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Aitku's avatar
Aitku
Aspirant
May 21, 2021
Solved

Force use of 2.4ghz

I am using the EX8000 to reach a summerhouse in the garden some 80 yards away. If my android phone or windows laptop are on 2.4ghz the signal reaches fine. But, they default to connecting using 5ghz a...
  • CrimpOn's avatar
    CrimpOn
    May 21, 2021
    Aitku wrote:
    I am using the EX8000 to reach a summerhouse in the garden some 80 yards away. If my android phone or windows laptop are on 2.4ghz the signal reaches fine. But, they default to connecting using 5ghz and that doesn't reach yet they don't seem to automatically switch to 2.4ghz. What's the best and easiest way to switch them to 2.4ghz so I get a reliable signal there please?

    Do I understand correctly that the summerhouse is 80 yards away from the EX8000?

    (i.e. the EX8000 is not located in the summerhouse)

     

    My phone often does not switch automatically so I open the phone Network controls, turn WiFi off and back on again, and it connects.

    Can you try that?

CrimpOn's avatar
CrimpOn
Guru - Experienced User
May 21, 2021
Aitku wrote:
I am using the EX8000 to reach a summerhouse in the garden some 80 yards away. If my android phone or windows laptop are on 2.4ghz the signal reaches fine. But, they default to connecting using 5ghz and that doesn't reach yet they don't seem to automatically switch to 2.4ghz. What's the best and easiest way to switch them to 2.4ghz so I get a reliable signal there please?

Do I understand correctly that the summerhouse is 80 yards away from the EX8000?

(i.e. the EX8000 is not located in the summerhouse)

 

My phone often does not switch automatically so I open the phone Network controls, turn WiFi off and back on again, and it connects.

Can you try that?

michaelkenward's avatar
michaelkenward
Guru - Experienced User
May 22, 2021
CrimpOn wrote:

My phone often does not switch automatically so I open the phone Network controls, turn WiFi off and back on again, and it connects.

Can you try that?

That is certainly is a better strategy.

 

It really is up to the phone to detect the correct wifi band. It is not something that you should have to do with the wifi source.

  • CrimpOn's avatar
    CrimpOn
    Guru - Experienced User
    May 22, 2021

    I should point out that the phone is not "selecting 2.4G".  It is looking at the list of WiFi access point SSID's that it can find and that it has been told to "connect automatically".  The Orbi 5G WiFi signal is too low to be usable (may not even be detected), so it selects the only usable signal, which is the 2.4G one.  It is actually amazing that the 2.4G signal is usable at 80 yards. Depending on the exterior wall construction, it might be worth experimenting with placing the EX8000 in a widow.

     

    If there is a need for greater bandwidth in the summerhouse, there are only two solutions:

    • Install an ethernet cable to the summerhouse.  Ethernet is rated to do gigabit at 90 meters, and will certainly do 100mb.
      While the ethernet cable is not all that expensive, installation can be a challenge (and expensive).
    • Install a pair of WiFi bridge devices.  Ubiquiti nanostation has been mentioned in several posts, and there are less expensive "no-name" brands on Amazon that get good reviews.
    • alokeprasad's avatar
      alokeprasad
      Mentor
      May 23, 2021
      CrimpOn wrote:

      I should point out that the phone is not "selecting 2.4G".  It is looking at the list of WiFi access point SSID's that it can find and that it has been told to "connect automatically". 

      Trying to understand the methodology in a more general sense.

       

      What does the phone do when it sees one SSID that the Orbi is broadcasting for use with 2.4 and 5 GHz frequencies?

       

      How does the phone decide at any/every point in time:

      • which freq to use
      • which satellite to connect to

      Does the phone choose whichever is the "strongest" at that location that the phone is currently at?

      As the phone moves around, does it stay with that frequency? Does it re-evaluate the strength if the strength drops below a threshold?

       

      Any good web site that delves into how "mesh" systems work?

      • CrimpOn's avatar
        CrimpOn
        Guru - Experienced User
        May 23, 2021
        alokeprasad wrote:
        Any good web site that delves into how "mesh" systems work?

        Search for WiFi roaming.  Lots of articles.

         

        This one did great until the last paragraph that turned into a sales pitch:

        https://hometoys.com/demystifying-wi-fi-roaming/ 

         

        Here is a Geek who did an actual test:

        http://www.wireless-nets.com/resources/tutorials/how_roaming_works.html 

        Notice that his setup was not a typical "mesh" system.  In the Orbi system, all access points are set to the same channel and the Orbi offers 802.11r (Fast Roaming): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11r-2008 

         

        Each article I found has a slightly different slant on the topic.  They all put the initiative on the device, but I seem to remember once reading about an 802.11 standard which allows the access point to "steer" devices toward one band or the other (I think by delaying a response in hopes that the device will make up its mind more quickly).

         

        Note that this discussion is probably academic in the context of being 80 yards from the WiFi access point.  By that range, the 5G WiFi signal is probably too low to measure.