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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...
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 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.
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.
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?
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.
Which one of these approaches does the Orbi use?
It sets all of the AP (staellites) to use the same SSID's and security, and fast roaming optimises the handoff thriugh fast BSS transitions.
- Non-Controller Multiple AP Approach: Perhaps the most common approach to date, installers have traditionally used multiple APs set to the same SSID and security level—doing their best to isolate the APs into logical zones in an attempt to reduce the number of handoffs a device may require. This generally has the same effect as the “configuration controller” option described below—but at a lower cost. Clients are still responsible for determining when to trigger the handoff, resulting in some delays when moving from AP to AP.
- Configuration Controllers: A configuration controller is used in conjunction with multiple vendor-specific low powered APs and typically does little more than optimize the AP setup by pushing the settings out to the APs on the network and ensuring they are all set to the same SSID and security levels. The client device must still determine at what point to jump from one AP to another and go through the same handoff process.
- Management Controllers: The purpose of a management controller is to optimize the handoff process between APs. While the handoff process may become somewhat faster, the client must still determine at what point to move from one AP to another, which typically takes more time than the handoff process itself.
- Wireless Network Virtualization: While still employing the use of a controller, this method is significantly more sophisticated than the aforementioned controller solutions. In this scenario, the controller actively monitors and “listens” to all APs on the network, selecting the best one for transmitting data to the client. Roaming is eliminated because the client sees all APs as a single AP. For certain enterprise applications, this is an effective solution, but for home and small office use, the benefits may not outweigh the hardware, setup and maintenance costs.
