Re: RAX200 Manual band selection while Smart Connect is turned on

lazysusan111 · ‎2020-11-15

Hi all,

I really like Smart Connect in theory. However there are a few devices around my home (IoT, wifi-enabled speakers, etc.) that occasionally fail to work with smart connect. I believe the router is placing them on one of the 5ghz bands despite them only being compatible with the 2.4 band.

I was surprised that the router allows you to see all of the devices connected to the network, but the only configuration you can do is selecting icons to represent them. Why not also have the option to "prefer" or "force" the device onto a specific band, even when Smart Connect is turned on? I feel like that would make Smart Connect just a little bit smarter.

plemans · ‎2020-11-16

You can make the suggestion.

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Idea-Exchange-For-Home/idb-p/idea-exchange-for-home

But smart connect is designed for the router to control which device ends up on which band. You're right in that its not user adjustable.

michaelkenward · ‎2020-11-16

@lazysusan111 wrote:

I believe the router is placing them on one of the 5ghz bands despite them only being compatible with the 2.4 band.

Smart Connect won't do that. Indeed, it can't do that.

It is down to the wifi clients (your IoT things) to pick the band. The router simply cannot tell them to use a band that they can't see.

I'd look for some other explanation for what you see.