Processing multiuser multiple-input multiple-output communications having unavailable spatial streams

A wireless communication device for wireless communication, comprising:

• at least one modem;
• at least one processor communicatively coupled with the at least one modem;
• and
• at least one memory communicatively coupled with the at least one processor and storing processor-readable code that, when executed by the at least one processor in conjunction with the at least one modem, is configured to:
• transmit, to a plurality of wireless stations including a first wireless station, a trigger frame configured to elicit a joint transmission, to the wireless communication device, of a multiuser (MU) packet over a plurality of spatial streams respectively associated with the plurality of wireless stations;
• receive the MU packet over the plurality of spatial streams, each spatial stream of the plurality of spatial streams being received by a plurality of receive chains of the wireless communication device;
• perform a channel estimation associated with each spatial stream of the plurality of spatial streams using each receive chain of the plurality of receive chains;
• determining that at least one spatial stream associated with the first wireless station is unavailable based on the channel estimation;
• and
• process the MU packet from the plurality of spatial streams without the at least one spatial stream.