How to get wifi adapter to select 5GHz band from router

[pdshapiro]

Just installed ModelA6150 Wifi adapter in order to use 5GHz band on home Comcast router. But data rate on the connected PC shows as slow as before when earlier adapter was using noisy 2.4Ghz band. My Android phone in same location has super fast connection; I assume because it is on 5GHz. So the new adapter appears not to be.  How do I get it to select 5GHz??

[plemans · Accepted solution]

Not saying this is the case but if you have bandsteering on, it can take a bit as it determines how much bandwidth it uses and if it needs the 5ghz or 2.4ghz

[plemans]

What router are you connecting to? "comcast router" doesn't tell us much. some of the newer devices do band steering meaning the router switched devices from 2.4ghz to 5ghz. 

[pdshapiro]

It's a new Comcast router that does support 5GHz ... no name is visible on the router (which they call a gateway) but it was installed only couple of weeks ago.  Other devices (Android phone, and new MAC) that work in 5GHz get super high data rates so the 5GHz band in the router seems to be working.  The connection to my PC however is still where it was using 2.4GHz although the radio type shown on the WiFi icon on my PC says the radio type is 801.11n, but I guess that could be either 2.4GHz or 5GHz? Is  there any way to determine whether the adapter is working at 5GHz and if it isn't, to make it do so?

[plemans]

Again, if the router supports/uses band steering, the router chooses which band to connect the wifi device to. 

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/benefits-same-wifi-network-password-name-xfi-gateway

[pdshapiro]

I've confirmed by checking my Android (Pixel) phone which is in the same location as the PC that it is working at 5GHz so the router must be selecting 5GHz for the phone.  According to the link you provided (for which, many thanks), the router does this beam selection automatically.  And yet, my PC ... using the new adapter A6150... seems stuck at the rate it was getting when limited to 2.4GHz.  Why would this be?

[plemans · Accepted solution]

Not saying this is the case but if you have bandsteering on, it can take a bit as it determines how much bandwidth it uses and if it needs the 5ghz or 2.4ghz

[pdshapiro]

I think you're right.  I've suddenly started to get 5GHz type speeds, ~160Mbs, so apparently the router concluded that the new adapter would work better at 5GHz.  As you say, it took a while, then just started working.  Thanks very much for your help!