Wi-Fi HaLow International Support: Verified in the EU and Beyond

Wi-Fi HaLow International Support: Verified in the EU and Beyond

One of the most common questions I see—especially from builders outside the US—is whether Wi-Fi HaLow (802.11ah) actually works internationally, or whether support for regions like the EU is mostly theoretical.

I hadn’t seen a clean, real-world demo of compliant EU operation either. So I decided to test it myself.

The short answer is: yes, Wi-Fi HaLow works outside the US, including the EU, using off-the-shelf hardware and stock OpenWRT, with no hacks, firmware patches, or gray-area configurations.

This post documents exactly what was tested, what worked, and why this matters for Haven and other open connectivity projects.

Why This Question Keeps Coming Up

Most publicly visible Wi-Fi HaLow testing over the last few years has focused on:

  • 🇺🇸 United States
  • 🇦🇺 Australia

That’s not because HaLow is US-only, but because those regions share similar sub-GHz allocations that made early experimentation easier.

Outside those regions—particularly in the EU—support has existed on paper, but real deployments have been rare. In many cases, people could enumerate devices, see noise floors, or even detect peers, but never establish reliable links.

That gap between theoretical support and practical operation is what I wanted to close.

The Two Chips That Matter: MM6108 vs MM8108

There are two relevant Morse Micro chips in circulation today:

MM6108 (older generation)

  • Used on most existing carrier boards
  • Can support multiple regions only with hardware changes
  • Requires region-specific RF filters and board variants
  • In practice, EU-specific boards often failed to form stable links

This is why Haven does not yet have a perfectly swappable, globally compatible HaLow radio. We’re still working through that transition.

MM8108 (new generation)

  • Natively spans the required international bands
  • Handles regional compliance entirely in software
  • No per-region RF redesign required
  • Region selection is enforced by the driver and regulatory database

This is the chip that finally makes true international HaLow practical.

Regions Explicitly Supported

Using the MM8108 platform under OpenWRT, the following regions are selectable and functional:

  • AU — Australia
  • CA — Canada
  • EU — European Union
  • GB — United Kingdom
  • JP — Japan
  • USA — United States

This is not inferred from documentation — these regions are present in the regulatory configuration and selectable at runtime.

My Test Setup (EU, No Shortcuts)

To avoid any ambiguity, I intentionally kept the setup conservative and compliant.

Region

  • European Union (EU)

Frequency

  • 866 MHz

Channel widths tested

  • 1 MHz
  • 2 MHz

Mesh / overlay

  • 802.11s mesh: No
  • Layer-2 B.A.T.M.A.N.: No

This was a straightforward point-to-point HaLow link, designed to answer a simple question: does EU HaLow actually work as advertised?

Hardware Used

  • MM8108-EKH19-01 evaluation kit

This is a dev-oriented form factor, but it proves the capability of the chip itself. The HaLowLink 2 should offer essentially the same functionality in a smaller, cheaper, and cleaner package.

Software Stack

  • OpenWRT: 23.05.5
  • Morse Micro driver: 2.9.3

The OpenWRT image was shipped with the GLi.net routers but theoretically could be compiled manually if needed. 

On initial boot the onboarding flow will guide you through selecting a region right in the UI - no special hacks needed.

Results: EU HaLow Is Real

With the EU region selected:

  • The driver correctly enforced EU regulatory limits
  • Channel widths were restricted to 1–2 MHz as expected

  • Links formed reliably
  • Traffic passed normally

This confirms that EU support is not just theoretical. It works today, with off-the-shelf hardware and standard software.

What This Means for Haven

To be explicit:

  • Haven does not yet have a drop-in, globally swappable HaLow module (that's been verified)
  • MM6108-based designs still require region-specific hardware

However, this testing proves the architectural path forward.

The MM8108 demonstrates that a future Haven radio can:

  • Be software-defined
  • Support multiple regions cleanly
  • Avoid per-region board redesigns
  • Remain fully compliant

That’s the direction we’re moving in.

Where to Learn More

I cover this test in more depth in the Haven Guide, including a video walkthrough.
That same video is also available in the members-only section of the YouTube channel.

There’s also an ongoing discussion worth reading here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeNetworking/comments/1qjvmov/anyone_doing_wifi_halow_80211ah_outside_the/

If you’re outside the US and already experimenting with HaLow, I’d genuinely love to hear about your experience—especially around range, throughput, and real-world usefulness under your local regulations.

Morse Micro is based in Australia and that fact shows up clearly in how seriously international regions are treated in the silicon itself. If we want truly open, owner-operated networks, they have to work everywhere people actually live—and this is a real step in that direction.

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