how can iphone automatically switch to strongest wifi signal at home

It would help if you actually read not only what I said but the entire thread berore posting irrelevant information.

I did not say the phone didn't automatically switch to different access points based on signal strength. What I said was it wouldn't switch to another SSID automatically based on signal strength - it will only do so if it loses all signal to the original SSID.

The issue in this thread is that the OP was using an "extender" which created a separate SSID instead of creating another access point to the same SSID. (You might have understood that had you read the thread.) Thus when he moved upstairs and had weak signal from the base router the phone didn't switch to the extender. The manufacturer of the extender tried to make the distinction between an "extender" and a "repeater" as an excuse,

BTW, you do realize that this thread has been dormant for over 16 months. Right?

I know this is an old thread, but it is relevant to my situation. To improve wifi signal strength at the rear of our property, I have just installed a dLAN® 500 AV Wireless+ and set it up with the same SSID as my router. Both networks work well when a device, iPad, phone, etc connects in range. What I have yet to see however, is my iPad automatically switching from a weak signal at the edge of range of one network, to the much stronger signal, of the other. As I said, both have the same SSID, but at set to different channels on the 2.4ghz band to avoid conflict. If I switch to airplane mode and back on, it picks up the strongest signal, but I was hoping it would periodically scan the channels for a stronger signal without manual intervention?

I have a solution, but not for IOS.

Setup: I have a main wireless router, on 1 SSID. I have a separate range extender, from Netgear, with similar SSID but with _EXT appended at end of SSID name, so it's not precisely the same SSID. The login is saved on all devices and all devices are able to log in to either SSID when in range, by *manually* selecting the SSID. However, IOS mobile devices (iPad, and iPhones) will NOT switch between the two *automatically*. Fwiw, neither Mac nor Win laptops will switch automatically either. I think this is consistent w/ experience of others here.

However: my android phone DOES automatically switch between the same two SSIDs, w/out manual intervention, and it does so very reliably. I installed an android app called Best WIFI for Android, which manages the switching. This is exactly what I want, but only works on android device (so far). Point being: it's possible, it works.

What I'm looking for is a similar IOS app. Has anyone seen one? Thanks.

That's odd. I thought the instructions specifically say *not* to use same channel, to avoid interference. But maybe I'm not clear on what you mean, I don't understand the issue fully and I appreciate your guidance. To be clear: the range extender is connected to the main wifi AP via wifi connection, not ethernet. I'm in an 1893 home, stone, plaster, wifi signals don't travel well, and very challenging to run ethernet cable. So, 2nd wifi device is close enough to main device to connect (wirelessly) and rebroadcast the signal. When you say *same channel*, do you mean 2g vs. 5g, or same SSID, or something else? Sorry for newbie question, I'm honestly fuzzy on the terminology. It works fine on android under current setup, so I assumed it was IOS setting, not router setting, and I'm willing to experiment w/ router settings if that's a solution. Thanks.

different channel recommendation is "different from other equipment" to avoid interference.

2.4 GHz band is sensitive to "other" equipment, 5GHz is not.

Has nothing to do with extend a network.

set same channel, or the extender at 'auto channel'.

Hi - I know this is an old post, but I have a very similar issue regarding switching between wifi connections and have a specific question.

Background - I use Verizon FIOS and have a wifi network (created by Verizon actiontec router) called WIFIhome on the downstairs floor. I installed a MOCA based extender (actiontec WCB3000N) upstairs, and a new wifi network appeared automatically called WIFIhome-5G. I am using Verizon equipment instead of Apple because home is only wired for COAX and I couldn't find an easy way to have ethernet connections throughout without using MOCA system using Verizon equipment.

Iphone Wifi Issue - When I'm upstairs, my iPhone/iPad remain on WIFIhome unless I manually force them to change to WIFIhome-5G (which has stronger signal upstairs). I thought WCB device would 'extend' my network and my devices would seamlessly transition between the downstairs/upstairs routers based on best connection. Since the WCB device appears to have created a new SSID, the devices appear to think of these as different networks.

Is that correct? How can I make sure my devices see these as the SAME network, and move back and forth to the fastest access point automatically?

Thanks for the help.

^^^ Exact same situation ! Any help is greatly appreciated in advance 🙂

1864 Wood and plaster home, COAX in basement, 1st floor family room & 2nd floor bedrooms, CAT 6 in basement and 1st floor family room.

- FIOS Actiontec MI424WR Rev I in basement near ONT - SSID is WiFiHome, Channel 1
- Actiontec WCB3000N on 2nd floor (MoCa/COAX connection to MI424WR), Channel (automatic) , placed under my bed 😝

My houshold has 7 Mac/Apple devices and none automatically "switch" to the SSID WiFiHome_5Ghz nor the WiFiHome_2.4Ghz one either and stubburnly stay latched onto the main WiFiHome until signal is lost and disconnects or if I manually look up the and select the "extended" networks (all have same and keychained passwords). Spped/bandwith is not a real issue since I have FIOS Quantum 150Mbps and speedtesting shows at least 10Mbps at 1 bar/arc but it is nontheless an annoying.

Devices: MacBook Air, 2 x MacBook Pro, 2 x iPhone 5s & 2 x iPhone 4s

Would going into the Actiontec WCB3000N and renaming the 2 automatically created SSIDs to be the same as the main one do the trick?

Thank you for any help.

GmanA

This has been my problem for years as well. I thought there was no solution.
When I bought a Android phone I found out there are a million solutions. I downloaded a program called Wi-Fly by Brightify.
You choose the two routers in your house and when one signal gets weak it jumps onto the other router. You can even choose the sensitivity.
So annoying that I have not been able to find a solution for my Apple products like my sons Ipad etc.
Come on Apple. Lift your game...
There are so many helpful people that simply say it is not possible and no device does this.
Android and the Jailbreak community constantly prove them wrong...

A Little off topic from the original post, but the real solution here is to not use and extender or purchased "repeater" at all. You can hardware an old router to the existing main router and reconfigure it to be the exact same network. Then there is no "ext" and your device will automatically pick up the strongest signal. It takes a little work but is well worth it. I did this a couple of years ago and it works beautifully.

I think you're missing the point a little. As atated in this thread a few times, IOS doesn't at all aggressively check for wifi signal strength on the same, or different ssid's.

I have used extenders and AP's, it's all the same.

If you've found a complete work around for the IOS shortfall please share your steps to reproduce, I have a spare router I could try this with.

And you are missing the point that this is a 5 1/2 year old thread, and the post you answered is 14 months old. Although it provides the right answer; you shouldn't be using a range extender, you should be running the same network with multiple access points. That way not only will it solve the problem, it won't drop the connection when it switches access points.

I work in a museum (the largest museum in the world). It has hundreds of access points. As I wander the halls I never lose signal or a connection, so having multiple access points appears to solve the connection problem.

I'm using AP's in a much smaller area and the switching isn't great at all. And yes, they're setup correctly, I've worked with networks for many years.

Have you walked around watching the wifi page on an iPhone/Pad to see how often it switches and when?

As all of the APs have the same SSID it's difficult to see a switch. But it is very frequent, because the app uses the MAC address of the AP to find the location of the phone and to help the user navigate to the desired exhibit.

I have an indoor and outdoor WIFI network - I gave both the same SSID and the Pad it changing to the stronger one automatically. Nevertheless my ISP did recommend NOT to use the same SSID.

Like always - if it works - don't change.