Hey, I really appreciate the help. At this time I feel I have accomplished my goals to a sufficient degree with about the best outcome one could hope for given the circumstances. Additionally, posting this here so as to maximize my chance at reducing suffering for "the next poor sap" as mentioned below. JC, you know who you are! ========== For the next poor sap that happens along... This is my hostapd.conf file for the XB140 reference board based Compex WLE900VX QCA9880 card: interface=wlp6s0 driver=nl80211 hw_mode=a ctrl_interface=/var/run/wlp6s0 ctrl_interface_group=0 max_num_sta=255 #logger_syslog=-1 #logger_syslog_level=2 #logger_stdout=-1 #logger_stdout_level=2 #Details for Connecting Clients via WPA2 TKIP ssid=q2900mAC auth_algs=1 wpa=2 wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK wpa_pairwise=CCMP rsn_pairwise=CCMP wpa_passphrase=password #802.11d Regulatory Restrictions Designations for Which Frequencies and Channels are Legal ieee80211d=1 country_code=US #802.11n Configurations ieee80211n=1 ht_capab=[LDPC][HT40+][SHORT-GI-20][SHORT-GI-40][TX-STBC][DSSS_CCK-40] #802.11ac Configurations ieee80211ac=1 vht_capab=[SHORT-GI-80][MAX-MPDU-11454][RXLDPC][TX-STBC-2BY1][MAX-A-MPDU-LEN-EXP3][RX-ANTENNA-PATTERN][TX-ANTENNA-PATTERN] vht_oper_chwidth=1 #How Many Units of Time Between Beacon Transmissions beacon_int=100 #Multiplier of How Many Units of Time Between Beacon Transmissions dtim_period=2 #(e.g. 100 milliseconds(ms) * 2 = 200 ms between beacons) #Something About WMM Clients Needing this wmm_enabled=1 ###To Be Completely Honest-- I'm Not Entirely Certain What the Rest of this file does #QoS Type of Traffic Management Based on Traffic Type #Background wmm_ac_bk_cwmin=4 wmm_ac_bk_cwmax=10 wmm_ac_bk_aifs=7 wmm_ac_bk_txop_limit=0 wmm_ac_bk_acm=0 #Best Effort wmm_ac_be_aifs=3 wmm_ac_be_cwmin=4 wmm_ac_be_cwmax=10 wmm_ac_be_txop_limit=0 wmm_ac_be_acm=0 #Video wmm_ac_vi_aifs=2 wmm_ac_vi_cwmin=3 wmm_ac_vi_cwmax=4 wmm_ac_vi_txop_limit=94 wmm_ac_vi_acm=0 #Voice wmm_ac_vo_aifs=2 wmm_ac_vo_cwmin=2 wmm_ac_vo_cwmax=3 wmm_ac_vo_txop_limit=47 wmm_ac_vo_acm=0 Also, if you are stuck at 54Mbps-- 802.11g speeds --I needed to **install the wpa_supplicant package**. My Samsung Note8 connects at 650Mbps with this configuration. I have not yet measured actual throughput. Last but not least, this answer would never have happened without the selfless heroes over at http://lists.infradead.org/mailman/listinfo/hostap Dank je JC! Additional advice that was passed to me that I feel comfortable with sharing: the Compex WLE1216v5-20 MIMO x 4 card is better... https://www.compex.com.sg/product/wle1216v5-20/ (I cannot confirm just yet from personal experience, but for what it is worth.) _______________________________________________ Hostap mailing list Hostap@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://lists.infradead.org/mailman/listinfo/hostap