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

Receiver only dual-band radio support

Updated: April 10, 2026

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Explains the features, functions, and operational constraints of receiver only dual-band radios in WLAN deployments.

A receiver only dual-band radio is a WLAN radio type that

  • configures the dual-band Rx-only radio features for an AP with dual-band radios

  • serves dedicated functions such as analytics, hyperlocation, wireless security monitoring, and BLE Angle of Arrival (AoA), and

  • continually remains in monitor mode, preventing any tx-rx configuration for client or data traffic.

Enable CleanAir with receiver Only dual-band radio on a Cisco AP (GUI)

Enable CleanAir functionality on a Cisco AP that is configured with a receiver only dual-band radio through the GUI.

Procedure

1.

Choose Configuration > Wireless > Access Points.
2.

In the Dual-Band Radios settings, click the AP for which you want to configure the dual-band radios.
3.

In the General tab, enable the CleanAir toggle button.
4.

Click Update & Apply to Device.

Enabling CleanAir with receiver only dual-band radio on a Cisco AP (CLI)

Enable CleanAir spectrum analysis for a dual-band receiver-only radio on a specified Cisco AP.

Procedure

1.

Enter the privileged EXEC mode.

Example:

Device# enable
2.

Enable CleanAir with receiver only (Rx-only) dual-band radio on a specific AP.

Example:

Device# ap name AP-SIDD-A06 dot11 rx-dual-band slot 2 cleanair band 24Ghz
Device# ap name AP-SIDD-A06 [no] dot11 rx-dual-band slot 2 cleanair band 24Ghz

Here, 2 refers to the slot ID. Use the no form of this command to disable CleanAir.

Disable receiver only dual-band radio on a Cisco AP (GUI)

Prevent the AP from operating a receiver-only dual-band radio by using the GUI.

Procedure

1.

Choose Configuration > Wireless > Access Points.
2.

In the Dual-Band Radios settings, click the AP for which you want to configure the dual-band radios.
3.

In the General tab, disable the CleanAir Status toggle button.
4.

Click Update & Apply to Device.

Disable receiver only dual-band radio on a Cisco AP (CLI)

Disable the receiver only dual-band radio function on a specific Cisco AP using commands.

Procedure

1.

Enter the privileged EXEC mode.

Example:

Device# enable
2.

Disable receiver only dual-band radio on a specific Cisco AP.

Example:

Device# ap name AP-SIDD-A06 dot11 rx-dual-band slot 2 shutdown
Device# ap name AP-SIDD-A06 [no] dot11 rx-dual-band slot 2 shutdown

Here, 2 refers to the slot ID. Use the no form of this command to enable receiver only dual-band radio.

Configure client steering (CLI)

Enable and customize client steering on a wireless device to optimize client distribution between macro (5 GHz) and micro (2.4 GHz) radios, improving wireless network performance and load balancing.

Before you begin

Enable Cisco CleanAir on the corresponding dual-band radio.

Procedure

1.

Configure the macro-micro client load–balancing window for a set number of clients.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless macro-micro steering transition-threshold balancing-window number-of-clients(0-65535) 10
2.

Configure the macro-micro client parameters for a minimum client count for transition.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless macro-micro steering transition-threshold client count number-of-clients(0-65535) 10
3.

Configure the macro-to-micro transition RSSI.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless macro-micro steering transition-threshold macro-to-micro RSSI-in-dBm( –128—0) -100
4.

Configure the micro–to–macro transition RSSI.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless macro–micro steering transition-threshold micro-to-macro RSSI-in-dBm(–128—0) -110
5.

Configure the number of probe cycles to be suppressed.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless macro-micro steering probe-suppression aggressiveness number-of-cycles(–128—0) -110
6.

Configure the macro-to-micro probe in RSSI.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless macro-micro steering probe-suppression hysteresis RSSI-in-dBm -5

The range is between –6 to –3.
7.

Enable probe suppression mode.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless macro-micro steering probe-suppression probe-only
8.

Enable probe and single authentication suppression mode.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless macro-micro steering probe-suppression probe-auth
9.

Display the wireless client steering information.

Example:

Device# show wireless client steering

Verify Cisco APs with dual-band radios

To verify the APs with dual-band radios, use the command:

Device# show ap dot11 dual-band summary


AP Name Subband Radio      Mac   Status Channel Power Level Slot ID Mode
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4800   All 3890.a5e6.f360 Enabled (40)* *1/8     (22 dBm)      0   Sensor
4800   All 3890.a5e6.f360 Enabled N/A    N/A       2               Monitor