Orbi, anyway to coordinate device MAC/IP to particular frequency (2.4 vs. 5)
Hello Everyone,
I have numerous devices throughout the house. Some have low bandwidth needs, others have higher bandwidth needs. Is there anyway to connect such devices via their MAC and/or individual IP addresses to the particular frequency I feel they need. This would enable my video streaming units (roku and apple TV) to procure the necessary 5 ghz speeds they need; our alexa to connect to a 2.4 ghz as we dont use it all that often; and otherwise enable my wife's apple computers to be connected to 5g at all times. It would really help to be able to do this as I feel it would confer stability to our network.
If not possible through current netgear orbi firmware; can someone recommend a top-notch network management solution I can employ to evaluate and make specific changes to the network; so I can direct certain bands of wi-fi to device of my choice?
Re: Orbi, anyway to coordinate device MAC/IP to particular frequency (2.4 vs. 5)
Routers that employ smart connect are all automatic and based on what the connecting devices support, the device determines which frequency that they will connect to. With Orbi this feature is enabled always by design. Other non MESH routers, this feature can be disabled. Orbi may not be a good fit for you and you may want to get into something different where you can set up WiFi for your specific needs and disable Smart Connect.
Re: Orbi, anyway to coordinate device MAC/IP to particular frequency (2.4 vs. 5)
Orbi does not provide any method for designating which WiFi band a device will connect to, nor am I aware of any other "mesh" system that does. This could be confirmed by posting in the support forums for the other systems (Google, Velop, etc.) If you find one that does, it would be useful to know about it.
The closest solution would be products that allow separate SSID's for the two bands, such as Netgear's Nighthawk line of WiFi routers.
My own (personal) belief is that the concern is unwarranted. If a device "doesn't use a lot of data", then it's not going to matter that it is on the 5G band. Those devices share the 5G backhaul channel and share the internet connection no matter which WiFi band they connect on.
