Wi-Fi Alliance: Testing for Wi-Fi 7 and Security – Bridging Certification and Real-World Interoperability | PHX 26

Wi-Fi Alliance will lead a hands-on deep dive into testing Wi-Fi 7 and WPA3 features.

This Wi-Fi Alliance-hosted deep dive brings an inside look at how Wi-Fi 7 and WPA3 are tested, debugged, and validated in certification testing as well as real-world interoperability environments. Participants will learn how Wi-Fi Alliance's test frameworks evaluate device behavior through guided examples and hands-on capture analysis.

Deep-dive sessions will cover:

·       WPA3-Personal, WPA3-Enterprise, WPA3-Personal transition mode, WPA3-Personal compatibility mode, Protected Management Frames, and roaming between different security modes and bands

·       Wi-Fi 7 (including MLO modes, ML + security, and forward and backward compatibility between Wi-Fi 7 devices and prior Generational Wi-Fi (e.g., Wi-Fi 6) devices)

Deep-dive module breakdown:

Common implementation flaws illustrate why Wi-Fi CERTIFIED-aligned behavior is essential. The security-focused hands-on exercises will reveal how improper implementations of security protocols leads to authentical failures, broken associations, failed handshakes, and unmet user expectations.

·        Improper handling of multiple AKMs

·        Cross-AKM and Cross-band roaming failures

·        Incorrect processing of pairwise cipher suites

·        RSNE and RSNXE extendibility issues

Multi-Link Association and Operation – the segment explores how Wi-Fi 7 MLO-capable devices discover, associate, and manage multiple links with access points. Participants will analyze the Basic Multi-Link Element and its role in the association process, learning how MLO clients and APs coordinate link setup and maintenance. The session also introduces multi-link security with WPA3, and compares MLO operating modes - MLSR, STR, and EMLSR - highlighting how each impacts performance and client implementation.

Backward and Forward Compatibility – the module will help understand the intricacies for ensuring Wi-Fi 7 APs operate harmoniously with legacy client devices, how current devices are validated for resilience towards latest and future standard expansion – such as MLO Link KDE, Beacon Protection, Extended MLD capabilities, MCS15 Disable – ensuring long-term interoperability and stability

Who should attend:

·       Wi-Fi engineers, test and validation specialists, QA leads, test lab managers, and field engineers seeking a deeper understanding of Wi-Fi 7 and WPA3 interoperability testing. Prior experience with Wi-Fi analysis tools is recommended.

What to bring:

·       Laptop with administrative privileges

·       A mix of Wi-Fi devices (phones, IoT, CE, laptops, etc.) to observe interoperability behavior

·       Optional: NIC capable of monitor mode capture on 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands

What Wi-Fi Alliance will provide:

·       100+ commercial Wi-Fi 7 access points and client devices

·       Test scenarios and reference over-the-air sniffer traces

·       Latest Wireshark builds and preconfigured sniffer machines for live packet analysis

‍