Unable to create AP – "Your adapter can not transmit to channel XX" error on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands

[Hello-World-H]

❗ Description
Hi, I'm encountering persistent issues when trying to create a hotspot using create_ap on my Ubuntu laptop. Despite my wireless adapter supporting both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, I'm getting errors that it "cannot transmit to channel XX" regardless of the band or channel I choose.

✅ Environment
OS: Ubuntu 22.04

Kernel: 6.11.0-21-generic

Tool: create_ap

WiFi Adapter: Intel Wireless-AX200

Interface name: wlp0s20f3

AP Mode Support: Confirmed via iw list

Managed by NetworkManager: Yes

🧪 What I’ve Tried

1. Confirmed AP mode support:
   iw list | grep -A 10 'Supported interface modes'
   ✅ Output includes * AP

2. Checked supported frequencies:
   sudo iwlist wlp0s20f3 freq
   ✅ Lists both 2.4GHz (Channels 1–13) and 5GHz (Channels 36–140)

3. Confirmed driver and mode:
   sudo iw dev wlp0s20f3 info
   Output shows:

type managed
channel 157 (5785 MHz)
txpower 22.00 dBm

4. Tried creating hotspot with different channels:
   sudo create_ap -c 11 wlp0s20f3 AP 123123123

→ ERROR: Your adapter can not transmit to channel 11, frequency band 2.4GHz.

sudo create_ap --freq-band 5 -c 36 wlp0s20f3 AP 123123123

→ ERROR: Your adapter can not transmit to channel 36, frequency band 5GHz.

Also tried:

Channel 1, 6, 40 — all fail with the same error.

Setting regulatory domain to US before attempting.

Stopping NetworkManager before running.

📌 Additional Notes
I can create a hotspot successfully using nmcli dev wifi hotspot, so the adapter and driver do support AP mode.

create_ap does create ap0, but fails to start the AP itself.

❓Expected Behavior
The command should start a working hotspot if the driver supports AP mode and the requested channel is within supported frequency range.

💡 Possible Cause?
Maybe create_ap fails to negotiate the frequency/channel correctly or tries to use a configuration incompatible with my driver?