arttuk

Q: Can't connect to 5 GHz wireless N network

I recently bought a Cisco Linksys E4200 wireless dual band router. I have a Mid 2011 Mac Mini, running OS X Lion 10.7.2. I can see and connect to the 2.4 GHz network, but can't even see the 5 GHz network. Is the Mac Mini supposed to support Wireless N at 5 GHz? I also have an Early 2008 MacBook Pro (OS X 10.7.2), that has the same problem.

 

My girlfriend's phone can connect to the 5 GHz network (which has a different SSID), so I suspect that the problem is with the computers and not the router. The router is in plain sight in the same room as the computers, and is configured to Wireless N only at both 2.4 and 5 GHz. I also tried Wireless A and Mixed at 5 GHz, but the problem remained. Channel settings are automatic.

 

Any insight?

Mac mini, Mac OS X (10.7.2), Mid 2011, 2.5 GHz i5

Posted on Jan 1, 2012 6:41 AM

Close

Q: Can't connect to 5 GHz wireless N network

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

Page 1 Next
  • by arttuk,

    arttuk arttuk Jan 5, 2012 5:38 AM in response to arttuk
    Level 1 (3 points)
    Jan 5, 2012 5:38 AM in response to arttuk

    Additional information:

     

    Today, I booted my MBP into Windows 7, and saw that the 5 GHz network is visible there. So, this really looks like a problem with OS X.

  • by justathome,Helpful

    justathome justathome Jan 25, 2012 12:14 PM in response to arttuk
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Jan 25, 2012 12:14 PM in response to arttuk

    The solution I just found is to go to About This Mac -> More Info -> System Report -> Network -> Wi-Fi.  Under Interfaces, look for supported channels.  I had to go into my router settings and make sure I was on a compatible channel.  The second I did that, my 5 ghz network showed up and is working perfectly!

  • by Sterno,

    Sterno Sterno Feb 28, 2012 5:42 PM in response to arttuk
    Level 1 (85 points)
    iCloud
    Feb 28, 2012 5:42 PM in response to arttuk

    I just installed a new Airport Extreme. My Macbook Air and iPad can both see the 5Ghz network, but my late-2009 iMac cannot. Looking in About This Mac>System Report>Network>Wi-Fi, the 5Ghz channels do not show up as supported channels.

     

    I've seen this issue reported in numerous threads for numerous iMac models, but so far I have not found a reason for this issue or a fix/workaround. Anyone else?

  • by castroneves,

    castroneves castroneves May 22, 2012 6:37 PM in response to justathome
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 22, 2012 6:37 PM in response to justathome

    Since we have a buch of Macs at home, I was able to figure which frequency was best for all of them. Channel 48 did the trick for a MacBook Pro 2010 and a 2010 iMac! Ty for the tip

  • by otterfish,

    otterfish otterfish Jun 6, 2012 1:14 AM in response to arttuk
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Jun 6, 2012 1:14 AM in response to arttuk

    802.11d was my problem

     

    My issue was that I had to change the 5GHz SSID on my Wi-Fi router to a channel that worked in all regulatory domains. Due to the large number of misconfigured wireless networks near me when I would wake up my MacBook Pro, 802.11d would kick in and turn off some of the wireless channels on the Wi-Fi card appearing to render my 5GHz network invisible. Once I did that it's been rock solid.

     

    More details here: http://jeff-with-a-g.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/5ghz-wifi-on-your-mac-got-you-down. html

  • by Motomome,

    Motomome Motomome Jun 15, 2012 7:13 AM in response to otterfish
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 15, 2012 7:13 AM in response to otterfish

    Thank you for this, it solved my issues with my iMac.

  • by Ryuun Fujihara,

    Ryuun Fujihara Ryuun Fujihara Oct 26, 2012 10:20 PM in response to justathome
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 26, 2012 10:20 PM in response to justathome

    Thank you justathome!! worked perfectly

  • by Jirka Dytrt,

    Jirka Dytrt Jirka Dytrt Sep 6, 2013 1:23 AM in response to arttuk
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Sep 6, 2013 1:23 AM in response to arttuk

    ARTTUK : Here is best solution. I have similar router Linkys EA2700 and until today the same problem - MBA not see 5 GHz site . Solution is trivial - In router you must write SSID - name ,OTHER for 5GHz frequency , than for 2,4 GHz . For example "site1" for 2,4 GHz and "site2" for 5 GHz. Passport can be the same. My MBA after this will see both this sites . You will chooce "site2" for 5 GHz and this is all. In my MBA now is wifi on 5GHz average 140 Mbps and on 2,4 GHz 40 Mbps.

  • by XeniaNJ,

    XeniaNJ XeniaNJ Dec 7, 2013 11:20 AM in response to arttuk
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 7, 2013 11:20 AM in response to arttuk

    Was very happy to find this post, and have tried all the suggestions above but my Macbook Air still does not connect to the 5 GHz network. 

     

    Our base station is Asus RTN56U.  We tried putting the 5GHz on channels 36 and 48, no security, but my Air won't see it.  Tried killing 2.4GHz just for fun.  Still didn't see the 5GHz network.  My husband's Thinkpad/Ubuntu sees it, of course.

     

    Any ideas?  My system report on network below

     

    Thanks!!

     

    en0:

      Card Type:    AirPort Extreme  (0x14E4, 0xE9)

      Firmware Version:    Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.106.98.100.15)

      Locale:    FCC

      Country Code:    US

      Supported PHY Modes:    802.11 a/b/g/n

      Supported Channels:    1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116, 120, 124, 128, 132, 136, 140, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165

      Wake On Wireless:    Supported

      AirDrop:    Supported

      Status:    Connected

  • by MissNoble,

    MissNoble MissNoble Apr 29, 2014 12:01 PM in response to Jirka Dytrt
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 29, 2014 12:01 PM in response to Jirka Dytrt

    Thank you so much, after over a year having trouble with finding the 5 gHz network (My mac found it 10 % of the time, and my windows-partition found it 100% of the time), It´s stable. But I´m not shure If I should laugh or cry over the fact that I just had to change the name of the network...;)

  • by sammeynl,

    sammeynl sammeynl May 1, 2014 7:07 AM in response to castroneves
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 1, 2014 7:07 AM in response to castroneves

    Castroneves, wauw thanks for the solution! I've been playing around for days but setting it to channel 48 did the trick! Thanks

  • by ChrisClifford,

    ChrisClifford ChrisClifford May 3, 2014 2:51 PM in response to otterfish
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 3, 2014 2:51 PM in response to otterfish

    Fantastic post, the information contained in the link completely resolved the issues I was having with Wifi with my Macbook Pro.

  • by chooxuanwing,

    chooxuanwing chooxuanwing Jul 15, 2014 7:15 AM in response to XeniaNJ
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Jul 15, 2014 7:15 AM in response to XeniaNJ

    The 5 ghz band channels are 149,153, 157 and 161

  • by ikanJoss,

    ikanJoss ikanJoss Oct 18, 2014 12:14 AM in response to arttuk
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 18, 2014 12:14 AM in response to arttuk

    Hi Guys,

     

    Just wanted to mention that resetting my 5GHz network to Channel 40 did the trick.

     

    I'm using a late '13 MBP Retina, just upgraded to OS X Yosemite, with a Asus NT-66U router. No problems with the 5GHz network until the upgrade to OS X Yosemite. 5GHz Channel now at 40 seems to give a solid connection. Thanks!

Page 1 Next