Does naming the 5Ghz network mess up previous networks?

I have been having trouble with streaming through AirPlay; namely, the TV shows I would stream from my computer (MacBook Air) through the AppleTV would be very choppy and laggy. I read on another forum that separating out the bands of the Time Capsule and connecting the just the 2.4 Ghz one would solve the issue.
While I couldn't find information on how to connect to just the 2.4Ghz, I did find out that I could name the 5Ghz and connect to only it. That seems to make the lag better, so yay!
But my question is: Is giving the 5Ghz band a name, and thus having it show up in my list of WiFi networks separate from my main WiFi network, making my old/previous WiFi network run only on 2.4Ghz? I know that computers/iPads/iPods, etc., will connect to whatever band is appropriate, I just want to make sure that by separating out the 5Ghz to use for streaming thru AirPlay isn't screwing up what everything else in my house is connecting to.
So, let's say my main WiFi network is called Main Network. And then I went into AirPort Utility, clicked Wireless Options, gave the 5GHz network a name of Speedy and then saved. Now, when I stream thru the AppleTV I connect my computer to Speedy, and it seems to solve most of my lag problems. But is everything else in the house that's still connected to Main Network only on the 2.4GHz band? Or is that network still dual-band, and all I did was make it so I could force something to connect to the 5Ghz band if I wanted to?
Sorry if this is a really stupid question. I just want to make sure I didn't mess anything up in trying to fix my streaming lag issue.

So now all of my other devices in the house (MacBook Pro, iPad, iPhone, etc.) that are still connecting to the network that existed before are on the 2.4GHz band, and I would have to connect them to the 5GHz band that I named if I wanted them to be on that one?
Yes
Is there any downside to connecting all devices to the 5Ghz band?
Probably not if all devices are capable of connecting to 5 GHz......AND.....all of the devices will be in close proximity to the Time Capsule. That generally means in the same room or they have "line-of-sight" or very close to that ideal with the Time Capsule.
All the fancy ads tout the speed of 5 GHz signals, but what they never tell you is that 5 GHz signals are much weaker than 2.4 GHz signals, so they do not penetrate walls, ceilings, or other obstructions nearly as well as 2.4 GHz signals.
So, if you have a device that is several rooms away from the Time Capsule, chances are good that the 2.4 GHz signal is not only stronger than 5 GHz at that location, it is also faster.
You just have to experiment to find what works best.

Similar Messages

Why does my Macbook not choose the 5Ghz network?

Hi there! Can anyone tell me why, if I have a dual band simultaneous Airport Extreme and iStumbler says I have a 58% 5 bar 5Ghz on channel 100 signal right at the top of the list of available networks and the other examples from my network are 45% and 42% on the 2.4Ghz band - then why does my Macbook insist on choosing one of the lesser signal strength networks to log in to? I am extending my network via an Airport Express in the bedroom and I think it is that which is showing the highest signal (probably as it it considerably closer than the Extreme where I am sat right now!). Just wondered, doesn't seem very dual band to me if it never connects to the better band? Don't want to force it to connect to 5Ghz as that's not required, at the moment it chooses.

Chances are that the extended network is using the 2.4 GHz radio band as this band allows for greater range. Remember that the AirPort Express can only operate in one band or the other. It is not a simultaneously dual-band device like your Extreme.

My Time Capsule's 5GHz network does not appear as a network any longer. Airport utility is 5.5.3 and iMAC is 10.7.1 The TC appears to be configured correctly in the utility screen.

My Time Capsule's, only the 5GHz network, does not appear as a network any longer. Airport utility is 5.5.3 and iMAC is 10.7.1 The TC appears to be configured correctly in the utility screen. This began sometime after upgrade to 10.7.1 however this does not explain why either of my iPAD's does not see the 5GHz network.

Wish some Apple folks would chime in...
Apple is not here. Even if they might rarely monitor these boards, they will not respond. We're all users, just like you.
Suggest that you open Macintosh HD > Applications > Utiltiies > AirPort Utility
Click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab below the icons
Click the Wireless Options button
Check one more time to see if you still have the 5 GHz Name option enabled. If not, enter a check mark and click Update to save the new settings.
If 5 GHz is enabled, temporarily disable the setting and Update. Then go back in and enable the setting again.
If you still cannot "see" the network from any device, about all that you can do at this point is reset the Time Capsule back to factory defaults and try the configuration again to see if it will "take". Lion is causing some strange issues, and this may be another.
If this is not successful, then it's time to contact Apple support or arrange a visit to an Apple store to let them take a look

Airport WDS Network and the 5GHz Option

Setting up any Airport base station with basic settings is simple but there always seem to be options that are not well covered in the 'manual' when setting up slightly more complex networks. I'm hoping someone can provide some clarification on our configuration or parhaps some advice.
For many years we have used a series of generations of Aiport basestations to create a WDS (wireless distributed) network. This is where one base station is the master and other base stations extend the range of the network wirelessly. This is not a set of wireless basestations creating an extended network by sitting on an ethernet backbone - that's a different configuration.
Anyway, we now have a Time Capsule, an Airport Extreme, and an Airport Express. The Time Capsule is the master and the other two base stations extend the network. By default, the basestations select the channel automatically but we have selected manual channels because we have neightbours that all seem to want to sit on channel 1. We've opted for channel 13, a less used channel.
[Internet ADSL Modem]
|
[Airport Extreme] ---- [Time Capsule] ---- [Airport Express]
The Extreme and the Express both operate in Bridge Mode only, that is, they simply extend the configuration of the master basestation and do not ditribute private addresses or do any NAT. I reckon this keeps it simple. Any changes made on the Time Capsule - such as Access Control changes - are pushed out to the other two stations automatically. This seems to be a significant improvement over version 5 of the airport software.
My main question relates to the 5GHz network option. I can turn on a 5GHz discrete network on the Time Capsule. It receives a unique name so it's clearly distinguished from the 2.4GHz network when connecting to it on our Macs. You would expect the other two base stations to be able to extend the 5GHz network too but their 5GHz options remain turned off by default. I can turn them on manually but I'm not sure if they should all be configured to work on the same channel or even if turning them on at all is a good idea.
Over the years, the setup of a WDS network has become easier (if only for the reason that Apple has removed some of the more confusing options and simply enables them in background). But the 5GHz network configuration is far from clear. Any advice anyone might have would be much appreciated. Thanks.

My main question relates to the 5GHz network option. I can turn on a 5GHz discrete network on the Time Capsule. It receives a unique name so it's clearly distinguished from the 2.4GHz network when connecting to it on our Macs. You would expect the other two base stations to be able to extend the 5GHz network too but their 5GHz options remain turned off by default.
It appears as if your Time Capsule is a simultaneous dual band version which produces both a a 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz network.....and you have enabled the option to assign a separate name to the 5 GHz network.
If both your AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express are also simultaneous dual band versions, they can extend both the 2.4 GHz and 5 Ghz signals from the Time Capsule.......but only if the Time Capsule is configured to use the same wireless network name for both bands.
The simultaneous dual band version of the AirPort Express is easy to identify......it looks like a miniature AirPort Extreme. Check the Model No on the bottom of the AirPort Extreme and report back with that to find out if your AirPort is simultaneous dual band.
Earlier versions of the AirPort Extreme could produce a 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz network, but not both at the same time.
Once we have clarification on your AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express, we can decide on the options that will be available to you as far as "extending" both bands.

Problems wirelessly extending 5Ghz network with Time Capsule

Summary:
My Time Capsule wirelessly extends a 5Ghz "n" network provided by my Airport Extreme, but the Time Capsule frequently fails and stops providing Internet access to connected computers. I'm not sure if the problem is with the Time Capsule or with the Airport Extreme it's connecting to.
Setup:
Airport Extreme (dual band) connected to cable modem. It provides a 5Ghz "n" network and a 2.5Ghz "b-g-n" network. This is in the bedroom.
Time Capsule (non-dual band) joins the 5Ghz network and extends it. This is in the office, maybe 40 feet away, line-of-sight. There is a laser printer connected to the Time Capsule via ethernet.
My MacBook is set to join the 5 Ghz network, and since it's in the office, it ends up joining via the Time Capsule. This is the desired behavior, as connecting through the Time Capsule seems to result in the fastest possible backup speed.
There are no wireless devices, such as cordless phones, in the house. The microwave is NOT in use when the problems arise.
*The Problem:*
Frequently, the MacBook loses its Internet connection, though it is still connected to the 5Ghz network through the Time Capsule. When this happens, it can only see the Time Capsule it's connected through (and other devices that are connected to it) but no other devices on the network.
When this happens, other devices that are connecting to the 5Ghz network through the Airport Extreme can no longer see the Time Capsule or any devices connected to it, such as the laser printer or my MacBook. This includes the living room computer, which has never been able to complete a backup due to this problem.
The Time Capsule's and the Airport Extreme's indicator lights both stay green.
If I change the Macbook's connection to the 2.5Ghz network, it can see the devices connected to the Airport Extreme, but can no longer reach the Time Capsule.
*Unsuccessful Solutions:*
This was happening in a previous incarnation of the network, when I had a non-dual band Airport Extreme providing the main network, the Time Capsule connected via 5Ghz, and an Airport Express connected via ethernet to the Time Capsule to provide a b-g network.
I replaced the Airport Extreme with a new dual-band unit to simplify the setup, but it did not solve the problem.
Since the Time Capsule seemed to be the weak link in the network, I reported the problem and got the unit replaced, but the problem still persists.
I've reset both the Airport Extreme and the Time Capsule to their factory settings numerous times, and set them up again from scratch (no imported settings). I've gone in and made sure that there were no WDS settings leftover from the earlier configuration, as the 5Ghz network does not need it to extend itself.
*Plea for help:*
Is anyone else experiencing a similar problem?

Update
The other day, I modified the setup so that the Time Capsule doesn't extend the wireless network wirelessly, only through Ethernet (so the attached printer will work, but the computers will connect directly to the AEBS. The Time Capsule stayed connected long enough for me to do a full backup (125GB) from the downstairs computer.
I thought I had it "solved" (though extending the 5Ghz network would be preferable so the office computers can have faster backup speeds.)
But yesterday, I went to print to the Ethernet-attached printer, and it got only one page out before it disappeared off the network again, and the print job failed. I noticed it did it again, today.
So the problem is not tied to wirelessly extending the network.

Airport Extreme 5GHz network connection failed

Hi,
I have a PC, MBP mid-2012, Ipad, HTC One, Samsung S3, and Chromecast. I bought an airport extreme 3 weeks ago, and a Netgear AC usb wifi adapter to my PC. Until two days ago, everything worked fine. I had two networks with different names for the 2,4GHz and the 5GHz. I did i because it was the only way I found to get my gadgets and computers to connect on 5GHz. Otherwise, they all connected in 2.4GHz.
Two days ago, I could no longer connect by MBP nor the PC to the 5GHz network. The MBP sees it, but gives an error when I try to connect. The PC does not even see it. The Ipad and both android phones connect to the 5GHz with no issue.
I already tried to turn on and off the airport express, to disable the dual network and reconfigure it, and to specify a channel for it. No change. Can you please help me to understand what is happening and find a solution?
Thanks a lot.

I believe it has something to do with securing the network as I'm now running an unsecured network and it not only stays up but it also seems a bit faster. I even ran the Airport Utility via ethernet and got it to "almost" configure but for some reason the setting never got implemented but at least I have internet access in my entire house. I thought it might be interference with some part of the house but it is indeed due to the latest firmware update for the AEB. Which I now call AE"BS". I tried my older Airport Express but I also couldn't get it to configure to now I'm not even sure if its firmware on the AEB or the Airport Utility that is messed up. Going tethered is not an option as I don't want to hunker down in a closet! Go unsecured and it might fix a lot of the issues we are seeing.

Speed on 2.4Ghz network drops after enabling 5Ghz network?

I've just noticed a weird issue with my dual-band AirPort Extreme router.
I have a 30Mbps internet connection at home. If I don't enable the '5 Ghz Network Name', all wireless systems can access the internet at full speed. Once I do enable it, the computer on the 5 Ghz network still has full speed, but the others only get ~10Mbps.
At first I thought this was a problem caused by extending my network with a Time Capsule, but I have since removed that from the chain.
Any ideas what's going on?
Message was edited by: goldenegg001

UPDATE:
I just did a test and found that it has nothing to do with the 5Ghz Network Name. I disabled the 5Ghz Network Name and my Macbook Pro connected fine with N speed on the 5Ghz channel and had full 30Mbps internet access. My gf's computer, connecting at 2.4Ghz on G, still gets ~10Mbps.
It appears that performance of the 2.4Ghz network is slow on these new dual-band routers. My older, non dual-band, Time Capsule does not have any problem providing full 30Mbps access to all systems over the 2.4Ghz G network.
I can't possibly be the only person having this problem. Has any one else noticed slower performance from systems connecting to the 2.4Ghz band of the new dual-band AE?

Controller DMRW1000 is not recognized with my 5GHz network

I have the following items: Director DMC250, DMP100 and Controller DMRW1000.
I decided to move all of them from the 2.4GHz to the 5GHz network, but the Controller is not recognized by LELA and when I try to set the network manually on the controller it does find the SSID but can not connect to it.
Anybody with a similar problem?

Hi,
A friend of mine had the same problem and here's what he did to resolve it.
Reset the controller by pressing and holding the reset hole/button for 20 seconds. Try then to manually connect the controller to the wireless network by using the LCD screen. Don't forget to check for any firmware updates for the controller afterwards.
I hope this helps.

Does aiport extreme 5ghz need to be enabled?

i was wondering does this need to be turned in the airport utliites? or is it already enabled? i noticed the 5ghz network name wasnt enabled box wasnt checked? does that mean the 5ghz wasnt enabled?

By default, both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band use the same wireless network name, so 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz are being broadcast at all times. The theory is that devices will connect to the best quality signal automatically based on their own capabilities and distance in relation to the AirPort Extreme.
This is the setting that most users should use.
It is possible to assign a separate name to the 5 GHz band and then "force" devices to connect to that band. The downside to this is that 5 GHz really only works well when devices are in close proximity or have line-of-sight to the wireless router.
A few rooms away, the signal at 5 GHz will be significantly weaker than the 2.4 GHz signal....and likely slower as well....so you gain nothing by trying to "force" the 5 GHz connection unless devices are in close proximity to the wireless router.

5Ghz network keeps disappearing

I have Dual band 2GB time capsule. I have 3 networks configured - a 2.4Ghz network + guest network and a 5Ghz network. The 5Ghz network will work for a few days and then completely disappear.
Sometimes rebooting the time capsule results in the 5Ghz network re-appearing. However, most of the time this does not work. The only way I can get this back is to change the firmware version. I usually have to switch between 7.4.1 and 7.4.2 a couple of times a week.
Does anyone else have this problem? Is there a fault with this unit - should I return it?

Hi David. The most likely cause of this is that another 5Ghz network in you r neighborhood is interfering with yours.
Try changing the channel your 5GHz is on to 3-4 frequencies away from where it is now in Airport Utility. Then see if things improve. If you don't see enough channels when you click the drop-down menu, try holding down the Option key we you click the Channel menu and more channels should show up. Cheers!

Never connect to 5GHz network

Hi, I bought a dual-band TM last year (just out of warranty by a week) which I recently moved to a more central part of the house and close to where cable comes in. Since doing so, 2.4GHz coverage of the house has improved but nothing now connects to the 5GHz network. Before, the iMac was in the same room as theTM so I never noticed this issue but now, using the MBP and AirRadar, signal strength for the 5GHz network is clearly below the 2.4 network all the time. I am aware of 5GHz signal drop-off but literally, in order to connect to the 5GHz network the MBP has to be about 8 feet from the TM. Even then signal strength is only in the50s compared to the 2.4 network which is in the 80's from that distance. I've tried manually setting channels, turning on and off interference robustness, turning on and off wide-channnels to no avail. I turned on the 5GHz name option and forced the MBP to connect to it and the speed was dreadful. The whole point of me getting the dual band was so all my n-devices could be on their own, superfast network. Clearly that is not happening. Any suggestions on what I can do to fix that? Thanks!

LordPathogen wrote:
"Signal Strength (sometimes known as RSSI), displayed in AirRadar as a percentage, is how strong the connection to the wireless network is. "
Although signal strength (RSSI) is routinely displayed in units of dBm (in which a larger negative number represents a weaker signal), it apparently isn't strictly tied to that unit of measure:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSSI
I installed AirRadar and I see that it's showing the strength as a percentage. In that case I have to wonder what a value of 100% would mean.
I also find it odd that AirRadar only shows a value for noise in the "Details" tab of "Graph". I think it would be useful to show the noise level in the other panels.
If it is in fact better to have a lower signal strength, why then is the 5GHz virtually MIA when more than 10 feet from the TC?
My earlier comments were based on the expectation that the values you were seeing were given in dBm, in which a lower absolute value indicates a stronger signal.
I can't explain why you're seeing tha 5 GHz behavior, unless it's related to that other thread.

Can't Join our 5GHz Network

Hello,
This morning my iPhone 5 could not join a home 5Ghz network. Previous to this morning there were no issues joining the network although it seemed to default to the 2.4GHZ network we have. We have an Airport Extreme Base station that is about four years old and it has a dual band radio. We therefore have a 2.4 and a 5.0 GHz network.
I believe the problem is in my iPhone because.
My wife's iPhone5, her iPad3, and my iPad 4 can join this network.
Running Airport utility from my iMac it reports "excellent" connections to the base station and four airport express devices.
I tried a reset of the iPhone by turning it off (swipe the red arrow). I also tried a hard reset (hold down the on/off button and the home button until the screen goes black). Neither of those resets helped.
The iPhone will readily join the 2.4 GHz network then continue to search for our other network. When it finds the 5GHz network and I choose it, I get a spinning gear and nothing happens. Occasionally it will ask for a password and sometimes it will report that it is unable to joinn the 5GHz network.
The iPhone is running IOS 6.1.3 as are our other devices. I recently added Apple's two factor authentication but can't imagine how that would interfere with the WiFi function.
Has anyone else experienced this problem? Your thoughts and advice are gratefully accepted.
Cheers,
Jay

What worked for me was a fix I found on a somewhat similar thread for the iPhone 4S. Settings>5GHz Network>Proxxy. I turned it from off to auto. The next time I tried to access this network it asked for my password but then connected. We'll see if this is a consistent fix.
Jay

After upgrading to Mountain Lion, I cannot connect to my Airport Extreme on the 5GHz band (2.4GHz works fine)...what's going on?

I have been having intermittent/no wireless success on the 5GHz band of my Airport Extreme. I'm on an iMac early 2008. It was working fine before upgrading to Mountain Lion. I have tried many things (deleting the wireless network, readding it, changing settings on the AirPort Extreme, deleting the 5GHz network on that and readding it, running diagnostics) but nothing has fixed it. I can switch to the 2.4GHz band and it works flawlessly. This must be a software problem since it only started happening when I upgraded the OS.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

No it isn't, I have tried 4 different mountain lion machines connected to a 5Ghz and it works just fine. It is with your machine hence we need to fix it
create a new location and see if that fixes your issue, If not trash Macintosh HD/Library/System Configuration
That is a folder so trash it > restart the computer > create a new location

WES610N Doesn't See 5ghz Network

Hello,
I have two WES610Ns running Firmware Version: 1.0.06 (latest) and they only see 2.4ghz networks. Performing a Wireless Network Site Survey or configuring the network manually doesn't see the 5ghz network. (Other devices are connecting to the router on 5ghz)
The router in question is an Asus RT-N56U running OpenWrt Barrier Breaker 14.07.
I have found a few posts with the same issues, but no solutions. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Thanks,
John

Hi there, john_p_lynch! It's odd that you have experienced it with the two wireless bridges. Have you tried adjusting your router's wireless channel? I would suggest that you try reflashing the firmware of the wireless brigdes. After that, do a factory reset and reconfigure it. This is to make sure that it doesn't have a corrupted firmware.
It would also help connecting it with another dual band wireless router for further isolation.
Help, learn and share

Set 5ghz network to be default for Macbook Air?

I just got an Airport Extreme and I have given the 5GHZ network a separate ID and set up a MacBook Air to connect to it. However, it keeps defaulting to the other network. Is there a way to change it so it default connect to the 5ghz name?

The Mac is programmed to look for the best combination of signal strength and speed, so there are no hard and fast rules about what it will and will not do.
Apple will not say what exactly the best combination might really mean.
If the signal strength meets a certain threshold (Apple will not say what this is either, or provide any way to adjust it), the Mac will "favor" 5 GHz, even though the 2.4 GHz might be a bit stronger signal at the time.
I just let the Mac connect to what it thinks is the best quality connection and ignore things from there.
Other users spend a lot of time checking to see where the Mac is at any given location. That's fine if you have the time to do this.

Does naming the 5Ghz network mess up previous networks?

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