IPADOS AND MACOS 26.2 EXPAND 5GHZ WI-FI CAPABILITY ON WI-FI 6E HARDWARE

With the release of iPadOS 26.2 and macOS Tahoe 26.2, Apple has updated WiFi behavior on a range of recent Macs and iPads, enabling wider channel use on 5GHz networks for devices that support WiFi 6E.

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The change appears in Apple's platform deployment documentation and alters how eligible hardware connects to common wireless networks that remain prevalent in homes and offices.

The update allows supported devices to use a 160MHz channel width on 5GHz WiFi networks, matching the maximum theoretical bandwidth previously reserved for 6GHz connections. Before this release, the same devices were capped at 80MHz on 5GHz, even when routers supported wider channels.

This adjustment does not introduce new hardware requirements, nor does it change which devices support WiFi 6E. Instead, it removes a software limitation that had constrained throughput on one of the most widely deployed WiFi bands.

WHICH DEVICES SEE THE CHANGE

Apple lists a broad set of recent products as eligible for the expanded 5GHz bandwidth. The update applies to M4 iPad Pro models, M3 iPad Air models, the A17 Pro iPad mini, MacBook Pro models from M2 through M5, and MacBook Air models based on M2, M3, and M4 chips, along with other Macs and iPads equipped with WiFi 6E radios.