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Forum Discussion
Orbi mesh want 5Ghz only
I purchased an Orbi mesh system (RBK50 which comes with one satellite and one router). It works brilliantly when my devices are on 5GHz and I get my full internet speed. Sometimes, however, my devi...
Thanks a lot once again. I tried doing that and disabling 2.4Ghz and then forgetting the network. Unfortunately, some of the devices reverted back to 2.4Ghz once connected back to Orbi. However, I realised my wireless printer was in same room as orbi router and was broadcasting WiFi direct at 5ghz as well. Disabled that and now most devices on 5Ghz, although one laptop and mobile on the first floor are still on 2.4Ghz.
I take your point about not just looking at raw speed but also at the connection and if the devices are working which is a good point. At the moment in my household I have no 2.4Ghz devices so by disabling the 2.4Ghz radio wouldn't be a problem for me. Would be good it Netgear could add the option in a firmware update or allow you to split the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands.
I take your point about not just looking at raw speed but also at the connection and if the devices are working which is a good point. At the moment in my household I have no 2.4Ghz devices so by disabling the 2.4Ghz radio wouldn't be a problem for me. Would be good it Netgear could add the option in a firmware update or allow you to split the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands.
mun_96 wrote:
Thanks a lot once again. I tried doing that and disabling 2.4Ghz and then forgetting the network. Unfortunately, some of the devices reverted back to 2.4Ghz once connected back to Orbi.
I'd like to understand the mechanism by which a device changes from a 5G WiFi connection to a 2.4G WiFi connection when the Orbi is not broadcasting an SSID on 2.4G. Where does this "change of connection" show up? (Orbi "app"? Orbi web interface "Attached Devices"? Settings information on the device itself?)
Thanks
CrimpOn the band a device is connected to shows up on both the application and the web interface where you click on 'devices connected'. It displays what router or satellite they are connected to as well as what channel. My 2.4 Ghz speeds are actually much lower than what i quoted earlier, more around 30 MB/s where as 5gGHz I get 300 Mb/s no problem (same room this is). For me, the speed difference is noticeable enough hencewhy i would really like to be able to force a 5 GHz connection. The 2.4GHz band in my area is way too congested and hencewhy in my previous setup with my old router, I had it split the SSIDs so I connected my devices all to the 5 Ghz band.
With the ORBI, II verified the devices were actually connected to the band the ORBI interface was showing as I ran speed tests. When my mobile was showing as connected to the 5 GHz network on the orbi interface, i got a download speed of 360 Mb/s and upload of around 35 Mb/s. A few minutes later, i checked again and the interface showed it was connected to 2.4Ghz. I quickly ran another speedtest whilst the interface was displaying it was on this band and sure enough, the download speed was 31 Mb/s. If i could simply disable the 2.4Ghz band, that would be such a simple solution. I feel that netgear should have this option in the advanced settings at least for users who do want it disabled. It's not ike it would interfere with the backhaul as that is done on a separte 5 Ghz channel anyway. Apparently, users could do this in previous versions of the firmware but now this is not possible.
Its a fantastic system, but i do not like how it handles the 2.4 Ghz/5Ghz switching, I want to decide and be in control what band my devices connect to and i don't think the system is quite there yet in terms of efficiency of selecting a band for optimal speeds.
Thank you anyway sir for your kind suggestion of unchecking the broadcast SSID box for the 2.4Ghz signal and trying to force a 5 Ghz connection that way. I very much appreciate the time you took on advising me.
Be aware that its up to wireless devices to pick and choose which frequency and single they connect too based on signal, noise and conditions. Orbi only provides the platform to connect to.
thanks FURRYe38 . I was thinking the ORBI was the one switching the devices to other bands, but what you say about the devices makes sense. CrimpOn has a point as well though that the access point could potentially be communicating to a device that it may be better for them to switch to another band. You 2 are clearly more knowledgeable than me but I am going to try the suggestion by CrimpOn to turn down power transmission on 2.4Ghz band.
Thanks for confirming. This gives me direction for experimenting. I think there is an internet standard where an access point tells a device, "I think you would be better off switching to (this other access point)."
Since you want to avoid the 2.4G band, you can also turn the transmit power down as far as it will go on the 2.4G channel. Maybe that will slow down this "switching".
