2,4 and 5GHz networking with same SSID

[MrJackBlack]

Hello folks,

I have a question regarding 2,4 and 5GHz networking.

Hardware:
ASUS RT-AC87U

What I want:
Clients should be able to switch between 2,4 and 5GHz how ever they want, basically they should prefer the 5GHz network and only switch to 2,4GHz when signal is weak.

What I did so far:
I setup my RT-AC87U with both frequencies based on this guide. Basically I have the 2,4 and 5GHz network running on the same SSID. But, it seems like all clients (iPhones, iPads, Macbooks) only using the 2,4GHz network.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[cliver]

It's down to the client to decide which one is stronger and also if and when to roam from one to the other. I would try turning the 2.4Ghz radio off, connecting your clients to the 5Ghz radio and seeing them to connect automatically. Then turn the 2.4Ghz back on and see what happens. Can't guarantee it will work but with a try. I have a 68u with a 66u as an ap and it seems to work on my setup with my clients connecting to the 5Ghz for preference.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[L&LD]

You're not doing anything wrong. It is (mostly) up to the clients to pick the 'best' network connection to work with (and they're obviously failing to do that properly).

I would suggest you take more direct control of your network and use different ssid's for each band/radio and then connect the clients to the band you want as needed.

 

[mstombs]

2.4GHz has larger range than 5GHz, so you will find mobile devices always connect to it first when they come into range, I have found different devices behave differently and have different roaming aggressiveness options. My Android phone won't even roam properly between same SSID on same band - so I am used to toggling wifi on/off when I get to my desk to stop it hanging onto a weak signal that it first locked onto as I entered my office building. Latest Asus firmware has options to drop weak signals to encourage them to roam - so this is a general issue.

 

[bidi]

I setup my RT-AC87U with both frequencies based on this guide. Basically I have the 2,4 and 5GHz network running on the same SSID. But, it seems like all clients (iPhones, iPads, Macbooks) only using the 2,4GHz network.

What am I doing wrong?

you may not be doing anything wrong, it could be Apple's fault.
- have you checked if these devices actually have 5.2 GHz radios? are these the latest models or older?
- there were numerous discussions a while back around the problems between iphones and the AC87U's 5GHz radio. not that other manufacturers didn't have issues, but they were in the order of battery drain by not entering stand-by, whereas Apple products seemed to have trouble connecting.
- when my mother came by in june her iphone 5c could not see the 5GHz guest network i set up for her. i actually had two guest networks, 2.4 GHz and 5.2GHz (i expected problems), and her phone only worked on the former. to be fair, i don't know if the 5c even has a 5.2 GHz radio.
- are you using the latest firmware? have you ever used the wireless mac filter on the router? have you performed a reset/manual restore after the recent updates? i also had problems with an LG phone that couldn't connect to the 2.4 GHz band on my router, and it looks like the wireless mac filtering got corrupted by an update at one point and would not enable any new entries, even though they showed up in the interface.

 

[pete y testing]

Hello folks,

I have a question regarding 2,4 and 5GHz networking.

now here is the difference between just running the same ssid on both bands and actual band steering that you find in smart connect routers

in your case its pretty much just the client that makes the choice to connect and to which band

in smart connect and with band steering the router takes a more active approach to what devices are connecting to what bands depending on how they report themselves to the router and their distance

with the 87u if you want such control as suggested use different ssid names for each band and make sure the 5 gig band is at the top of the list of remembered credentials on the device

band steering certainly isnt perfect yet even in smart connect routers and there is also the case that you are under the mis understanding that by naming the ssid's the same you have seamless roaming which you dont unless you move to a controller based solution

in the end there is little difference to the client device as to if you have the ssid the same or different when it comes to roaming , it actually makes it easier to know what you are connected to and change if needed if they are different , whereas if they are named the same you are left up to wifi voodoo to deal with the connections

pete

 

[sfx2000]

I would suggest you take more direct control of your network and use different ssid's for each band/radio and then connect the clients to the band you want as needed.

Review the following and make own choices...

Good arguments for both approaches...

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/basi...751-snb-answer-guy-how-many-ssids-is-too-many

And then one runs into this - lol... which can be a bit of a headache - common SSID's make common sense in most cases - there is typically a reason why a client will choose a band/channel in those situations, and generally it's the right choice...

 

[L&LD]

sfx2000, nobody suggested 7 ssid's for the OP. But two (or three, for a three radio router like he has) is not too much at all when one wants the highest performance possible at all times (users choice).

 

[sfx2000]

sfx2000, nobody suggested 7 ssid's for the OP. But two (or three, for a three radio router like he has) is not too much at all when one wants the highest performance possible at all times (users choice).

In a common SSID environment - put the 5GHz where the users typically are - and then use 2.4GHz as the backstop...

In most cases that I've seen - 5GHz RSSI and CINR doesn't support a better connection than the overlay provided 2.4GHz - the clients are getting pretty smart.

Going to unique SSID's generally is more of a burden both for the users (poor performance) and for the network admin - having to support multiple profiles...

 

[L&LD]

With a single router though, that can't happen (put the 5GHz network where the users are).

In my own experience, the 5GHz band, while showing less 'signal', gave just as much effective range with an even greater increase in throughput vs. the 2.4GHz band. I'm sure I posted as such on this forum (a while back). Sorry, not going to go digging for that now.

I also do not see the clients getting smarter at all. Nor are the users that burdened from having to choose between two ssid's, if the quality of the connection matters at any particular moment.

As for the network admin's? Two ssid's (or three, for a three radio router) with the same password is also nothing to worry about either. It takes minimal effort to set it up correctly (once) and let the users choose the ssid as they see fit (no work for the admin, right?).

 

[sfx2000]

In my own experience, the 5GHz band, while showing less 'signal', gave just as much effective range with an even greater increase in throughput vs. the 2.4GHz band. I'm sure I posted as such on this forum (a while back). Sorry, not going to go digging for that now.

Dual-band clients are actually getting smarter every day - esp. smartphones and tablets...

5GHz vs. 2.4GHz - remember that the curve of distance vs. bandwidth is not linear - it's a 10LogR function based on propagation loss, and the loss factor for 5GHz is 3dB higher (which is also non-linear),

Physics suggests that once one is on that cliff, and it is a cliff - 2.4GHz is a safe backstop due to more better power (less loss) and better coding gains at that point...

11ac helps a bit, but one cannot beat physics at the end of the day, and there will be many times where a 2.4GHz connection on 11n will outperform a 5GHz connection at the same range from the AP.

SO at the end of the day - common SSID is easier to manage - one profile - and one will always have "good enough" connectivity in most cases...

 

[L&LD]

'good enough' is never good enough. When all you need to do is have two ssid's to get (in many, many cases) much 'better'.

 

[sfx2000]

'good enough' is never good enough. When all you need to do is have two ssid's to get (in many, many cases) much 'better'.

And in many cases - it's not

 

[MrJackBlack]

Hello Folks,

thanks for the information. I'm glad I didn't do anything wrong. I think I will change the SSID and seperate the 2,4 and 5GHz networks, than reconnect clients to both networks, prioritizing the 5Ghz network - at least there where I can influence it. I wouldn't know how I can prioritize SSIDs on an iPhone :-S