Separating 2.4

the bandwidth is automatically restricted to the capability of the slowest wireless device on the network, like my iPhone 4 and iPad 1 & 2.

This sounds authoritative, but it is not correct.

My Mac connects at 270 Mpbs while my old "g" iPhone connects at 54 Mbps. The slower iPhone connection has no effect at all on the Mac connection.

Another Mac which does not have 5 GHz capability, but does have "n" capability connects at 130 Mbps. Again, the iPhone has no effect on this connection.

It is possible to assign a different name to the 5 GHz band on your Time Capsule and then manually "point" devices that are capable of connecting to 5 GHZ at that network.

But, this is no guarantee of better performance since 5 GHz signals are much weaker and do not penetrate obstructions as well as 2.4 GHz signals. For the most part, you need to think of 5 GHz as a "line-of-sight" deal.

If you want to experiment with the separate name for the 5 GHz network, please post back to let us know what operating system you are using on your Mac or PC, as the setup is different depending on the operating system in use.

The theory behind Apple's simultaneous dual band Time Capsule is that both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands use the same wireless network name.

Wireless devices will automatically connect to the best signal quality based on their capabilities and location in relation to the Time Capsule.

This is the setting that most users should use because it takes the guesswork out of things.

If you want to experiment by assigning a different name to the 5 GHz network, you can do that, but as I mentioned this is no guarantee of better results...and it makes things more complicated.

Unless your wireless devices that are capable of using 5 GHz are located in the same room as the Time Capsule, or they have close to a line-of-sight relationship with the Time Capsule, the 5 GHz signal won't deliver the goods through walls, since the signal is much weaker than 2.4 GHz.

If all of your devices are connected to the Internet simultaneously, I'm hoping that you have at least a 60-70 Mbps Internet connection. Higher would be better. The reason for this is that the Internet bandwidth is split up among all connected devices.

For example, let's say you have a 15-20 Mbps Internet connection. That means that on average, each device will only be receiving about 1 Mbps speeds. That's much too slow if you are downloading a large file or trying to stream video over wireless. (Hi definition video requires about 5 Mbps per device for decent performance without stuttering).

So, before you experiment with a separate name for the 5 GHz network, it might help to understand where things stand now.

What type of Internet connection speed does your provider supply to you? We ask this because if your Interent connection speed will not support the number of devices that you have, no amount of tinkering with the network is going to do much good.

If you want to assign a different name to the 5 GHz network, here are the steps:

Open Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility

Click on the Time Capsule icon, then click Edit in the small box that appears

Click the Wireless tab at the top of the window

Click the Wireless Options button near the bottom of the window

Enter a check mark in the box next to 5 GHz name

Click Save

Click Update at the lower right of the window and allow a full minute for the Time Capsule to restart

Now the hard part.....

You have to take each device that is capable of connecting to 5 GHz and "point" it at the new 5 GHz network name that you just created, and enter the same wireless password that you used before.

The only time where it makes sense to assign a separate name to the 5 GHz network would be something like this situation:

Let's say you have a Mac that is located in the next room to the Time Capsule. The Time Capsule is set up in the normal mode to broadcast both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band using the same wireless network name.

Sometimes, the Mac connects at 2.4 GHz and sometimes it connects at 5 GHz since the signal quality is about the same at that location. You plan to copy files from the Mac over wireless on a regular basis, so you want to use the faster 5 GHz band to take up less time for the copy or file transfer.

In this case, you could assign a separate name to the 5 GHz network and manually "force" the Mac to connect to that network.

But....there is a potential problem with this. Let's say that you move the Mac even further away from the Time Capsule. The Mac will try to connect to 5 GHz.....even though the 2.4 GHz signal will be faster and stronger than 5 GHz at that more distant location.

So, if you want to use the separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz option....you really have to do a lot of experimenting with each wireless device if you want the best performance....and then not move the wireless device to another location.

For most users....it is much easier to use the default settings and let each wireless device scan and connect to the best quality signal based on its own capabilities and its location in relation to the Time Capsule.

But...some users disagree with this. Maybe the Apple guy is one of them. 😉

So, I'm having pretty much the same issues here. Sorry for thread jacking. I have a lot of devices on my network as well and have been having a ton of issues.

I recently was able to get my Direct TV equipment hardwired into my Comcast all in one, but that won't save bandwidth issues, right? Because it's still pulling from the same Internet, correct? The other issue I have is that the two baby monitors we use are digital and run on the 2.4 frequency, which is exactly what Comcast Wifi runs on. So, strike 2.

Can I put the Comcast all in one in bridge mode and plug my time Capsule in and use that as my wifi source? Do I need to put the all in one in bridge mode or can I run both for whatever reason? Would I even want to do that?

If i bridge mode the all in one and set up the time Capsule to be my wifi source, use the 2.4 and 5 frequencies would this help with the baby monitor stuff? Is the 5ghz frequency capable of bringing wifi upstairs, throughout my house? Are there devices that don't work on that frequency? I have a couple of wifi extenders throughout my house that I thought would help, but haven't. Could they help the 5ghz frequency or do I need to buy different ones.

Someone help PLEASE