fixing a device to 2.4 vs 5 using smart connect X6 R8000 & X6 EX8000

Hello Mike,

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mwassy888 wrote:

The ex8000 is configured as an extended with smart connect and one wifi name.

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What is the WiFi configuration in place on the R8000?

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mwassy888 wrote:

I originally had smart connect and one wifi name disabled which allowed me to direct a device to a specific network. For example i kept my kids gaming platforms on the 5 and iphones and work devices on the 4. 

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You have only one network - that's why a single SSID makes perfect sense.

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mwassy888 wrote:

To solve the problem, i reset the EX8000 to factory default and enabled the standed out of the box settings which included smart connect and one wifi name. This resolved the issue, however i feel like the performance varies. I did configure my router and extender to use the networks that are least subscribed in my neighborhood.  

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Both the R8000 and the EX8000 are so-called tri-band devices - both models have two 5 GHz WiFi radios.

Assuming the EX8000 is in a good reach of the R8000 5 GHz upper radio, the second radio (dedicated on the EX8000) is used to operate the wireless backhaul:

• 400Mbps @2.4GHz - 256QAM  - the user-facing 2.4 GHz 802.11n 2x2 radio. More real is 300 Mbps because 64QAM is the standard, most real-world WiFi clients are 2x2.  
• 866Mbps @5GHz - 256QAM  - the user-facing 5 GHz radio, 802.11ac 2x2, 80 MHz channel width 
• 1733Mbps @5GHz - 256QAM  - the wireless backhaul 5 GHz radio, 802.11ac 4x4, 

And this will happen on mid- or high channels in the 5 GHz band, on the radio which is a 802.11ac 4x4 operating at 80 MHz bandwidth (so also covering four more channels). Permitting the primary WiFi router does support it. Your R8000 is a AC3200 (600 + 1300 + 1300 Mbps)

• 600Mbps @2.4GHz - 256QAM  - the user-facing 2.4 GHz 802.11n 3x3 radio. Bluntly spoken: This is just hype! Here again, more real is 300 Mbps because 64QAM is the standard, most real-world WiFi clients are 2x2.
• 1300Mbps @5GHz - 256QAM  - the user-facing 5 GHz radio, 802.11ac 3x3, 80 MHz channel width.  
• 1300Mbps @5GHz - 256QAM  - the second user-facing 5 GHz radio, 802.11ac 3x3, 80 MHz channel width. This is most likely where the EX8000 does connect it's wireless backhaul to. What does reduce the marketing backhaul rate already - and then the building structure itself. 

Said all that: You won't (by far) not see everything what is going up on air on the very limited 5 GHz band! You won't see other backhauls and similar technology stuff like HDMI links, speaker wireless links, ... and all the stuff on air which is using the same band, but not compliant to WiFi at all.

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mwassy888 wrote:

I did configure my router and extender to use the networks that are least subscribed in my neighborhood. 2.4G= channel 1 & 5G=channel 44 on R8000. On the EX8000, 2.4G is 1 and 5G lists 36 + 40 + 44(p) + 48, but the actual network selected is 44. 

Is there a way to lock a device to a specific network?

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This is not smart at all. You operate your own devices client facing radios on the same channels!

In the US, the 2.4 GHz band is just 70 MHz wide - the minimum overlap you can control is by operating one 40 MHz adapter on 1 (and up, implicitly the overlapping 2,3, 4, 5, and 6), and the other on the other end on 11 (and down, implicitly the overlapping 10, 9, 8, 7, and 6) [alternate 6 and up].

On the 5 GHz user facing AP radios, configure e.g. the router to 36...48, and the extender to 52...64! With your current config you create unessecary channel overlap and interference in your own _controlled_ environment!

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mwassy888 wrote:

One issue that may be causing this is it appears now almost every device is connecting to the 5G and almost nothing to the [edited: 2.]4G. I enabled QOS and provided my sons gaming PC the highest priority.

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Even on lower signal levels, the 5 GHz radios are supporting higher bandwidth than the 2.4 GHz ones. That's why your wireless devices prefer the 5 GHz band. Signals and usage must be much higher before they will go down to the 2.4 GHz band 

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mwassy888 wrote:

What i would like to do is lock a device to a specific band.  For example iphones to 2.4G and only gaming devices to 5G.  I have also noticed at times devices with weaker signals on 5G, where if they were 2.4G there would be a stronger signal.

Is there a way to lock a device to a specific network?

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If there would be any intention for doing this, any vendor would offer a control on the wireless clients for restricting the band usage. Matter of fact, not even Apple (any OS) nor Windows does provide such a control. For good reasons...

Last but not least: The selection of the band and radio (resp. the radio BSSID) is done on the client side, especially if the complete network is covered by the same SSID. And this is mandatory for handling mobile wireless devices being able to roam seamlessly in your house. If each radio has it's own SSID (welcome back wireless from 1990 to 2010!) the clients will stick on that one access point radio until the connection does fall apart below the signal level where a minimum throughput remains possible - the nearer and much better SSIDs won't be selected automatically.

If you want to do your son a favor: Install a network cable from the router to the gaming PC. While you are on it, install a network cable from the router to the extender, and operate it as an access point.

microchip8 A lot of capabilites these mesh platforms are offering are disabled by the product makers like Netgear. Late 2020, there are still far to many popular wireless clients in the consumer environment which have issues being forced to a re-roaming from the access point side. This would be required if the smart processes take the effective link rates of each wireless client connection into consideration...