Wi-Fi Alliance® Certification

Element's Newark, California, laboratory is the only Wi-Fi Alliance® Authorized Test Laboratory (ATL) in North America. Formerly operating as Cetecom Inc. in Milpitas, the lab has provided continuous Wi-Fi Alliance® certification services for over 15 years and holds accreditation from Wi-Fi 4 through Wi-Fi 7. Products requiring Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ status from a North American ATL can be tested at Element's  Newark facility.

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ confirms that your product has been independently tested at a Wi-Fi Alliance® ATL and meets the Alliance's specifications for interoperability, security, and performance. Only certified products may carry the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ logo. While not a regulatory requirement, it is expected for virtually all mainstream Wi-Fi® products sold through retail, carrier, and enterprise procurement channels — and increasingly required for entry into major device ecosystems.

Yes. WPA3™ became a mandatory requirement for all new Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ devices on July 1, 2020. Any product applying for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ status must pass WPA3 testing as part of its certification. Element's Newark lab, formerly Cetecom in Milpitas — was the first US laboratory accredited for WPA3™-R2 testing and holds full WPA3 and WPA3-R2 accreditation, so your security certification is completed as an integrated part of your Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ program.

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ 7 (802.11be) requires that a device first hold Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ 6E, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ 6 (11ax), Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ 5 (11ac), and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ 4 (11n) certifications. If your product does not already hold these, then your Wi-Fi 7 submission must include these other certifications as part of your request.

Beyond the prerequisite stack, Wi-Fi 7 introduces technical requirements that need to be planned during development, not after. Multi-Link Operation (MLO) must be correctly implemented and testable across all supported band combinations. The 320 MHz channel capability needs to be verified for your specific hardware. If your product supports 6 GHz, you will also need Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ 6E accreditation as part of the stack.

The most common cause of delay in Wi-Fi 7 submissions is discovering prerequisite gaps or MLO implementation issues at the point of formal submission. Element's Newark lab can review your implementation during development, advise on which prerequisite certifications you still need, and structure the full program so requirements are tested in the correct sequence. Engaging Element before your product is locked down is significantly cheaper than addressing issues after formal submission has begun.

FlexTrack is for newly developed (non-derivative) products with custom Wi-Fi implementations. It allows the most flexibility in product design but must be completed at a Wi-Fi Alliance® ATL. QuickTrack is for products based on already-qualified modules or chipsets that have passed full Wi-Fi functionality testing. It allows targeted modifications and can be completed either at an ATL or at a Wi-Fi Alliance® member site. Element is authorized for both paths.

Yes. Element's  Newark lab handles  Wi-Fi Alliance® certification while Element’s Fremont lab (less than two miles away) covers all required regulatory WLAN testing. This covers FCC Part 15.247 and 15.407, ISED RSS 247, EU EN 300 328, EN 301 893 / EN 300 440,  andstandards. A single schedule, a single point of contact, and consolidated test reporting make it very convenient to coordinate all necessary certification and regulatory approvals.

Related service pages:

• FCC Certification for the United States
• ISED Certification for Canada
• RED Directive Testing for CE Marking

With Silicon Valley's proximity for North American customers, Element provides a one-stop shop for wireless approvals. Besides providing Wi-Fi Alliance® testing, Element can also deliver FCC/ISED regulatory testing, EMC and OTA performance, Bluetooth qualification, PTCRB and carrier approvals, Qi and SAR testing. In so many cases with Element, there's no need for domestic manufacturers to ship products overseas to get needed wireless approvals.

Timelines depend on the certification path and product complexity. For straightforward QuickTrack submissions, testing at Element's  Newark lab typically completes in days rather than weeks. For FlexTrack programs, or products requiring multiple prerequisite certifications such as Wi-Fi 7, timelines are longer — but Element's four parallel RF-shielded test rooms mean multiple test plans run simultaneously rather than sequentially, which compresses the overall schedule significantly. Pre-testing ahead of formal submission is the most effective way to reduce total elapsed time. It identifies interoperability and security issues at the point where they are cheapest to fix, and all pre-test data feeds directly into the formal certification dossier.

Yes. Products built on a third-party module that has already completed full Wi-Fi functionality testing qualify for the QuickTrack certification path. Under QuickTrack, your product is tested for the specific modifications made to the qualified module's implementation rather than requiring a full retest of Wi-Fi functionality from scratch. This significantly reduces both testing time and cost compared to a FlexTrack program. Element's  Newark lab is authorized for QuickTrack testing and can advise during development on whether your module qualifies, what documentation the Wi-Fi Alliance® will require, and how to structure the submission to minimize review time.

Certification cost depends on three main factors: the certification path (FlexTrack requires more test time than QuickTrack), the number of programs required (a Wi-Fi 7 product with a full prerequisite stack is a larger program than a single-generation submission), and whether pre-testing is included.

Element provides a scoped cost estimate before any commitment is made. The estimate covers the full program, including any prerequisite certifications and combined regulatory testing if required. There are no surprises mid-program. Contact the  Newark team with your product specification and target certification programs and they will scope the program and provide a quote.

Yes, if you want to carry the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ logo. FCC certification and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ certification are entirely separate programs with different scope and different governing bodies. FCC certification confirms that your product meets US radio frequency regulations — it covers transmission power, spectrum use, and interference limits. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ certification confirms interoperability with other Wi-Fi devices, security compliance including WPA3, and protocol performance. A product can hold FCC certification without being Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™, and vice versa. Most Wi-Fi products sold through US retail, carrier, or enterprise channels require both. Element handles FCC testing under Part 15.247 and 15.407 alongside Wi-Fi Alliance® certification testing, so both can be conveniently completed.

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ 6E is required if your product uses the 6 GHz frequency band, and it is a mandatory prerequisite for Wi-Fi 7 certification. Products operating only in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands do not need 6E certification, though they may still benefit from Wi-Fi 6 (11ax) certification for those bands. Wi-Fi 6E delivers additional spectrum in the 6 GHz band, wider 160 MHz channels, and lower latency in congested environments compared to Wi-Fi 6. Element’s Newark lab holds accreditation for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ 6E Release 1 (R1) and Release 2 (R2). Contact the Newark team to confirm which programs apply to your product.

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ Agile Multiband™ (MBO) enables devices to make smarter use of multi-access-point networks by continuously monitoring conditions and transitioning between access points, bands, and channels without interruption. Your product needs it if you are targeting enterprise Wi-Fi deployments, carrier Wi-Fi offload programs, high-density environments such as offices or campuses, or smart building systems with multiple access points. It is also increasingly expected in premium consumer mesh networking products. Element’s Newark lab holds Agile Multiband™ accreditation and can include it as part of a combined Wi-Fi certification program. Contact the Newark team to confirm whether MBO applies to your use case.