WiFi 2.4ghz shows up before 5ghz

[rstark18]

Something that has annoyed me for a while is that on my home network when I open WiFi in Settings, both of my 2.4ghz networks show instantly and my two 5ghz networks take up to 5 seconds to show up. There are no conflicts within the network setups (channels) and all four SSID's are named differently.
This happens on all of my iOS devices.
Any ideas?

 

[addamas]

Just forget 2.4 GHz ones

 

[rstark18]

Just forget 2.4 GHz ones

I have a few devices that use the 2.4 (printer, etc.). Regardless even if I turn the 2.4 off it still takes some time for the 5ghz to populate in settings.
The reason it annoys me is I have one router for the front half of the house and one for the back half. Sometimes my device is still hanging on to the other ssid and I have to manually switch over.

 

[addamas]

I wrote it wrong. On devices you want only 5GHz WiFi forget 2,4GHz WiFi, then they will only connect to right one. Other devices let connect to 2,4GHz. Since they have different Network names (SSID) it will be easy. Go to WiFi settings and forget network

I also had this problem with my local network, for some reason iPhone wanted to connect to 2,4GHz only when there was 5GHz one with same SSID.

 

[rstark18]

I wrote it wrong. On devices you want only 5GHz WiFi forget 2,4GHz WiFi, then they will only connect to right one. Other devices let connect to 2,4GHz. Since they have different Network names (SSID) it will be easy. Go to WiFi settings and forget network

I also had this problem with my local network, for some reason iPhone wanted to connect to 2,4GHz only when there was 5GHz one with same SSID.

They are forgotten on my iOS devices. They are not connecting to the 2.4 it's just that in the list of available networks the 2.4 populates the list instantly whereas the 5 takes 5 seconds or so.

 

[deano1972]

Interesting.. both my 2.4 and 5ghz show up almost instantly at the same time when I turn wifi on on my iPhone

 

[Julien]

If you are in another room or a few feet away from the WiFi router the 5GHz will be a weaker signal and can take more time to connect. 5GHz is mostly only useful in the same room or line of sight of the WiFi router.

 

[C DM]

If you are in another room or a few feet away from the WiFi router the 5GHz will be a weaker signal and can take more time to connect. 5GHz is mostly only useful in the same room or line of sight of the WiFi router.

That has basically been my experience as well.

 

[IowaLynn]

Would assigning different channels or looking for interference help?

 

[deano1972]

If you are in another room or a few feet away from the WiFi router the 5GHz will be a weaker signal and can take more time to connect. 5GHz is mostly only useful in the same room or line of sight of the WiFi router.

While its range is weaker than 2.4ghz if you need to be in the same room or line of site you may need a better router. I can get a decent signal in other rooms from my router on the 5ghz band
Cheers
[doublepost=1483143580][/doublepost]

Would assigning different channels or looking for interference help?

Absolutely .. using a clear channel always helps

 

[C DM]

While its range is weaker than 2.4ghz if you need to be in the same room or line of site you may need a better router. I can get a decent signal in other rooms from my router on the 5ghz band
Cheers
[doublepost=1483143580][/doublepost]
Absolutely .. using a clear channel always helps

It can also depend on building materials and things if that nature. It's certainly known that 5 GHz penetration/range isn't as good as that of 2.4 GHz.

 

[sinatik]

Just forget 2.4 GHz ones

Thanks, whenever I come home my iphone always connected to the 2.4, so I always had to check and reconnect to the 5 GHz. I did the forget for the 2.4 and now it always connects to 5G. Such a simple solution that I didn't think about.

 

[RansZ28]

As my AW series 0 only has 2.4, that got me is a priority.

 

[CobraPA]

As my AW series 0 only has 2.4, that got me is a priority.

You can attach to 2.4G on the phone so that the watch learns it, then attach to 5G on your phone. Watch will continue to use 2.4G that way.

 

[RansZ28]

You can attach to 2.4G on the phone so that the watch learns it, then attach to 5G on your phone. Watch will continue to use 2.4G that way.

But if I forget 2.4 then the AW will forget it too. iPhone will pick up whatever is strongest

 

[planetf1]

There are also rules for 5GHz networking certainly on the higher channels which can delay availability for minutes

 

[planetf1]

More info here http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/ge...that-use-channels-higher-than-48-on-5ghz.html

 

[rstark18]

More info here http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/ge...that-use-channels-higher-than-48-on-5ghz.html

Thx. This looks very helpful. I am manually set to a high channel and will experiment with lower channels

 

[rstark18]

More info here http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/ge...that-use-channels-higher-than-48-on-5ghz.html

After experimenting with higher and lower channels I see absolutely no difference in the delay of the 5ghz band displaying in the list of available SSID's

 

[planetf1]

I guess it depends on router... Existence of signals... And country rules?

Certainly I get a delay on higher channels using a bt hh5a in the uk.

 

[perezr10]

FYI, if you were to upgrade to a "mesh network" type of system like the eero there is no separate 2.4 or 5ghz networks. You only see one network and your device gets the fastest possible speed. Not having separate 2.4 and 5ghz networks is one of the best attributes of a mesh network.

 

[Paco II]

Shouldn't any router support that? If you use the same SSID for both 2.4 and 5, the device will use the 'better' signal and switch accordingly? That is what appears to happen with my network.

FYI, if you were to upgrade to a "mesh network" type of system like the eero there is no separate 2.4 or 5ghz networks. You only see one network and your device gets the fastest possible speed. Not having separate 2.4 and 5ghz networks is one of the best attributes of a mesh network.

 

[winterny]

Shouldn't any router support that? If you use the same SSID for both 2.4 and 5, the device will use the 'better' signal and switch accordingly? That is what appears to happen with my network.

Yes.

 

[deano1972]

More info here http://forums.thinkbroadband.com/ge...that-use-channels-higher-than-48-on-5ghz.html

Aha.. my router is set to channel 36 so that explains why it shows up instantly at the same time as the 2.4ghz channel

 

[rstark18]

I tried 36 (I was on 157) and didn't see any difference in delay. I'm in the US so neither of those channels are DFS anyway. I'm still on my quest to figure out why this is happening. Sane results from a Linksys e3000 and an Asus RT-N66U.