Connecting to a dual-band router at a particular speed

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Connecting to a dual-band router at a particular speed

OwenWatson

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#299003 2-Aug-2022 16:45

I've been asked to look at a smart plug that connects via 2.4GHz to wifi. The access point does both 2.4G and 5GHz and has the same SSID for both. When trying to set up the plug it asks for a 2.4G connection on my smartphone, but there doesn't seem to be a choice offered when I connect to the wifi about which speed I want. Obviously a longer term solution with be to rename one of the SSIDs but as it was set up by the supplier I'm not sure if I will have access. Any workarounds?

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#2949771 2-Aug-2022 16:49

Why does it matter what speed it connects at? The speed is more or less governed by the signal level, but also the channel width & WiFi standard in use. If the smart plug is 2.4GHz only, then it will connect to the 2.4GHz network, that should work fine. Speed for a smart device like that is really meaningless as it will be doing tiny amounts of traffic.

Edit - wait, are you saying that because your phone is only connected on 5GHz the app for the smart plug is not letting you select that network?

robjg63

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#2949775 2-Aug-2022 17:05

If the smart plug is 2.4ghz and there is only one SSID, then surely it will just connect at 2.4ghz.
I can't see (or understand) the issue.

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stick

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#2949798 2-Aug-2022 18:00

wratterus:

Edit - wait, are you saying that because your phone is only connected on 5GHz the app for the smart plug is not letting you select that network?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what they mean.

Maybe try going far away from the AP and your phone might automatically connect to 2.4?

Senecio

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#2949805 2-Aug-2022 18:07

I've had this before.

The Wifi adapter in my heat pump will only connect to a 2.4GHz wifi network and needs to go via your phone to establish the initial connection. I couldn't work it out at first but finally I realised that the heat pump wouldn't connect to the local network while my phone was connected to the 5GHz radio for the initial set-up.

What I did was was temporarily disable the 5GHz radio on the router which forced all clients including my phone to connect at 2.4GHz. Then I connected my heat pump via my phone before turning the 5GHz radio back on on the router. Evertyhing worked fine after I got that initial set-up done.

Stu

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#2949810 2-Aug-2022 18:14

I think what the OP is saying, is that they can only see one instance of their SSID, and they're expecting two since they use the same SSID for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz (and yes, I think they're confusing GHz as speed).

There's a very high chance that the smart plug only operates at 2.4GHz. It will only see access points on that 2.4GHz frequency.

@OwenWatson I'm very confident you will only see your SSID listed once, and it will be the 2.4GHz band. Go ahead and select that and you should be all go.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

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OwenWatson

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#2949829 2-Aug-2022 18:48

No, my smartphone app insists that I'm connecting at 5Ghz, but the wifi settings just say 2.4/5GHz. The app refuses to progress the smart plug setup.

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djtOtago

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#2949830 2-Aug-2022 18:50

If you can turn the 5GHz band off. Do the setup. Then turn it back on.

Jase2985

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#2949831 2-Aug-2022 18:52

OwenWatson:

No, my smartphone app insists that I'm connecting at 5Ghz, but the wifi settings just say 2.4/5GHz. The app refuses to progress the smart plug setup.

then im guessing your going to have to try turning 5GHz off on that network, set the plugs up, then turn it back on. see if that works, if not it might require a separate network for them.

what brands are the plugs so i can avoid them.

MaxineN

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#2949865 2-Aug-2022 20:17

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=73&topicid=295324&page_no=1#2889723

See this post and why some "smart" things are not very smart and sometimes you really have to separate both 2.4 and 5GHz to complete setup.

Ramblings from a mysterious lady who's into tech. Warning I may often create zingers.

gb67

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#2949866 2-Aug-2022 20:17

What you are experiencing is common on most connectable devices. They connect at 2.4 and will only see your smart phone if it is on 2.4.

I set up a second SSID at 2.4 used it for setup then disabled it until the next thing I connect something new.

Sensibo, Roborock, Philips Hue bulbs, so far on Google Home.

Jase2985

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#2949902 2-Aug-2022 20:53

gb67:

What you are experiencing is common on most connectable devices. They connect at 2.4 and will only see your smart phone if it is on 2.4.

I set up a second SSID at 2.4 used it for setup then disabled it until the next thing I connect something new.

Sensibo, Roborock, Philips Hue bulbs, so far on Google Home.

haven't had this with any of my smart home stuff even though its only 2.4GHz. phone connected to 5GHz WiFi and it knows there is also 2.4GHz on that SSID so it just works

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wratterus

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#2950253 3-Aug-2022 15:46

@OwenWatson did you have any luck here?

As was mentioned, if you can login to the router & temporarily disable the 5GHz band that's probably the easiest solution. If you can't get into the router for whatever reason, the suggestion of moving a long way away from the router, then turning the WiFi off & back on on your phone may prompt it to connect to the 2.4GHz network and let you complete the setup.

What brand of smart plug are you using?

OwenWatson

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#2950257 3-Aug-2022 15:49

I may try this.

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wratterus

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#2950259 3-Aug-2022 15:52

Interesting. I have setup TP-Link Kasa & Tapo products with dual band APs (both bands using the same SSID & band steering enabled) and I know my phone was connected to the 5GHz network and not had this issue.

lxsw20

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#2950299 3-Aug-2022 16:54

I've had Kasa plugs with this issue. It seems to be a problem with networks with band steering enabled, possibly just with Unifi APs.

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