Is it possible to split the 2.4ghz and 5ghz networks on the Orbi

Question

Hi AllI've been advised that to make my Firestick work more efficiently when streaming on it, I should force it to connect to the 5ghz network.&nbsp;Is there a way to force the Firestick to do this, I've read that you can set up a 2.4 and 5ghz network, but the article was 3 years old.My relatively limited knowledge of this is that the devices will bounce between networks, if this is the case, I'm tyring to nail it down to 5ghz.Thanks

FURRYe38 · Answer

What FW version is currenlty loaded?&nbsp;Separation of SSID on Orbi isn't supported.&nbsp;What is the distance between the Orbi and the firestick?&nbsp;&nbsp;Try turning down the 2.4Ghz power on the RBR and see if the firestick will connect to the 5Ghz radio.&nbsp;Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings. Also&nbsp;Set 20/40Mhz Coexistence to 40Mhz only.&nbsp;Any Wifi Neighbors near by? If so, how many?Try enabling Beamforming and MIMO(MIMO may or maynot be needed) and WMM. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

CrimpOn · Answer

Firestick specs show support for "802.11 a/b/g/n/ac; 2x2 MIMO"

https://developer.amazon.com/docs/fire-tv/device-specifications-fire-tv-stick.html

When the Firestick is plugged in, it will select the Orbi channel that "works best". Devices do not "bounce" unless they move. Most devices that are not expected to be mobile are not programmed to constantly search for a "better connection" like smartphone, tablets, and some laptops are.

Amazon says that the Firestick requires 5mbs for HD quality video, which is easily achieved with 2.4G connections.

https://www.live2tech.com/10-things-know-amazon-fire-tv-stick-buy-one/

I recommend plugging in in the Firestick in such a way that it is "visible" to the Orbi WiFi system and see what happens.

(By visible I mean not buried behind the TV with the metal TV chassis between the Orbi and the Firestick.

There are several active discussions on the forum about how to "Split" the Orbi WiFi into bands with different names. This is a huge "can of worms" that I would not want to open unless the Firestick performance is unacceptable.

michaelkenward · Answer

conker89&nbsp;wrote:
&nbsp;
I've been advised that to make my Firestick work more efficiently when streaming on it, I should force it to connect to the 5ghz network.&nbsp;

Out of interest, who advised you that?

gomerkyle · Answer

It's important to know which Amazon device you are using as well as which content you're expecting to stream. Finally, is there a problem to begin with? Let me address the obvious one first. Do you have a problem with buffering at all? Have you noticed a "spinning wheel of death" ,or a loading pinwheel, at video start times? If there is no problem, strengthening the signal will offer no realized gains for you at all. As far as the device and content expected goes; if you have a 4K capable device plugged into an HDR television, that content (proper high definition, not YouTube's "4K" resolution videos) may demand upwards of 35Mbps. If we use the speed that most people are familiar with, Megabytes per second (MB/s) rather than Megabits per second (Mbp/s), that's just under 5 Megabytes per second. Not only is that well within 2.4Ghz frequency capability, but a mechanical USB 2.0 hard drive can keep up with that speed over the network as well.

There's no reason at all you would need to prefer one frequency band over the other unless you are reaching the maximum range of the much shorter, but stronger, 5Ghz band (there is also the possibility that if you were on the 2.4Ghz band and were encountering an incredible amount of interference, in which case you'd require a stronger radio broadcast in order to take advantage of the 5Ghz band). In that case the signal strength would drop below a set threshold configured in your device and adapt itself to the appropriate band to maintain the signal strength above that threshold. In network devices that do broadcast separate SSIDs, that would not be the case, and you would have to select one or the other. If you find that you are experiencing issues, do as another has mentioned and try and minimize the distance between the Fire stick and the network, and do what you can to mitigate the amount of solid obstacles between their line of sight. If you still have trouble and you can't move the devices any closer, you'll need an additional access point to expand the coverage of your network unfortunately.

FURRYe38 · Answer

Any progress on this?&nbsp;conker89&nbsp;wrote:Hi AllI've been advised that to make my Firestick work more efficiently when streaming on it, I should force it to connect to the 5ghz network.&nbsp;Is there a way to force the Firestick to do this, I've read that you can set up a 2.4 and 5ghz network, but the article was 3 years old.My relatively limited knowledge of this is that the devices will bounce between networks, if this is the case, I'm tyring to nail it down to 5ghz.Thanks&nbsp;

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Is it possible to split the 2.4ghz and 5ghz networks on the Orbi

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