Using different wifi device specs

[LERsince1991]

Hi,

Say my router is set to 5ghz 802.11AC, and all my devices but one are using the same, that other one is on a lower spec say 802.11N, will all my other devices still run at full speed or will the router have to step down to support all devices? How does this work and do different hubs respond differently?

 

[Mikael H]

Someone here is probably better updated than what I am, but as far as I can recall, as long as your router has multiple radios, your faster devices should be able to connect to one of them, while the slower ones hog another. An unfortunate side effect may be that provided you have a lot of AC devices that use a lot of bandwidth, the N device alone on its radio can end up with a higher effective bandwidth.

 

[Weaselboy]

Hi,

Say my router is set to 5ghz 802.11AC, and all my devices but one are using the same, that other one is on a lower spec say 802.11N, will all my other devices still run at full speed or will the router have to step down to support all devices? How does this work and do different hubs respond differently?

What you are after is a router that supports "simultaneous dual band", so when the older (slower) N devices join the other channel, the AC devices will still have full speed.

I can't think of any mainstream AC class router now that does not have this feature. This was more of an issue a few years back with G and N routers that did not support simultaneous dual band. I'd be surprised if you could even find an AC router now without simultaneous dual band.

 

[LERsince1991]

Excellent thanks. The new router does have simultaneous dual band so job done.