A wireless networking receiver with digital antenna switching selects an antenna with an 802.11b signal based on a signal metric, such as the highest signal quality or highest peak amplitude. In one embodiment, the receiver comprises a plurality of antennas that may each receive one of a plurality of RF signals conforming to the IEEE 802.11b standard. The receiver may have multiple antennas for use with the IEEE 802.11n standard, but may receive signals conforming to the 802.11b standard. The receiver also comprises a carrier sense circuit configured to calculate a signal metric for each of the signals and further configured to generate a selection signal signifying one of the signals, based on the signal metric. The receiver further comprises a multiplexer configured to output one of the signals, based on the selection signal.