Different SSIDs for dual band router?

[profmjh]

Not sure where the best place to ask this is . . .

I've just got a new dual band router. At present I have the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands having different SSIDs. But I've read that you can give them both the same SSIDs and passwords and then your iPhone/iPad/Mac will connect to whichever it thinks is best.

Which sounds good, but is the choice dynamic? If I move to a different room, will it switch bands if the other one is better in that room?

 

[steve62388]

You will achieve a similar thing just having different SSIDs. Your phone will still pick what it thinks is the best signal if you have them both as 'remembered' networks.

Having different SSIDs can help with diagnosing any problems.

Some routers have a roaming assistant setting where you can change how long it holds onto a client as the signal strength drops off. The theory being when your 5Ghz band dips (as it typically has poorer range than 2.4Ghz in a house) your phone will get kicked off and reconnect to the 2.4. In practice it doesn't work as well you might hope.

 

[Yun0]

use whatever u want, roaming is NOT done by the router, its decided by the CLIENT, a few router brands (unify?) are trying to cash in on users being clueless on how it works, advertising "roaming features" then jack up prices for said "features"..

u can run each band on different ssid if u want some devices to ONLY use one band for any given reason. i do this currently.

u can also use the same ssid, password & security type (all are case sensitive) for both bands. in which case iphone, along with any dual band wifi devices, will auto join whichever radio has the best signal qualityerformance ratio for the position the client device is in, being able to instantly switch between at will with near no hiccup in service. this can happen too when ur device knows 2 difference ssids in the same area, but services WILL drop as it switches, even if it look like its instant, & even if passwords are the same. since my carrier still has VoLTE disabled for iphone, i tried it with wifi calling, near seamless switch (<0.1 second voice cut) when switching from 5ghz to 2.4ghz as i walked away from my router, when near it again it usually remained on 2.4ghz till data between the device was idle to switch back to 5ghz, again with no termination of service to the device. doing the same with 2 different ssid on the same router, theres a large latency DROPOUT, when switching, all active connections were cut, wifi call dropped.

my windows laptop acts similar, & it has settings to control how aggressive it is for roaming, since its a client device decision

 

[zorinlynx]

I did some testing with my iOS devices and a Macbook and an Airport Time Capsule set with the same network name on 2.4 and 5GHz.

It works fairly well. It'll use 5GHz when it can and fall back to 2.4 when the 5GHz signal gets weak.

It won't switch from 2.4 to 5 mid-usage, but if you sleep your screen while on 2.4, when the chipset wakes up it'll usually be on 5. Of course as with everything, YMMV.

 

[profmjh]

use whatever u want, roaming is NOT done by the router, its decided by the CLIENT, a few router brands (unify?) are trying to cash in on users being clueless on how it works, advertising "roaming features" then jack up prices for said "features"..

u can run each band on different ssid if u want some devices to ONLY use one band for any given reason. i do this currently.

u can also use the same ssid, password & security type (all are case sensitive) for both bands. in which case iphone, along with any dual band wifi devices, will auto join whichever radio has the best signal qualityerformance ratio for the position the client device is in, being able to instantly switch between at will with near no hiccup in service. this can happen too when ur device knows 2 difference ssids in the same area, but services WILL drop as it switches, even if it look like its instant, & even if passwords are the same. since my carrier still has VoLTE disabled for iphone, i tried it with wifi calling, near seamless switch (<0.1 second voice cut) when switching from 5ghz to 2.4ghz as i walked away from my router, when near it again it usually remained on 2.4ghz till data between the device was idle to switch back to 5ghz, again with no termination of service to the device. doing the same with 2 different ssid on the same router, theres a large latency DROPOUT, when switching, all active connections were cut, wifi call dropped.

my windows laptop acts similar, & it has settings to control how aggressive it is for roaming, since its a client device decision

That's really helpful -- thanks

 

[soccerjoshj07]

I definitely like having the separate SSID's - that way I know with certainty what band my device is on! I'm in an apartment with lots of other wireless networks floating around, and the switch between 2.4 and 5ghz was night and day almost 2.5x when I tested.

 

[teknikal90]

i may be completely wrong but i thought the new routers have simultaneous dual band wifi and can use both 5ghz and 2.4ghz at the same time? So wouldn't it make sense for the SSID to be the same so compatible devices can connect to both signals simultaneously?

 

[Yun0]

i may be completely wrong but i thought the new routers have simultaneous dual band wifi and can use both 5ghz and 2.4ghz at the same time? So wouldn't it make sense for the SSID to be the same so compatible devices can connect to both signals simultaneously?

routers can, one radio is 2.4ghz one radio is 5ghz, most devices only have 1 radio that can do 2.4ghz or 5ghz, but not both at the same time

 

[soccerjoshj07]

i may be completely wrong but i thought the new routers have simultaneous dual band wifi and can use both 5ghz and 2.4ghz at the same time? So wouldn't it make sense for the SSID to be the same so compatible devices can connect to both signals simultaneously?

With these routers, it's supposed to dynamically select which band to send to the device. This is nice in practice, but I like not having to guess if I'm on the right band before I start a big download. The interference for me on the 2.4Ghz band is significant enough for this to matter.

 

[Yun0]

With these routers, it's supposed to dynamically select which band to send to the device. This is nice in practice, but I like not having to guess if I'm on the right band before I start a big download. The interference for me on the 2.4Ghz band is significant enough for this to matter.

u should be able to also enable mac filtering on the radio u dont want a specific device(s) to join, while still leaving both ssid/passwords the same to allow others to roam at will if wanted

 

[soccerjoshj07]

u should be able to also enable mac filtering on the radio u dont want a specific device(s) to join, while still leaving both ssid/passwords the same to allow others to roam at will if wanted

That does make sense I never thought about it like that. Oh well, already have everything set up perhaps next time