Skip to main content

Windows 10 slated to get WiGig support as of the Creators Update

microsoft building tab support into windows 10 upgrade popup
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Last year, Microsoft announced that the Creators Update for Windows 10 would be released in early 2017. Since then, leaks and preview builds distributed to Insiders have revealed many of the features set to be introduced via the update — but now there’s new word of enhanced networking functionality winging its way to Windows 10.

In December 2016, Microsoft hosted its annual WinHEC conference in Shenzhen, China. Video of the Windows Device Group’s Steve Dudgeon’s presentation on docking is now available online, and the footage reveals that the Creators Update will introduce support for the IEEE 802.11ad Wi-Fi protocol.

The protocol — better known as WiGig — allows devices to make wireless connections at multi-gigabit speeds. WiGig operates in the 60GHz spectrum, and can offer benefits in usage cases including high definition video streaming, virtual reality experiences, and wireless docking procedures.

In slides accompanying Dudgeon’s presentation, the inclusion of support for the 802.11ad protocol is referred to as “future proof,” according to a report from MS Power User. It’s clear that Microsoft hopes that Windows 10 can get ahead of the game in terms of wireless networking by introducing WiGig compatibility in early 2017.

This news will also benefit the Wi-Fi Alliance, the organization responsible for certifying Wi-Fi products and upholding the technology’s various protocols. Publicizing a new protocol like WiGig can be an uphill struggle — the 802.11ad specification was originally announced in 2009 — but being supported by the world’s most popular operating system is certainly a step toward truly comprehensive compatibility.

The Windows 10 Creators Update is scheduled to launch in spring 2017, but we still don’t have an exact date. Microsoft hasn’t released a new preview build to members of the Insider program in over a month, owing to a now-resolved problem with the update path.

Editors' Recommendations

Brad Jones
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…
This Windows 11 update could seriously boost your SSD
microsoft announces surface pro 7 plus ssd

Ever since it launched, Windows 11 has suffered from an issue where solid-state drives might not perform to the fullest possible speeds. A Windows Update in December slightly alleviated those problems for some people, but the latest preview update for Windows 11 could possibly help address it once and for all.

According to the changelog for the preview update, named KB5008353, Microsoft finally addressed the performance regression issue that occurs when you enable the update sequence number (USN) journal. This is typically where Windows stores the filesystem changes made to your disk drive. And, per posts on social media, was the culprit of poor SSD speeds from the beginning.

Read more
A fix for slow NVMe SSD speeds in Windows 11 is out — here’s how to get it
sandisk internal ssd black friday deal amazon ultra 3d nand

An issue has been plaguing some Windows 11 users where NVMe drives might be running slower than expected, but Microsoft has now acknowledged the problem and issued a fix. As part of the latest Windows 11 monthly preview update, Microsoft is now testing a bug patch that should get rid of the issue.

Initially released on November 22, Microsoft mentions that the KB5007262 (OS Build 22000.348) preview has a fix related to write operations. The company also mentions that Windows 11 was performing unnecessary actions each time a write operation occurs. However, the issue only occurs when the NTFS USN journal is enabled. In most cases, this is always enabled on the C: drive, which is the primary system disk for most NVMe SSDs installed on a PC.

Read more
Windows 11 hits more devices just as the Windows 10 November 2021 Update deploys
Windows 10 refresh features.

Microsoft just made two big announcements related to Windows 10 and Windows 11. For those who aren't ready for Windows 11, or can't upgrade, the Windows 10 November 2021 Update is now rolling out. And for anyone who is eager to upgrade to Windows 11, the new operating system is now more broadly available for download on more eligible devices.

The Windows 10 November 2021 update isn't as major as previously released featured updates. Microsoft has focused it on productivity, management, and security. Yet the update is still being released using the same measured approach in the past to ensure a smooth rollout. You won't be missing much if you can't download it as the new features are focused for IT administrators.

Read more