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Wi-Fi 8 (IEEE 802.11bn)

Wi-Fi 8 is still a draft, with IEEE final approval projected for May 2028 and no Wi-Fi 8 certification program named yet, so nothing on your plant floor can run the finished standard today.

Ben RutterIndustrial network engineer
  • Updated
  • Reviewed
  • 6 sources
Tracking
IEEE P802.11bn, Enhancements for Ultra High Reliability, the amendment Wi-Fi Alliance markets as Wi-Fi 8
Stage
Working group letter ballot, Draft 2 comment resolution
Where it stands
The Draft 2.0 letter ballot closed on September 2, 2026 with 77 percent approval, the task group resolved about 1,850 of its comments in September to produce Draft 2.1, and IEEE projects the Draft 3.0 ballot for January 2027.
Next projected
January 2027: Letter ballot on Draft 3.0
Last checked

Timeline

  1. IEEE SA approves the 802.11bn project1

    The project authorization request, filed in July 2023, defines Ultra High Reliability and lists robotics, industrial automation and logistics among the applications that need it. It expires December 31, 2027.

  2. Task Group bn holds its first meeting2

    At the November 2023 plenary the new task group approved its selection procedure, timeline and functional requirements, and roaming was among its first technical topics.

  3. First draft text, Draft 0.12

    The January 2025 meeting approved more than 100 motions that added concepts and specification text to Draft 0.1.

  4. Working group letter ballot on Draft 1.0 opens3

    Letter ballot 291 ran 46 days and closed on October 6, 2025 at 61 percent approval, with 308 approve, 198 disapprove and 8 abstain votes.

  5. Working group letter ballot on Draft 2.0 opens3

    Letter ballot 296 ran 30 days and closed on September 2, 2026 at 77 percent approval, with 417 approve, 128 disapprove and 15 abstain votes.

  6. Comment resolution produces Draft 2.12

    At the September 2026 interim the task group resolved about 1,850 comments from the Draft 2.0 ballot, roaming among the topics, generated Draft 2.1, and made Draft 2.0 available for purchase.

  7. Today

  8. Projected

    Letter ballot on Draft 3.02

  9. Projected

    Initial IEEE SA ballot on Draft 4.02

    The working group timelines page predicts a recirculation SA ballot in July 2027.

  10. Projected

    Final 802.11 working group and 802 executive committee approval4

  11. Projected

    RevCom and IEEE SA Standards Board approval2

    The 2023 project authorization had projected submittal to RevCom in March 2027.

What it means on the plant floor

  • The reliability targets are statistical, not bounds: the project asks for at least one mode with 25 percent lower 95th-percentile latency and one with 25 percent less MPDU loss than Wi-Fi 7, especially when a client moves between BSSs, so you still have to prove the worst case fits your application's timeout.
  • Wi-Fi Alliance's description of Wi-Fi 8 as delivering deterministic, low latency is a marketing claim until a ratified standard and published test results back it.
  • For roaming, published research proposes a mobility domain in which several APs, co-located or not, belong to one logical entity, but roaming text was still in comment resolution in September 2026 and no source measures a roam time.
  • Until RevCom approval and a Wi-Fi Alliance certification program, anything sold as Wi-Fi 8 runs a draft, so treat early hardware as a lab item, not a design basis.

What to watch next

  • The letter ballot on Draft 3.0. Expected: January 2027.2
  • The project authorization expires December 31, 2027, before the projected May 2028 approval. Watch the timelines page for an extension. Expected: Before December 31, 2027.4
  • A Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 8 announcement. Wi-Fi Alliance's technology page describes Wi-Fi 8 but names no certification program, and lists Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7 as its newest.5

In Signal

Terms: Determinism, Jitter (packet delay variation), AMR (autonomous mobile robot), AGV (automated guided vehicle)

About this page

Built from 6 sources: 5 standards bodies and labs and 1 research paper or thesis. Researched and drafted with AI assistance, then reviewed and approved by Ben Rutter on . How pages are made

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Cite this page

Plain

Ben Rutter. "Wi-Fi 8 (IEEE 802.11bn)." OT Wireless, published October 6, 2026, updated October 5, 2026. https://otwireless.com/trackers/wifi-8-ieee-802-11bn/

APA 7

Rutter, B. (2026, October 6). Wi-Fi 8 (IEEE 802.11bn). OT Wireless. https://otwireless.com/trackers/wifi-8-ieee-802-11bn/

BibTeX

@misc{rutter2026wifi8ieee80211bn,
  author = {Rutter, Ben},
  title = {{Wi-Fi 8 (IEEE 802.11bn)}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://otwireless.com/trackers/wifi-8-ieee-802-11bn/}},
  organization = {OT Wireless},
}