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22-08-2020, 11:28 AM
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House WiFi - a Fact I wasn't aware of!

Just reading a technical article, about WiFi in the home, which brings up a setting I hadn't thought of.

I have tested the idea & it seems to work here.

The principle is that many house get more than one wifi service, from their router, and these are picked up when the wifi scan takes place.

Usually you are asked which one you want to use.

For example, in my case, I get offered a basic 2.4Ghz one AND another one at 5G.

That sounds like a choice between ordinary & double speed.

That may be so BUT ....>

The Tech article points out that WiFi of 5Ghz has much less penetrating power than 2.,5.

That means that the 2.5 can get through more walls, etc, and reach further rooms than the 5Ghz version!

I put that to the test (as you do) and it's certainly true here...as a result, I use 5G for the close up devices (Alexa) etc and 2.5 if I have to go through more walls & stairs!

If you can't see your wifi incoming you could download, for example, WiFi Analyzer, and it will tell you what's in reach!

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22-08-2020, 01:28 PM
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Re: House WiFi - a Fact I wasn't aware of!

The 2.5Ghz setting is for devices that haven't caught up with modern technology. As you say, my Echo devices and mobile phone connect to 5Ghz but my Alex-controlled sockets and lights and old tablet do not. Chances are that the cost to produce new versions of equipment aren't worth the effort, and as the saying goes, if it's not broken, why fix it?
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22-08-2020, 03:22 PM
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Re: House WiFi - a Fact I wasn't aware of!

The issue with 5G not being able to penetrate walls is something that has been known in the tech world for a very long time BUT it is something that the tech world keeps very very quiet. In the open 5G is brilliant and does it's job very very well but start putting physical obstacles in its way and the signal starts to deteriorate.

What is being kept quiet from the public is that due to the inefficiencies of 5G signal being able to penetrate thick surfaces, to maintain a strong signal there will need to be a lot more base stations placed in an area than was needed for 2.5Ghz.
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22-08-2020, 03:29 PM
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Re: House WiFi - a Fact I wasn't aware of!

I got an Orbi Mesh Router and satellite a couple of years back. It was a used (refurbished) one from Ebay. Still quite expensive but I haven't regretted buying it. I'm aware of the different bands and how one can work better than another depending on varying locations and equipment. The Orbi works all that out according to what I read and I've never tried overriding any automatic settings.

Good coverage all over the house and some of the garden. All of the garden if I add the second satellite that came with the purchase.
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22-08-2020, 08:37 PM
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Re: House WiFi - a Fact I wasn't aware of!

Our router transmits, by default, on 5G.

However, where it struggles, like one of our security cameras outside, I use a TP-Link extender plugged in near to that location. These things, of course, transmit the signal from near the router to the extender.
I do have another one too, which could be plugged in somewhere else, but haven't really needed it as yet.
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23-08-2020, 12:39 AM
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Re: House WiFi - a Fact I wasn't aware of!

Another thing you might also consider is that the neighbours wifi can interfere with your system.

There are apps for your phone which can show you which frequencies are being used locally "Wifi Analyser" in your phone's play store will find several.


This is mine at 2.4Ghz usually it shows several but being Sunday the local businesses must have turned theirs off. I have two sources set at either end of the spectrum. There are 12 channels but because they overlap you really are limited to three if the source is strong (ie close)

I actually prefer 5Ghz because less wifis use it here. Both my routers are dual band so transmit on both.

Anyway if you do have dodgy connections on your wifi it might be worth checking to see if your neighbour is using the same channel and adjusting your router to a different one.


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23-08-2020, 09:12 PM
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Re: House WiFi - a Fact I wasn't aware of!

Just set it up to use both, as I do. Some devices can't use the 5Ghz anyway, such as my Kindle.
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23-08-2020, 09:56 PM
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Re: House WiFi - a Fact I wasn't aware of!

Originally Posted by Tachyon ->
Just set it up to use both, as I do. Some devices can't use the 5Ghz anyway, such as my Kindle.
Actually, now I look properly, it does use both.
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24-08-2020, 03:36 PM
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Re: House WiFi - a Fact I wasn't aware of!

Originally Posted by JBR ->
Actually, now I look properly, it does use both.
Yes, the 2.4Ghz is sort of classed as "legacy" and the default these days is have both running at the same time. It wasn't that long ago the 5Ghz had to be enabled manually if you wanted to use it. So many people had old wireless dongles that couldn't use the 5ghz frequency.
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24-08-2020, 05:31 PM
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Re: House WiFi - a Fact I wasn't aware of!

Originally Posted by tachyon ->
yes, the 2.4ghz is sort of classed as "legacy" and the default these days is have both running at the same time. It wasn't that long ago the 5ghz had to be enabled manually if you wanted to use it. So many people had old wireless dongles that couldn't use the 5ghz frequency.
Actually, not sure but I think the TP-Link extenders might only use 2.4GHz.
 
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