Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller Software Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS XE 26.1.x

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Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller Software Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS XE 26.1.x

6-GHz client steering

Updated: April 10, 2026

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6-GHz Client Steering details.

6-GHz client steering is a network management feature that

  • enables the steering of clients to the 6-GHz band based on periodic client statistics reports from the 2.4-GHz or 5-GHz bands

  • is configured under WLAN settings, and

  • applies only to clients that are 6-GHz capable.

The 6-GHz band offers additional channels, increased bandwidth, and reduced network congestion compared to the current 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands. Consequently, wireless clients with 6-GHz capability connect to the 6-GHz radio to leverage these advantages.

Note

Client steering to 6-GHz will not work if the SSID is used as OWE transition mode.

Configure 6-GHz client steering in global configuration mode (GUI)

Complete this task to configure 6-GHz client steering in global configuration mode.

Procedure

1.

Choose Configuration > Wireless > Advanced.
2.

Click the 6 GHz Client Steering tab. Client steering is configurable per WLAN.
3.

In the 6 GHz Transition Minimum Client Count field, enter a value to set the minimum number of clients for client steering. The default value is three clients. The range is from 0 to 200 clients.
4.

In the 6 GHz Transition Minimum Window Size field, enter a value to set the minimum window size of client steering. The default value is three. The range is from 0 to 200.
5.

In the 6 GHz Transition Maximum Utilization Difference field, enter a value to set the maximum utilization difference for steering. The range is from 0 to 100 percent. The default value is 20.
6.

In the 6 GHz Transition Minimum 2.4 GHz RSSI Threshold field, enter a value to set the minimum value for client steering 2.4-GHz RSSI threshold.
7.

In the 6 GHz Transition Minimum 5 GHz RSSI Threshold field, enter a value to set the minimum value for client steering 5-GHz RSSI threshold.
8.

Click Apply.

The 6-GHz client steering is configured in the global configuration mode.

Configure 6-GHz client steering in global configuration mode (CLI)

Complete this task to configure 6-GHz client steering in the global configuration mode.

Procedure

1.

Enter global configuration mode.

Example:

Device# configure terminal
2.

Set the minimum number of clients for client steering.

Example:

Device(config)# client-steering client-count min-num-clients

The range is from 0 to 200.
3.

Set the minimum window size of client steering.

Example:

Device(config)# client-steering window-size window-size

The range is from 0 to 200.
4.

Set the maximum channel utilization difference (2.4-GHz or 5-GHz to 6-GHz) for steering.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless client client-steering util-threshold threshold

The range is from 0 to 100 percent.
5.

Set the minimum value for the 2.4-GHz RSSI threshold for client steering.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless client client-steering min-rssi-24ghz -70
6.

Set the minimum value for the 5-GHz RSSI threshold for client steering.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless client client-steering min-rssi-5ghz -75

The 6-GHz client steering is configured in the global configuration mode.

Example

Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# client-steering client-count 3
Device(config)# client-steering window-size 5
Device(config)# wireless client client-steering util-threshold 25
Device(config)# wireless client client-steering min-rssi-24ghz -70
Device(config)# wireless client client-steering min-rssi-5ghz -75

Configure 6-GHz client steering on WLAN (GUI)

Complete this task to configure 6 GHz client steering on WLAN.

Procedure

1.

Choose Configuration > Tags & Profiles > WLANs.
2.

Click Add.

The Add WLAN page is displayed.
3.

Click Advanced.
4.

Check the 6 GHz Client Steering check box to enable client steering on the WLAN.
5.

Click Apply to Device.

The 6 GHz client steering on WLAN is configured.

Configure 6-GHz client steering on WLAN (CLI)

Complete this task to configure 6 GHz client steering on WLAN.

Procedure

1.

Enter the global configuration mode.

Example:

Device# configure terminal
2.

Enter the WLAN configuration submode.

Example:

Device(config)# wlan wlan-name wlan-id ssid-name
3.

Configure 6-GHz client steering on the WLAN.

Example:

Device(config-wlan)# client-steering

The 6-GHz client steering on WLAN is configured.

Example

Device# configure terminal
Device(config)# wlan wlan-name 18 ssid-name
Device(config-wlan)# client-steering

Verify 6-GHz client steering

To verify client steering, run the following commands:

Device# show wlan wlan-id
                WLAN Profile Name     : wlan1
                ================================================
                Identifier                                     : 1
                Description                                    :
                Network Name (SSID)                            : ssid-demo
                Status                                         : Disabled
                Broadcast SSID                                 : Enabled
                .
                .
                .
                6Ghz Client Steering                           : Enabled
                .
                .
                .
            

Device# show wireless client steering
                Client Steering Configuration Information
                Macro to micro transition threshold                  : -55 dBm
                Micro to Macro transition threshold                  : -65 dBm
                Micro-Macro transition minimum client count          : 3
                Micro-Macro transition client balancing window       : 3
                Probe suppression mode                               : Disabled
                Probe suppression transition aggressiveness          : 3
                Probe suppression hysteresis                         : -6 dB
                6Ghz transition minimum client count                 : 3
                6Ghz transition minimum window size                  : 3
                6Ghz transition maximum channel util difference      : 20%
                6Ghz transition minimum 2.4Ghz RSSI threshold        : -60 dBm
                6Ghz transition minimum 5Ghz RSSI threshold          : -65 dBm
                
                WLAN Configuration Information
                
                WLAN Profile Name                     11k Neighbor Report       11v BSS Transition
                -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                12   test1                            Enabled                   Enabled
                8    test                             Enabled                   Enabled