A backward compatible frame reuse mechanism that allows new information to be defined a reused frame without causing any incorrect operation in a legacy receive device. To generate a reused frame, a portion of the frame in the first format is masked with a predetermined masking sequence (PMS) and thereby redefined as new fields in a second format. When a device that supports the reuse scheme receives a frame that possible is a reused frame, the device checks the potentially reused portion according to the first format after de-masking and also checks according to the second format without de-masking. Based on the check results, the device selects a format to resolve the frame. A legacy device receiving the reused frame only checks the reused portion without de-masking, which results in a certain check error and makes the device discard the frame without any harmful operation.