Multi-Link Reconfiguration Method and Apparatus Keeping Wi-Fi Devices Connected Across Several Links

This patent describes a way for Wi-Fi devices that talk over several radio links at once to add, drop, or change those links smoothly. It comes from Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., a large Chinese maker of telecommunications and networking equipment.

The Problem

The newest generation of Wi-Fi lets a device and an access point communicate over more than one radio link at the same time, spread across different frequency bands. Running several links together, an approach known as multi-link operation, can raise speed and reliability, but it also raises a management problem. Conditions change constantly: a band gets congested, interference rises, or the device moves, and the set of links in use needs to be updated. Doing that reconfiguration clumsily can drop the connection, lose data, or force the device to renegotiate everything from scratch. What is needed is an orderly method for the two ends to agree on adding, removing, or reconfiguring individual links while the overall connection keeps running.

What This Invention Does

The patent sets out a multi-link reconfiguration method and the apparatus to carry it out. It defines how a device and an access point exchange signalling to change the set of links that make up their multi-link association: adding a new link, taking one out of service, or altering a link’s parameters, all without tearing down the whole connection. The procedure covers how a reconfiguration is requested, agreed, and applied so both ends stay in step and traffic continues over the remaining links during the change. By handling the transition as a defined negotiation rather than a disconnect and reconnect, the method keeps the connection stable and avoids losing data as the link set is updated to match current radio conditions.

Key Features

• Live link changes. Links can be added, removed, or reconfigured without dropping the overall connection.
• Defined signalling. The device and access point exchange set messages to request and agree a reconfiguration.
• Coordinated transition. Both ends apply the change in step so they stay synchronised.
• Continuous traffic. Data keeps flowing over remaining links while one link is changed.
• Adapts to conditions. The link set can be updated as congestion, interference, or movement changes.

Who Is Behind It

The applicant is Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., a Shenzhen-based company that is one of the world’s largest suppliers of telecommunications and networking equipment and a major contributor to wireless standards. The named inventors are Guogang Huang, Yuchen Guo, Yunbo Li, and Ming Gan. This filing is a divisional application from an earlier related Australian application.

Why It Matters

Multi-link operation is one of the headline features of the latest Wi-Fi, and how gracefully devices manage their links directly affects the speed and reliability people actually experience. A clean reconfiguration method helps connections stay fast and stable as the radio environment shifts, which matters for everything from video calls to smart-home devices. Protecting the method in Australia supports the company’s networking technology and its role in the underlying standards.

Related Concepts

• Wi-Fi 7 – the Wi-Fi generation that introduced multi-link operation.
• Wi-Fi – the wireless networking family this technology builds on.
• Wireless access point – the device a client reconfigures its links with.
• ISM radio band – the frequency bands multi-link operation spreads across.
• IEEE 802.11 – the standards family that defines Wi-Fi behaviour.

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AU 2026201982 was published in the Australian Official Journal of Patents on 2 April 2026 and is open for public inspection. Patent applications represent inventions that are sought to be protected and do not necessarily reflect commercially available products.