Same SSID for 2.4 and 5ghz not working out. Normal?

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Level 1

45 points

Same SSID for 2.4 and 5ghz not working out. Normal?

I have a new Airport Extreme. I'm really hoping I can get it to work on same SSID without having two networks for each band. The issue is that my 2014 rMBP will switch to 2.4ghz sometimes and doesn't stay on 5ghz. I'm literally in the same room 5-10ft away from the router. I've tried switching channels and found 157 to be the best channel (based on the signal strength I receive using the OSX wireless diagnostics Scan feature). 2.4ghz is usually stronger, ranging from 3 to 10 RSSI difference. it's not a big difference really and my speed with 5ghz is always much better. I'm just wondering is this normal? Do you guys that have same Airport Extreme also have to make two networks to get your devices to stick to 5ghz even if you're close to router?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)

Posted on Sep 23, 2015 5:44 PM

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Answer 1

Bob Timmons

Level 10

185,162 points

Sep 23, 2015 9:26 PM in response to mzaur

The theory behind using the same SSID for both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands is that wireless devices will automatically choose the best signal quality with which to connect.

Unfortunately in practice, things do not work quite as well as the theory might suggest......since the best signal "quality" does not necessarily mean the fastest signal "speed".

Using the same SSID, which is Apple's default setting for the AirPorts, is probably the setting that most users should probably use.......because it keeps things simple.. That might be why Apple made it the default.

We could go into a long discussion about the pros and cons of either approach and make a good argument for either case. But, I think your preference......which appears to be connection speed.....likely indicates that you really have already answered your own question as to how you should set up the AirPort Extreme.

Personally, I use the default setting of having both bands use the same SSID. It's just a lot less of a hassle this way, and I don't really care how fast the connection might be on either band, since even the 2.4 GHz connection provides higher speeds than my ISP can supply.

If I need to copy a lot of data from one device to another, or download an important update, I don't trust wireless for this. I use a wired connection. But, that's my preference.....and I certainly understand that other users may have entirely different preferences.

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Answer 2

mzaur Author

Level 1

45 points

Sep 23, 2015 10:13 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks. It's just really lame that OSX switches to 2.4ghz even though there is very little signal difference between them, but my 2.4ghz is rather congested because i'm in an urban area. So even though the signal is about the same, I'll get 20-30mbps download speed instead of 100mbps if the device switches to 2.4ghz. I really wish OSX had an option to prefer 5ghz. I mean, it sees the link rate. I get a link rate of 867mbps right now on 5ghz and 200mbps on 5ghz, so why switch? Ugh. Windows 10 does the same thing so it's not like MS is handling it any better.

Anyway, yeah I'll just switch to two SSIDs. :/ Thanks for the help

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Answer 3

Bob Timmons

Level 10

185,162 points

Sep 24, 2015 6:10 AM in response to mzaur

You might want to let Apple know what you think.

Apple - AirPort Extreme - Feedback

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