Wi‑Fi Security Operating Modes

transition mode ssids in wpa3 personal and wpa3 enterprise tri‑band networks transition mode ssid is designed to support legacy clients by allowing them to connect with lower security settings while still using the same ssid wpa3 personal (transition mode) ssid on a tri band ap, this mode allows 2 4 ghz and 5 ghz clients to connect using either wpa3 sae or wpa2 psk, while 6 ghz clients are restricted to wpa3 sae only wpa3 enterprise (transition mode) ssid on a tri band ap, this mode allows 2 4 ghz and 5 ghz clients to connect using either wpa3 802 1x or wpa2 802 1x authentication the ssid will not broadcast on the 6 ghz radio when using transition mode wpa3 enterprise (192 bit strict mode) ssid for wpa3 enterprise deployments, the radius server must present x 509 certificates that comply with contemporary cryptographic best practices and the stricter requirements of wpa3 enterprise in practice, this generally means using rsa keys of at least 2048 bits (with 3072 bits or larger recommended for long lived certificates or 192 bit security profiles), or elliptic curve (ecdsa) certificates based on strong curves such as p 256 or stronger certificates should be signed using sha 256 or a stronger hash function, and deprecated parameters such as 1024 bit rsa keys or sha 1 signatures must be avoided note deployments that continue to use legacy or weak certificates are likely to encounter wpa3‑enterprise authentication failures this table summarizes how different wi‑fi security operating modes are applied and broadcast across the 2 4 ghz, 5 ghz, and 6 ghz bands security mode wi‑fi configuration on 2 4 ghz wi‑fi configuration on 5 ghz wi‑fi configuration on 6 ghz legacy open open open no ssid will be configured on the 6 ghz radio owe (strict mode) owe (strict) owe (strict) owe (strict) owe (transition mode) owe (transition) owe (transition) the ssid will be converted to owe (strict) and broadcast wpa2‑personal (upsk supported) owe (transition) wpa2‑personal no ssid will be configured on the 6 ghz radio wpa2‑enterprise wpa2‑enterprise wpa2‑enterprise no ssid will be configured on the 6 ghz radio wpa3‑personal (strict mode) – upsk not supported due to standards limitation wpa3‑personal (strict) wpa3‑personal (strict) wpa3‑personal (strict) wpa3‑personal (transition mode) – upsk not supported due to standards limitation wpa3‑personal (transition) wpa3‑personal (transition) the ssid will be converted to wpa3 personal (strict) and broadcast wpa3‑enterprise 192‑bit (strict mode) wpa3‑enterprise 192‑bit (strict) wpa3‑enterprise 192‑bit (strict) wpa3‑enterprise 192‑bit (strict) wpa3‑enterprise (transition mode) wpa3‑enterprise (transition) – 128‑bit wpa3‑enterprise (transition) – 128‑bit no ssid will be configured on 6 ghz captive portal with legacy open ssid captive portal with legacy open ssid captive portal with legacy open ssid no ssid will be configured on 6 ghz captive portal with owe transition ssid – guest ssid defaults to owe transition, not open captive portal with owe transition ssid captive portal with owe transition ssid captive portal with owe (strict) ssid will be used