N-Support, or lack there of!

[BobHelms]

I configured my new laptop with a wireless card that does 802.11b/g/n. Thought it would work just like my iPad2 and connect to the 5GHz radio in my dual band router when I specify the correct SSID. Spent all day trying to make it work before I called support to complain that my wireless card was broken. DUH!, my card only runs N on the 2.4GHz radio My neighborhood is "saturated" with 2.4GHz traffic. Returning the laptop for one with a "dual band" card that is (of course) more expensive has resolved that problem. I have learned to read wireless specs very closely. Being careless for a second time I purchased a printer with "N" support and fell into the same quagmire. 2.4GHz 54mbs speed ought to work for a printer, right? Well not in my neighborhood, this multi-function printer could not or would not scan wirelessly. It worked great on ethernet. The printer's support group told me I probably had too much traffic on my router for wireless scanning to work! They couldn't blame the problem on distance from the router as the signal strength was 91%. So there is another "N" device that is hampered by working (IMHO) on the wrong frequency band. So are there any (other than monetary) advantages of running "N" support on the 2.4Ghz band? TIA for your opinions / answers.
Bob Helms

 

[thiggins]

I'm not sure what you mean by the printer won't "scan wirelessly". Can it see your SSID at all?

As you've found, you need to read wireless specs carefully. Dual band is indicated by 802.11a/b/g/n.

802.11n can provide higher throughput in 2.4 GHz. But in areas with many wireless networks, it takes work. You need to do a site survey to get the lay of the (wireless) land and then set up your network accordingly.

 

[RogerSC]

Sounds like a multi-function printer with scanning capability. And the wireless network can't keep up with the scanning functionality bandwidth requirement.

That's my guess *smile*.

 

[stevech]

re your neighborhood is "saturated with WiFi". Though there may be many SSIDs discovered in a scan, usually those are all lightly used. It's rare that you cannot select channel 1, 6 or 11 and end up on a lightly used channel in 2.4GHz.

It's not the number of SSIDs you see, but rather, how busy that SSID is. Not many people stream video on 2.4GHz.

 

[BobHelms]

Thanks for the replies. I guess 'a' is the first letter of the alphabet for sure, especially where network interface cards are concerned. My new printer would print just fine wirelessly, but it would not scan to a PDF file. Canon said it was because of too much 2.4 traffic being being serviced by my 2.4GHz router interface. As I said it would scan with a 10/100 ethernet cable connection. So I got off my duff and ran a wire to where I wanted the printer to sit. Now all my issues are resolved. Here's hoping no one else misses the 'a' when looking for "N" support.
Bob Helms