View Wi-Fi Driver Capabilities via Netsh on Windows 11

This guide explains how to view detailed wireless network adapter and driver capabilities in Windows 11 using the built-in Network Shell (netsh) command-line utility. By querying your Wi-Fi driver, you can instantly check critical information such as supported 802.11 wireless standards (Wi-Fi 5, 6, 6E, or 7), authentication and cipher algorithms (including WPA3), Miracast support, and Hosted Network capabilities.

Step 1: Open Command Prompt or Windows Terminal

1. Press Windows Key + S or open the Start Menu.
2. Type cmd or terminal.
3. Select Run as administrator (or open it as a standard user, as standard privileges are sufficient to view driver properties).

Step 2: Execute the Netsh Command

Type the following command into the terminal window and press Enter:

netsh wlan show drivers

Step 3: Interpret the Driver Output

The command outputs a comprehensive list of your wireless hardware and driver specifications. The key fields include:

• Interface name: The label assigned to your Wi-Fi interface (e.g., Wi-Fi).
• Driver: The specific driver file running the wireless card (e.g., Netwtw10.sys).
• Vendor / Provider: The manufacturer of your Wi-Fi adapter (e.g., Intel, Realtek, Qualcomm).
• Date / Version: The release date and version number of the currently installed driver.
• Radio types supported: Displays the Wi-Fi protocols supported by the hardware (e.g., 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be).
• FIPS 140-2 mode supported: Indicates whether Federal Information Processing Standards compliance is enabled.
• Hosted network supported: Indicates whether the adapter can broadcast a virtual Wi-Fi access point (Legacy SoftAP mode).
• Authentication and Cipher Supported in Infrastructure Mode: Lists all encryption and security types your adapter supports, such as WPA2-Personal, WPA3-Personal, CCMP, and GCMP.
• Wireless Display Supported: Shows whether the driver supports Miracast projection.
• Wi-Fi Direct / 802.11k / 802.11v / 802.11r: Indicates fast roaming and network optimization support when connected to enterprise networks.

Exporting the Output to a Text File (Optional)

If you need to save the driver capabilities for documentation or troubleshooting, redirect the output to a text file using:

netsh wlan show drivers > "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\wifi_driver_capabilities.txt"

This saves a file named wifi_driver_capabilities.txt directly to your Desktop.