Is it a good idea to give the 2,4 and 5 Ghz AP’s the same SSID? How will the client device handle this situation? Will it always try to connect on 5 Ghz first?
It’s a good idea if you have many clients who don’t know or don’t care to make choices themselves.
Most devices automatically choose 5GHz (at least all Apple devices), so it’s a win-win.
This is also great that you don’t have to find out what frequencies all your appliances support. My TV supports 5GHz, but my Playstation doesn’t - I don’t need to know this, cause SSID is the same.
Excellent, thanks for the feedback. Now you have explained it, it actually make sense. Thanks.
Cheers.
For PC/laptop WiFi interface you can usually find an option “Preffered band” on it’s “Advanced” tab which lets to specify which band your WiFi scans first for visible/known networks. If it can’t find any “known” one then it looks for it with the second band.
But I think the default is 5GHz usually. And I can’t think of a reason to manually set to prefer 2GHz 
No.
Usually it is set to “No preffered band”.
Which is … ?
Just checked on my Apply Mac Book Pro and I don’t have such an option as preferred band etc. Or at least I couldn’t find in it in the WIFI configuration screens.
Macbook does not have such options, Bartos was talking about Windows.
Apple laptops always prefer 5GHz
Thanks, I know he was referring to Window. Just checking if I could find the same option on Mac. But if 5Ghz is the preferred option by default it is logical I couldn’t find it
Thanks for the support. I’m learning every minute
My experince tells that it is 2.4. Observation from a few CAPSMAN networks with PC/laptops with default factory WiFi settings.
To speed up association process PC (I have not enough experience with Apple) starts scan at historically most common band.
I think 2.4GHz is scanned first as 2.4GHz is IMHO still most popular band. 5GHz becomes more common now but why to change existing 2.4 infrastructure to 5GHz if the old one works ? Especially if it is in evironment which is 5GHz unfriendly eg. common space offices full of glass walls.
I think your experiment showed 2GHz because it propagates more easily. 5GHz requires better line of sight, so thick walls will mean better signal on 2.4GHz.
5GHz is preferred only if signal is similar.
It is quite obvious.
What I mean is, OS doesn’t prefer 2GHz. It is just stronger in many cases. OS usually prefers 5GHz if both are similar.
What I mean is that Windows starts at 2.4 as it is most common signal, not necessarily stronger, so chance for fast association is bigger for 2.4 than for 5GHz. Nowadays it could not be “rule of thumb” but historically it is almost hard-wired logic.
I don’t agree.
Windows scans 2GHZ first, then it scans 5GHz as second, but if the same SSID is used in two frequencies, when you select “connect” it will connect to 5GHz.
I’ve experienced that HP Spectre 13 running windows 8.1 preferred 2GHz at default setting, even when putting the laptop next to the AP. Setting it manually to 5GHz solved performance issues (2GHz in that office building is crowded.)
Your device will pick whichever connection is strongest unless it’d told to pick otherwise. Since 2.4ghz is a stronger signal at further ranges than 5ghz it’s more likely that you’ll connect to the 2.4 rather than 5. There are some devices that have 5 set as default but not all.
Sent from my LG-H872 using Tapatalk
Hello, if i use single hap ac2 with same ssid for 2.4 and 5ghz. Should i setup some mesh/roaming etc. so devices can switch between 2.4 and 5ghz without connection loss? If i move around apartment when 5ghz becomes week device will switch to 2.4 ghz but when i get closer to router i would like to switch back to 5ghz. Is there something in router i can configure? (I am not sure if roaming/mesh are ment for that and to use on single router with two bands). Thanks for answer.