WiFi Single or Split SSID for 2.4 & 5 GHz

[jaizan]

I believe 2.4 GHz is better for distance and 5 GHz is better for speed.

I've always tended to run separate SSIDs, just so I can ensure I'm on the 5 GHz, which usually works better in most of the house.
I also know that if I go for a walk and return to the house, my phone will typically connect to the 2.4 GHz as that's the one it picks up first when I walk toward the house. Then it stays on the 2.4 GHz. So I don't even store the 2.4 GHz login details on my device.

I've noticed my Vodafone router is recommending I combine SSIDs, so they can manage the traffic.
Now is that going to be done properly, with the router trying to bump my phone up to the 5 GHz band just as soon as that will be faster ?
Or will it just give me 2.4 GHz when I walk towards the house and keep me on that ?

[mc2fool]

I believe 2.4 GHz is better for distance and 5 GHz is better for speed.

I've always tended to run separate SSIDs, just so I can ensure I'm on the 5 GHz, which usually works better in most of the house.
I also know that if I go for a walk and return to the house, my phone will typically connect to the 2.4 GHz as that's the one it picks up first when I walk toward the house. Then it stays on the 2.4 GHz. So I don't even store the 2.4 GHz login details on my device.

I've noticed my Vodafone router is recommending I combine SSIDs, so they can manage the traffic.
Now is that going to be done properly, with the router trying to bump my phone up to the 5 GHz band just as soon as that will be faster ?

Far from "properly" that'd be a bad idea. This article explains why: https://routerfaqs.com/does-a-dual-band-router-automatically-switch-to-the-fastest-band/

In any case, routers don't connect to devices, devices connect to routers and the control of which network they connect to and on which band is up to the device. As disconnection/connection is disruptive devices usually hang onto a connection until it becomes untenable.

[mc2fool]

Or will it just give me 2.4 GHz when I walk towards the house and keep me on that ?

(Hmmm, I thought I'd answered this point too but it must have got lost in editing somehow....)

Possibly the Vodafone router has "band steering" under which if a device that the router knows is 5GHz capable ('cos it's connected that way before) tries to connect using 2.4GHz then the router ignores those requests for some seconds to give the device the chance to try and connect over 5GHz instead.

However, that band steering only happens for the connection, it won't flip once connected, for the reasons already mentioned. So it'll only help in the situation you describe if you walk from the 2.4GHz (only) distance into the 5GHz range within the few seconds the router will be ignoring the 2.4GHz connection requests. If you're too slow getting between the two it will connect at 2.4GHz and stay there. AIUI that is.

[jaizan]

However, that band steering only happens for the connection, it won't flip once connected, for the reasons already mentioned. So it'll only help in the situation you describe if you walk from the 2.4GHz (only) distance into the 5GHz range within the few seconds the router will be ignoring the 2.4GHz connection requests. If you're too slow getting between the two it will connect at 2.4GHz and stay there. AIUI that is.

Thank you.
In that case, with both frequencies on a single SSID, my phone is going to spend most of it's time on 2.4 GHz, as that's what it should pick up first when I approach the house.
That seems very unsatisfactory when 5 GHz is faster.

[mc2fool]

However, that band steering only happens for the connection, it won't flip once connected, for the reasons already mentioned. So it'll only help in the situation you describe if you walk from the 2.4GHz (only) distance into the 5GHz range within the few seconds the router will be ignoring the 2.4GHz connection requests. If you're too slow getting between the two it will connect at 2.4GHz and stay there. AIUI that is.

Thank you.
In that case, with both frequencies on a single SSID, my phone is going to spend most of it's time on 2.4 GHz, as that's what it should pick up first when I approach the house.
That seems very unsatisfactory when 5 GHz is faster.

Yeah, but if you don't need the extra distance simply disable 2.4GHz (or use different SSIDs). I find 2.4GHz useful as it reaches all of the garden, which the 5GHz doesn't.

[Infrasonic]

You might be able to prioritize 5GHz within your client device settings (phones laptops etc.) and if it doesn't auto switch from 2.4 to 5 just briefly turn the wifi off and on at the client end when within 5+ range. Often there's settings tweaks you can make to make the auto log on even quicker, client device OS dependent...

I run SSID's at home across 2.4/ 5/ 6 as I have WiFi 6E and 7 capable kit (with the additional 6GHz band), and use the above method to keep mobile client devices predominantly on the higher 5/6 bands.

If you want to avoid 2.4 altogether then you need to make sure you have enough 5/6 coverage via your WAP's, which for a garden situation could involve a longer range WAP at the back of the house designed for such coverage purposes.

Loads of tutorials on the web showing how to set it all up that way and which wifi kit to consider.

Or as suggested turn 2.4 off...

[martinc]

There are a whole set of standards (802.11k, 802.11r, and 802.11v) which cover WiFi roaming and handle this, many of the guides on the internet seem to predate these standards. Every AP and every client will be different of course, but most devices I have tried roam between 2.4 and 5 Ghz in a reasonable way if the SSID and password are the same on the 2 frequencies. If you want to test it, download the free 'analiti' app and run the handover analyser.

[mc2fool]

There are a whole set of standards (802.11k, 802.11r, and 802.11v) which cover WiFi roaming and handle this, many of the guides on the internet seem to predate these standards. Every AP and every client will be different of course, but most devices I have tried roam between 2.4 and 5 Ghz in a reasonable way if the SSID and password are the same on the 2 frequencies. If you want to test it, download the free 'analiti' app and run the handover analyser.

Very detailed looking app, but the speed test consistently reports 37ish Mbps download and 48-53 Mbps upload over my 40/10 broadband.

[Gerry557]

You might be able to prioritize 5GHz within your client device settings (phones laptops etc.) and if it doesn't auto switch from 2.4 to 5 just briefly turn the wifi off and on at the client end when within 5+ range. Often there's settings tweaks you can make to make the auto log on even quicker, client device OS dependent...

I run SSID's at home across 2.4/ 5/ 6 as I have WiFi 6E and 7 capable kit (with the additional 6GHz band), and use the above method to keep mobile client devices predominantly on the higher 5/6 bands.

If you want to avoid 2.4 altogether then you need to make sure you have enough 5/6 coverage via your WAP's, which for a garden situation could involve a longer range WAP at the back of the house designed for such coverage purposes.

Loads of tutorials on the web showing how to set it all up that way and which wifi kit to consider.

Or as suggested turn 2.4 off...

Some kit only uses the 2.4 and sometimes you need to switch off the 5 to get them connected if same names. Things like filaments or cameras.

Modern day issues

[Infrasonic]

You might be able to prioritize 5GHz within your client device settings (phones laptops etc.) and if it doesn't auto switch from 2.4 to 5 just briefly turn the wifi off and on at the client end when within 5+ range. Often there's settings tweaks you can make to make the auto log on even quicker, client device OS dependent...

I run SSID's at home across 2.4/ 5/ 6 as I have WiFi 6E and 7 capable kit (with the additional 6GHz band), and use the above method to keep mobile client devices predominantly on the higher 5/6 bands.

If you want to avoid 2.4 altogether then you need to make sure you have enough 5/6 coverage via your WAP's, which for a garden situation could involve a longer range WAP at the back of the house designed for such coverage purposes.

Loads of tutorials on the web showing how to set it all up that way and which wifi kit to consider.

Or as suggested turn 2.4 off...

Some kit only uses the 2.4 and sometimes you need to switch off the 5 to get them connected if same names. Things like filaments or cameras.

Modern day issues

I recently upgraded all my hi fi /AV to stuff not from the 80's, part of the remit when researching it all was networking - wifi provisioning, ethernet options, HDMI bandwidth limitations et al.

Any kit with too many restrictions there got knocked off the audition shortlist, which meant spending more than I was initially planning as decent ethernet options in particular weren't very prevalent at the lower price points and use of things like USB to ethernet adapters requires the firmware capability being present in the target device (and they don't routinely have that kind of thing listed in website tech specs, the better technical reviewers often cover it though)...

[martinc]

Some kit only uses the 2.4 and sometimes you need to switch off the 5 to get them connected if same names. Things like filaments or cameras.

Many devices like scales, ESP32, older RaspberryPis etc. are 2.4Ghz-only and connect to a single SSID network without problems in my experience. How would they even know about a 5Ghz network? Some really old devices only support WEP password encryption, e.g. first gen iPads but that's a different problem.

[jaizan]

Yeah, but if you don't need the extra distance simply disable 2.4GHz (or use different SSIDs). I find 2.4GHz useful as it reaches all of the garden, which the 5GHz doesn't.

Using different SSIDs is exactly what I am doing, as per the opening post.

I'm just intrigued by the Vodafone router constantly suggesting that combining them would be better every time I open the router settings up.
What am I missing ?
How would combining them be better ? To me, it seems likely that my phone would spend most of it's time on the slower 2.4 GHz band ? (It will find that first every time I return to the house)

[martinc]

For most people 2.4Ghz will give perfectly acceptable performance, the Vodafone router is a consumer device and most users will never notice any problems (my BT router is the same - no option to split bands). It may take your phone a matter of minutes to switch to 5Ghz. As you have 40/10 networks speeds do you really notice any difference?

[Infrasonic]

The main advantage of higher 5/6 bands is low latency and less congestion, not bandwidth per se, especially if you have an FTTP ISP connection with low ping rates...

[Newroad]

Hi Jaizan.

My thoughts would depend on your specific usage. Broadly speaking, I am

In favour of keeping the bands split, and
Reserving one band for work related device uses (e.g. Zoom/MS Teams calls), and/or
Reserving the 5GHz band for higher data need uses, e.g. streaming to (multiple?) UHD TVs

At a personal level, I have as little as possible going through Wifi, mostly it's either ethernet or ethernet over power, i.e. hardwired. Other than that, I have

One big TV which connects via a 5GHz to an ethernet router
The family's portable devices, mainly mobile phones - for this, the range of 2.4 GHz is better
The odd laptop (though not as many/often as you think - as most of our PC's are connected via hardwire as per above

I prefer to shape my own network traffic, if needed. However, the setup I describe is perfectly adequate and doesn't require further shaping than already described.

Regards, Newroad

[mc2fool]

Yeah, but if you don't need the extra distance simply disable 2.4GHz (or use different SSIDs). I find 2.4GHz useful as it reaches all of the garden, which the 5GHz doesn't.

Using different SSIDs is exactly what I am doing, as per the opening post.

Yes, noted, but if you're not going to use the 2.4GHz you might as well turn it off. Alternatively, keep it on, with a different SSID, and put the login details into your phone but turn off auto connect. That way it'll connect to the 5GHz once you get within range but if for any reason you want access to your WiFi when you're on the other side of the street or at the bottom of the garden, etc, it's just a click/touch away.

For most people 2.4Ghz will give perfectly acceptable performance, the Vodafone router is a consumer device and most users will never notice any problems (my BT router is the same - no option to split bands). It may take your phone a matter of minutes to switch to 5Ghz. As you have 40/10 networks speeds do you really notice any difference?

The OP hasn't said what speed BB they have; the 40/10 was mine (unless you believe analiti, in which case it's 37/55!)

[jaizan]

Using different SSIDs is exactly what I am doing, as per the opening post.

Yes, noted, but if you're not going to use the 2.4GHz you might as well turn it off.

The OP hasn't said what speed BB they have; the 40/10 was mine (unless you believe analiti, in which case it's 37/55!)[/quote]

1 I have some ESP8266 Arduino type devices that need 2.4 GHz
2 I'm not the only WiFi user in the house

I have 900 Mbps fibre wifi.

[mc2fool]

Using different SSIDs is exactly what I am doing, as per the opening post.

Yes, noted, but if you're not going to use the 2.4GHz you might as well turn it off.

The OP hasn't said what speed BB they have; the 40/10 was mine (unless you believe analiti, in which case it's 37/55!)

1 I have some ESP8266 Arduino type devices that need 2.4 GHz
2 I'm not the only WiFi user in the house

Then go for the "Alternatively..." in my previous post.

[Infrasonic]

Yes, noted, but if you're not going to use the 2.4GHz you might as well turn it off.

The OP hasn't said what speed BB they have; the 40/10 was mine (unless you believe analiti, in which case it's 37/55!)

1 I have some ESP8266 Arduino type devices that need 2.4 GHz
2 I'm not the only WiFi user in the house

Then go for the "Alternatively..." in my previous post.

Yep - I don't see what is so difficult about this really...