Published Apr 30, 2026, 2:30 PM EDT
Gavin is the Segment Lead for the Technology Explained, Security, Internet, Streaming, and Entertainment verticals, former co-host on the Really Useful Podcast, and a frequent product reviewer. He has a degree in Contemporary Writing pillaged from the hills of Devon, more than a decade of professional writing experience, and his work has appeared on How-To Geek, Expert Reviews, Trusted Reviews, Online Tech Tips, and Help Desk Geek, among others. Gavin has attended CES, IFA, MWC, and other tech-trade shows to report directly from the floor, racking up hundreds of thousands of steps in the process. He's reviewed more headphones, earbuds, and mechanical keyboards than he cares to remember, and enjoys copious amounts of tea, board games, and football.
I recently updated my router firmware after a long-period without checking. That's not something you should do — forget to check your router firmware — because you could be leaving security updates and fixes on the table, accidentally making your network less secure.
The firmware installed fine, and everything seemed okay until my family and I noticed that our devices were suddenly disconnecting from the network randomly. I thought it was classic tech issues, so I just said that everyone should restart their devices, toggle Airplane Mode, and cycle through the other common "Wi-Fi isn't working, Dad" type fixes.
But it turns out that the router firmware update had enabled a setting I hadn't noticed before: Fast Roaming (802.11r).
Related
Wait, I've never heard of Fast Roaming (802.11r)
What is this mystery Wi-Fi standard?
Feature
Detail
Standard name
IEEE 802.11r-2008
Common name
Fast BSS Transition (Fast Roaming / FT)
Introduced
2008
Purpose
Speeds up device handoff between access points or mesh nodes
How it works
Pre-negotiates authentication keys before roaming occurs
Normal roaming (without 802.11r)
Full authentication handshake at point of roaming (~100–300ms delay)
Fast roaming (with 802.11r)
Keys exchanged in advance, handoff near-instant (
You've never heard of Fast Roaming? Well, good, because I hadn't either until I stumbled across this Wi-Fi standard on my router.
It turns out that in practice, Fast Roaming could be really useful. It's primarily designed to help move devices between access points or mesh nodes on your network, making sure your devices transition smoothly. Basically, when you leave the range of one node and move into another, in some networks, your device has to go through authentication again.
That can mean delays before your device starts receiving Wi-Fi from the new node. In most cases, it's not a problem, but if you're on a call, streaming, or otherwise, your connection will dip.
This is what Fast Roaming (802.11r) is designed to fix. It pre-negotiates authentication keys before handing over, which gives a near-instantaneous transition.
So, why was Fast Roaming (802.11r) causing network issues for me?
Why are you breaking everything?
Fast Roaming itself isn't a huge problem. It's more device compatibility throughout the home. 802.11r is an older Wi-Fi standard that most devices should handle easily, but we found that some devices didn't like it suddenly being available.
With some research, we realized it was mainly the older devices on the network, such as my youngest daughter's old tablet, a few old smart bulbs we have dotted about, and so on. But then my middle daughter also reported her phone disconnecting more frequently, and that was manufactured in 2024, while a test with my wife's old Pixel 2 found the same.
So, at least to us, it seemed that while older devices are affected by this issue, some more recent devices were also problematic, likely due to poor or buggy implementations of the Wi-Fi standard.
The problem is that a device without 802.11r support, or a buggy implementation, is that Fast Roaming's authentication trick doesn't work properly. It basically means that sometimes devices won't connect, or at times, they might connect but not broadcast properly.
Most new hardware is unaffected by this problem, but if it gets turned on by a firmware update or even out of curiosity, you could find yourself in a similar situation.
What does disabling Fast Roaming 802.11r actually do?
Slower authentication but more stability
Turning off 802.11r tells the router to fall back to standard 802.11 authentication for all roaming handoffs. The process takes fractionally longer — the full authentication exchange happens at the point of roaming rather than in advance.
You'll essentially find the difference imperceptible most of the time, bar those moments where you're on an active VoIP call and moving between access points. In other cases, like streaming, unless you're on the edge of buffering, you're most likely to have enough data buffered to notice a significant drop.
The tradeoff does give you near universal compatibility and the prospect of all your devices remaining happily connected, but you'll have to evaluate how it works for your home network.
TP-Link Deco XE70 Pro
Brand TP-Link
Range 2,900 sq. ft
Wi-Fi Bands 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz
MU-MIMO Yes
Mesh Network Compatible Yes
Ports 1 x 2.5Gbps WAN/LAN, 2 x 1Gbps LAN
Where to find Fast Roaming (802.11r) to turn it off
Location varies by brand
As you may expect, the location of the Fast Roaming (802.11r) settings varies by router, but you're generally looking for something labeled Fast Roaming, 802.11r, or FT (Fast Transition) in your router's wireless settings.
Flick the switch and turn Fast Roaming off, and you'll be good to go.
If you updated your firmware recently and started experiencing intermittent drops, connection refusals, or devices that connect but don't communicate, this is the first place to look.