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Firmware Bug: SAX2V1R/SAX1V1K Router Incompatible with Intel Wi-Fi 7 (BE200) & Wi-Fi 6 Clients

nisarg0560
nisarg0560 Posts: 1 Newcomer
in Suggestions and Feedback
Spectrum.jpg

I am reporting a reproducible firmware incompatibility between the Spectrum WiFi 6 routers (Models SAX2V1R and SAX1V1K) and modern Lenovo laptops using Intel Wi-Fi 7 (BE200) and Wi-Fi 6 (AX-series) network adapters.

The issue manifests as intermittent connection drops (100% packet loss for 10–20 seconds) caused by failures in the router's "Smart Steering" and WPA security handshake protocols.

Hardware Involved:

  • Router: Spectrum SAX2V1R (and previously SAX1V1K)
  • Client Devices: Lenovo ThinkPad (Intel BE200 320MHz) and Lenovo Legion 5i (Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX)
  • OS: Windows 11 Enterprise / Pro

Technical Findings & Logs:After extensive troubleshooting (including swapping hardware and driver updates), Windows Event Viewer logs confirmed the root cause:

  1. Authentication Handshake Failure: Even when forcing the client to 2.4GHz, logs show repeated Event ID 11004 / 11005 (MsmSecurity) errors. The router is rejecting the security handshake from the Intel chipsets during re-authentication.
  2. Roaming/Steering Loops: The router's enforced "Smart Steering" (single SSID for all bands) forces the client into a disconnect/reconnect loop. Logs show frequent Event ID 8000 & 8001 (WLAN AutoConfig) sequences where the client attempts to roam, fails, and drops connection.

Resolution:The issue was immediately resolved by removing the Spectrum router and installing a 3rd-party (Netgear) router. By manually separating the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands and disabling Smart Connect, the connection is 100% stable with zero packet loss.

Request to Engineering:Please escalate this to the firmware team. The current firmware on SAX-series routers appears unable to handle standard WPA3/WPA2 transition handshakes with newer Intel drivers. Additionally, enabling a user-facing toggle to "Disable Smart Steering" in the My Spectrum App would resolve this issue for many customers without requiring hardware replacement.

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