Patent ID: 8451760

Claim:
A method comprising: operating, by an access point, in a first operating mode, wherein one transmit/receive chain of a plurality of transmit/receive chains is activated when the access point is in the first operating mode, each of the plurality of transmit/receive chains comprises a receiver and a transmitter associated with a particular frequency band; analyzing wireless information received by the access point to determine whether incoming wireless information is from a first wireless client supporting a first communication scheme or a second wireless client supporting a second communication scheme; maintaining activation of the one transmit/receive chain if the incoming wireless information is from the first wireless client; activating multiple transmit/receive chains of the plurality of transmit/receive chains for transmitting or receiving information when the access point is placed in a second operating mode upon determining that the incoming wireless information is from the second wireless client; and activating only one transmit/receive chain and deactivating one or more transmit/receive chains of the multiple transmit/receive chains in response to the access point returning to the first operating mode.