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Forum Discussion
Keep connecting to 5GHz network despite disabling 5GHz SSID broadcast
I have been having a lot of issues getting my Orbi system (RBR50 and RBS50) and my Sony HT-ST5000 soundbar to play nicely with each other (documented in detail here). The issue can be resolved if I c...
Anjadekar wrote:
I have noticed that after deleting the network information on the Mac it initially connects over the 2.4GHz network and then switches back to the 5GHz one after a few minutes.
My experiment confirms your observation. When I "forgot" the Orbi SSID and quickly searched and reconnected, it did so at 5G. So, I was more deliberate. I "forgot" the Orbi SSID and restarted the phone. It was sitting in my hand with no WiFi enabled, yet the Orbi Attached Devices claimed it was connected at 5G for about 5 minutes. Hmmm. Orbi seems to have a "timer" of sorts and does not drop a device from Attached Devices immediately. Sure enough, eventually the phone dropped off.
Entered my phone passcode, went to WiFi settings, connected to Orbi and the phone connected at 2.4G (both the phone and the Orbi report 2.4G). Sat watching for a while, and "Shazam", the phone is now connected at 5G.
So, there appears to be a window of time during which a device will remain connected at 2.4G before switching. My guess is that only newer devices that are programmed to "roam" will have whatever software feature it is that enables this behavior. Of course, these are exactly the devices one would be using to set up IoT gizmos.
With my colossal level of ignoance and self-confidence I have been assuring people that using the "Broadcast SSID" tactic will enable them to easily set up IoT devices on the Orbi (when the app software is too stupid to work properly on mesh WiFi systems). I guess that advice now has to include, "Don't dilly dally. You've got 2-3 minutes to work with."
Another option that does not require any reconfiguration is to just take your laptop or smart phone far enough away from your router and satellites that it drops to the 2.4GHz frequency since it has a further range of distance. Go outside if you need to to get 60 feet away or more from your source 5GHz WiFi. Once you have a 2.4GHz signal on your mobile device, then configure the IoT device.
tomschmidt wrote:Another option that does not require any reconfiguration is to just take your laptop or smart phone far enough away from your router and satellites that it drops to the 2.4GHz frequency since it has a further range of distance. Go outside if you need to to get 60 feet away or more from your source 5GHz WiFi. Once you have a 2.4GHz signal on your mobile device, then configure the IoT device.
Probably a good idea to temporarily reduce the 5G Transmit Power if using this technique. The phone or tablet has to be close enough to the IoT device for the setup app to connect to it as well.
This is a major annoyance that vendors rushed out products that were poorly designed (and have thousands on the shelf in inventory they still want sell). Was it Pooh who would say, "Oh, bother"?