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Forum Discussion
Advanced Wireless Settings: Enable 20/40 MHz Coexistence
At my office I have a Netgear business class access point. The 2.4 GHz radio has the following three choices via a drop-down for Channel Width:
20 MHz
40 MHz
Dynamic 20/40 MHz
(I've selected 20 MHz drop-down)
On the Orbi RK50 under the Advance Wireless Settings (2.4 GHz b/g/n) the following two choices are available (rather than three):
Check On: Enable 20/40 MHz Coexistence
Check Off: Enable 20/40 MHz Coexistence
What is appropriate Orbi Check On or Check Off state to force the channel width to be 20 MHz (from what I read Apple devices work much better when channel width is 20 MHz (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202068)
7 Replies
WAP wrote:
At my office I have a Netgear business class access point. The 2.4 GHz radio has the following three choices via a drop-down for Channel Width:
20 MHz
40 MHz
Dynamic 20/40 MHz
(I've selected 20 MHz drop-down)
On the Orbi RK50 under the Advance Wireless Settings (2.4 GHz b/g/n) the following two choices are available (rather than three):
Check On: Enable 20/40 MHz Coexistence
Check Off: Enable 20/40 MHz Coexistence
What is appropriate Orbi Check On or Check Off state to force the channel width to be 20 MHz (from what I read Apple devices work much better when channel width is 20 MHz (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202068)
It's not documented anywhere I have seen, but it appears that if you check the box, then Orbi will drop back to 20 MHz if it senses other devices on the same 40 MHz channel. If you leave the box unchecked, then Orbi will operate at 40 Mhz. I have seen no issues with 40 MHz and Apple devices, but they usually connect on 5 GHz.
So, if you want maximum speed on 2.4 GHz and you have no nearby neighbors and no other APs or devices that need the 2.4 GHz spectrum (e.g. Sonos), you can leave it unchecked.
I want to improve speed and range on our 2.4ghz wifi as we have a sprawling one story home and so we need the range as much as we want maximum speed. The 5ghz signal just does not get out very well. I use a windows laptop but we also use a Macbook Pro and two iphones on the wifi. I read a post on this site that suggested that if we have "nearby neighbors" that we might not want to turn off the the 5ghz and go only with our 2.4ghz wifi signal. Our neighbors on both sides are about 75-100 feet from the router.
What is the reason for this advice about not turning off the 5ghz signal and going only 2.4ghz as it relates to "nearby neighbors" and how might it impact them or us in this setting?
Thanks for your input and assistance.
This setting doesn't impact range and coverage however does on performance.
If you have neighbors near by, please try changing to a manual channel 1, 6 or 11, which ever one isn't used alot by neighboring wifi.
You can also lower the output power of the radios from 100% to something lower. This will help reduce your over all wifi coverage if you having issues with nieghbors.
5Ghz is effected by building materials.
Orbi is designed to use both 2.4Ghz and 5ghz radios for its MESH system. It wouldnt' be a MESH system if 5Ghz was disabled.
Geezer67 wrote:
I want to improve speed and range on our 2.4ghz wifi as we have a sprawling one story home and so we need the range as much as we want maximum speed. The 5ghz signal just does not get out very well. I use a windows laptop but we also use a Macbook Pro and two iphones on the wifi. I read a post on this site that suggested that if we have "nearby neighbors" that we might not want to turn off the the 5ghz and go only with our 2.4ghz wifi signal. Our neighbors on both sides are about 75-100 feet from the router.
What is the reason for this advice about not turning off the 5ghz signal and going only 2.4ghz as it relates to "nearby neighbors" and how might it impact them or us in this setting?
Thanks for your input and assistance.
