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I have an 802.11n compatible adapter and router set to transmit using the N protocol (all settings on auto). I'd like to find out if I'm actually using it or if I am connecting with the a/b/g protocols.

I'm using Windows 7. Router is Cisco Linksys 1200N.

4 Answers 4

16

If you want to see clear solid indicator, simply hover over connected wireless network. You can find Radio Type in tooltip.
Tooltip of Wireless Network
In the screenshot, you can see that my Radio Type is 802.11g.

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  • I guess I was hoping for a clearer indicator. As I said in a comment to the other answer, it was the 54Mb that got me suspicious. Thanks for the answer.
    – Eran
    Jan 25, 2012 at 10:36
  • 4
    802.11n can connect at lower speeds than 150mbps. 150 is a common maximum, but often conditions force a lesser speed. Jul 1, 2012 at 0:04
  • 2
    This Answer is wrong. You can't tell for sure from the rates, and you got the rate threshold wrong anyway. 802.11g (and 802.11a) maxes out at 54mbps, so anything higher than that is a sign you're on something post-802.11g (could be proprietary things like bonded super-G 108mbps, or Airgo MIMO-G if you gear supports that), but not necessarily N. Also, there are many N-specific rates that are lower than A/G's max 54mbps.
    – Spiff
    Jul 1, 2012 at 0:48
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    @SachinShekhar That update is a great answer all by itself. If you edit again to remove everything that came before it and make that update your whole answer, I'd happily change my downvote to an upvote. But the idea of looking at rates is misguided, and your specific text about interpreting rates (right before your update section) is outright wrong on several points.
    – Spiff
    Aug 7, 2012 at 19:17
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    This no longer seem to work in Windows 10, hovering over the connection doesn't bring up anything.
    – Eran
    Sep 30, 2015 at 16:15
24

Answer from another question:

C:\Users\kuba>netsh wlan show interfaces

There is 1 interface on the system:

    Name                   : Wireless Network Connection 2
    Description            : DW1520 Wireless-N WLAN Half-Mini Card
    State                  : connected
    Network type           : Infrastructure
    Radio type             : 802.11g         <-- the currently negotiated value
    Authentication         : WPA-Personal
    Cipher                 : CCMP
    Connection mode        : Auto Connect
    Channel                : 11
    Receive rate (Mbps)    : 54
    Transmit rate (Mbps)   : 54
    Signal                 : 82%
    Profile                : xxxx

    Hosted network status  : Not started
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  • 1
    This should be the accepted answer. I disabled my N adapter's N capability in the driver settings, and this command reports Radio type: G, which is correct. The label Radio type is misleading, though. Upvoted!
    – Jimadine
    Apr 30, 2019 at 18:23
3

Go to the Network and Sharing Center and select Change Adapter Settings. Right-click your wireless adapter and click "Status". It should say somewhere there whether you're using Wireless-N, Wireless-G, etc.

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  • 1
    Unless I'm missing something, the "Status" dialog doesn't tell you what kind of wireless you are using.
    – Nick2253
    Jan 24, 2012 at 21:23
  • It doesn't say anything about that, it does say it is connected at a speed of 54Mb which makes me suspicious that it's not N.
    – Eran
    Jan 24, 2012 at 21:25
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    Mine does not say anything about the radio type either. It does say 54Mb. Running "netsh wlan show interfaces" does tell me I am using 802.11a. This means the estimated speed is not a good indicator to determine connection type.
    – Tolga
    Oct 5, 2016 at 18:42
3

On Windows 7 the status box doesn't seem to pop up but if you mouse over the connection link a box appears that says 802.11n if you are on n.

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