watt outputs (SP) listed in their Grants under the 6ghz band frequencies (unless I misunderstood something):

- GT-BE19000AI (already has AFC)
- STRIX GS-BE18000 (already has AFC)
- GT-BE98 PRO
- ZENWIFI BQ16 PRO
- ZENWIFI BT10

However, I noticed only the top two (edit: now top three) had a 'BX' designation:
BX: This standard power access point is authorized as a composite under 47 CFR 15.407(a)(4) and an indoor access point under 47 CFR 15.407(a)(5), allowing the AFCs that are issued waiver FCC 24-1217 to consider up to 6 dB of building entry loss (BEL).

I currently have AX86U and AC86U in mesh setup and it works well running Merlin, but I have multiple Wifi7 devices now and was looking to upgrade soon... I had been waiting on the BQ16 Pro or BT10 options (need three and best buy sells them in 3-packs for discount). Dong Knows Tech's site seems to think BQ16 Pro and possibly BT10 will get AFC eventually, but I'm losing hope now. Now I am considering the Strix even through the CPU is less and it isn't 10gig. I'd like to stay with Merlin but the spider routers likely won't pass the decor test. I've even looked into some Ubiquiti options... but overkill for my needs I think.

 

[degrub]

sit tight.
avoid G.A.S.