RT-N66U Separate SSIDs for 2.4 and 5GHz

[JamesK]

Hi All,

Are there any reasons for/against using the same SSID for both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless networks?

On my previous router, the Netgear WNDR3700 I had different names for the networks. However, I'd read that doing this didn't make sense and you should keep the name the same for both frequencies and let your wireless device choose which frequency to connect to.

For the RT-N66U I've set them to be the same, and have noticed on my laptop that when I'm at a close proximity to the router it uses 5GHz, but moving further away it tends to use 2.4GHz.

I've read on here people seem to favour having separate SSIDs and was wondering why.

 

[jim769]

I would use separate ssids that way you can tell what band your using or want to use. Example Asus-2.4 Asus-5. I would never use the same for both.

 

[ikoul]

I think for a lot of people it's about control. I like to force all of my capable devices to connect only on 5Ghz, because 2.4 has way too much interference where I am. If I didn't have separate SSIDs, my dual band devices could decide to switch to the slower band automatically (which I would never want).

 

[ScottW]

I recommend different SSIDs.

Similar to what ikoul said above... The 2.4G signal is often going to be stronger than the 5G signal, and if the SSID is the same devices will want to switch over to it -- even when the 5G band would still give them better performance.

Secondly... If you have a lot of devices, you may want to "reserve bandwidth" on the 5G band for specific devices, while keeping others restricted to the 2.4G band. For example, I join my streaming media players and a couple of iPads to the 5G band, while leaving most other devices on 2.4G. That ensures that when I start streaming a movie, there is very little competition for bandwidth on the 5G band.

 

[stevech]

I recommend different SSIDs.
The 2.4G signal is often going to be stronger than the 5G signal, and if the SSID is the same devices will want to switch over to it

Many/most WiFi devices do not choose an access device (for which they have the key) based on best-signal. For many, it's first-heard during the scan.
Thus using separate SSIDs by AP and by band allows best-access choice to be made by user, where the naming in the SSID is a hint as to location (like xxxDEN5G where xxx are your initials).

 

[ScottW]

Many/most WiFi devices do not choose an access device (for which they have the key) based on best-signal. For many, it's first-heard during the scan.
Thus using separate SSIDs by AP and by band allows best-access choice to be made by user, where the naming in the SSID is a hint as to location (like xxxDEN5G where xxx are your initials).

And many do automatically choose/switch to strongest signal. My Iphones and Ipads, and every windows laptop in my house, do exactly that. When using the same SSID for 2.4g and 5g, they would switch between them based on signal strength -- and since 2.4g goes further, it meant they would almost always prefer the 2.4g band over the 5g band.

Having separate SSID's for each band gives the ability to choose the band you want the device on, and have it stay on that band.

 

[JamesK]

Thanks very much for all the input... I think I'll go back to adding a '5' onto the end of my 5 GHz SSID!