Should I create a separate 5ghz network or does automatic selection of 2.4 or 5 work fine?

I realize I'm replying to an old post--but there have been quite recent responses, so hopefully I can still get an answer. In his excellent reply, Bob Timmons wrote:

Use AirPort Utility to check the connection details for each wireless device.

<<Hold down the option key on your Mac while you double click the AirPort Express icon in AirPort Utility. Each wireless client will be displayed. Click the arrow next to each wireless client for more connection details. <<

I did this, and it worked: I got more connection details, including the data rate, but I could not tell which network--2.4 or 5 GHz--each device was connected to. Here's what's included in the extra info: Connection [quality]; data rate; IP address; hardware address; RSSI, and Mode. It's possible that info is buried in there somewhere, but I can't extract it.

I'm looking for evidence that devices in different rooms are indeed connecting at different frequencies.

Thanks,

Jim

For Mac's there is an App you may be interested in. It does identify frequency band (2.4 or 5 GHz) as well as signal strength, base station name, network name, channel, & data rate. The data display is also dynamic in that you can move around the room/house and see changes taking place.

You will find it in the App store named WiFi Signal, priced at $2.99. I find it to be well worth the price.

I manually set the 5GHz to 157 and 2.4 to 6 channels. Now I constantly receive the max speed which is 65MBs down and about 5 up with our provider. Befor that I had set both channels to auto and as soon as walked out from the room where the router is placed, the speeds dropped to around 30 - 35MBs.

That's interesting. I found that any manual channel selection on the 5GHz network severely limits throughput, regardless of the wireless router being used.

A couple from Japan brought a lot of Apple gear to the United States and I tried to help them diagnose a problem. They just couldn't get the correct speeds.

• iPad Air (newest at the time)
• 2 iPhones including an iPhones 6 (newest at the time)
• At least 2 Macbook Pros with Retina displays
• At least 1 Apple TV 3rd gen
• 2 Time Capsules (previous generation 802.11n)

While my AirPort devices from USA allow me to change the region, the ones sold in Japan have the region setting locked to Japan. I suppose there's a regulatory agency that won't allow them to be sold if a user can configure it to use restricted channels.

• Comparing the available channels between USA region and Japan, I think only 3 channels overlapped. No matter which fixed channel I selected in the 5GHz band, the throughput dropped to something like 15mbps. I also tested it with multiple devices:
• Arris DG1670A cable modem w/ dual-band 802.11n WiFi
• AirPort Extreme 5th generation (with Gigabit LAN ports) - USA version
• AirPort Time Capsule 4th generation (same as 5th gen Extreme) - Japanese version
• AirPort Time Capsule 4th generation (same as 5th gen Extreme) - Japanese version (another one)
• AirPort Extreme 6th generation (802.11ac) - USA version
• iPad Air (Japan?)
• iPad mini 2 (USA)
• iPhone 6 (Japan?)
• iPhone 6 Plus (USA)
• Macbook Pro (Japan)
• Macbook Pro (another one, Japan)

Bandwidth on the 5GHz band always tanked (~15mbps) as soon as a fixed channel was set. It didn't matter which WiFi router/AP I used and it didn't matter if the client device was USA/Japan. It didn't matter if I was in the same room with line-of-sight from the device to the router/AP. I tried every single 5GHz channel for each region. With the 5GHz channel set to Auto, my USA-region devices get 60mbps every single time (the full speed of the Internet connection at the modem).

Maybe I'll need to repeat these tests to see if anything has changed with newer firmware versions, but I assume it will be the same for me because the Arris modem/router did the same thing.

Thank you for the tip about using the Option key to see more detail about my AX stations, Bob. Quite a while ago you helped me set up a roaming wireless network in my home. Overall, it works fabulously well. For some reason, however, my iPhone 6 shows a Good connection, while all my other devices...Apple TV, MB Pro, iPad Pro... show Excellent connections. As a result, my iPhone always tests at considerably slower speeds than my other devices. When in the same room as my Time Capsule, my phone immediately picks up speed to equal all the other devices; but in adjacent rooms with a dual band Airport Express, connection description and speed immediately reverts back to Good and, consequently, much slower speeds. Would you please explain this and let me know if there's anything I can do to improve my iPhone connection?

Thanks very much,

Phyllis Sommers

iPhones are not noted for their wireless performance, so as long as you have a decent signal and connection, I would not worry much at all about an iPhone connection. I rarely ever look at the connection on the iPhones here.

When you move the iPhone from one area to another, it may help to temporarily turn off the WiFi on the iPhone for a few seconds, then turn it back on. That will force the iPhone to scan again for a good signal and hopefully pick up the signal from the closest AirPort router.

Temporarily switching the iPhone to Airplane Mode for a few seconds, then switching off Airplane mode will do the same thing.

Mac laptops and the iPad pro will usually automatically "switch" from one AirPort to another to pick up a stronger signal as they move from one area to another. But, iPhones do not do this very well.....if they do it at all. So, you have to help them out a bit if you want to look at connection quality on the iPhone.

Manually turning off the WiFi on the iPhone when you move it from one area to another and then turning it back on will improve the chances of the iPhone picking up the "best" signal. Or, switch the iPhone to Airplane mode for a few seconds, then back to normal.

Give that a try when you can and let us know if that might help.

I've previously tried turning wifi on and off, to no avail. I followed your suggestion to use Airplane mode to do this and tried again, in various rooms throughout my home. Unfortunately, my iPhone has a mind of its own and stubbornly sticks to the 2.4ghz band. There was a time when I had the 5ghz option checked in Airport Utility. When 2 networks showed up, both identically named, I would change my phone's wifi setting to the network not being used. That did get my phone onto the 5ghz band, but having two networks showing with the same name, without indicating which band each was using, was very confusing. I wrote to you at the time and you recommended allowing the automatic selection process to take place, so I unchecked the 5ghz option and let the system make the decision. Given what I've explained about my phone, do you think it would be advisable to re-select the 5ghz option and give it a distinct name? It's not that critical to have my phone speeds increase. I'm more frustrated by the idea that all my other devices are getting 90-100 Mbps downloads, while my iPhone is getting 30. You're recommendations have always been very valuable, so I'll rely on your advice.

Thanks again,

Phyllis

Your iPhone is doing about as well as mine. As I said, the iPhone is not much of a wireless performer, since it has a very small and simple wireless antenna. I just don't worry or pay much attention to this, but do understand that numbers are important for some users.

Personally, I would not spend the time to set up separate networks for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, but some users do swear by this, so a case can be made for a more complex way of running your network.

Thanks for all your help. Since my other devices all do so well everywhere, I think I'll follow your lead and just leave things as they are. I can always change my decision down the line if the iPhone speeds bother me too much. Have a nice weekend!

Phyllis Sommers

How can I set this?

Is this possible on the shorter version (http://bit.ly/2rknRAD)?

Yes it is. If you are not sure how to do this, we need to know what operating system is installed on the computer that you use to administer the AirPort router.

macOS Sierra 10.12.4

LaPastenague has already posted the screenshots and instructions just above in this post.

THIS is what wireless options looks like to me in Airport Utility

You have an older AirPort model that is not simulaneous dual band. You can select either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz, but not both at the same time.