Wi-Fi 802.11n 2.4 GHz vs. 5 GHz

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thewwjd

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#74463 30-Dec-2010 21:53

I saw the setting on my new router, actually what's the difference of using 5 GHz, Is it better?

kyhwana2

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#422785 30-Dec-2010 22:16

The 5ghz band is less crowded so will give you better/faster performance. Of course, your wifi n clients need to be 5ghz capable as well.

corksta

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#422787 30-Dec-2010 22:30

Just to expand a bit, many wi-fi capable devices operate on the 2.4GHz band, but so do things like cordless telephones, so using the 5GHz band means there will/should be less interference from those devices which translates to the better/faster performance that kyhwana2 mentioned.

Oldhat

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#422985 31-Dec-2010 14:16

The 5Ghz band generally has a more limited range though compared to the 2.4Ghz.

sbiddle

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#423006 31-Dec-2010 16:09

Oldhat: The 5Ghz band generally has a more limited range though compared to the 2.4Ghz.

That's true if you're talking about signals within a house where higher frequencies are hampered by brick, concrete and steel a lot more but it's not necessarily that true in outdoor environments. 30+ km links using 5GHz gear can work prefectly well!

ojala

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#425152 8-Jan-2011 11:11

5 Ghz has much more channels available so it's great for 802.11n's 40 Mhz channel bonding. A typical WiFi channel is 20 Mhz, in the 2.4 Ghz you can fit one 20 Mhz and one 40 Mhz, in the 5 Ghz you can fit something like six non-overlapping 40 Mhz channels.

When the marketing folks talk about 300 Mbit/s 802.11n, it's the 40 Mhz channels they are talking about.

If you can, use 5 Ghz.