Devices opting for 2.4ghz N instead of 5Ghz N when connecting?

[localzuk]

I've just had a look at our client list on wifi and I've spotted something which is a little odd. The majority of our devices are opting for 2.4ghz g/n connectivity rather than 5ghz N connectivity - even though they're all capable of the latter. About 1/4 of our devices are using the 5Ghz channels.

 

What could be causing this? Its even devices in the same room.

[featured_spectre]

What are the settings on the devices? Just because they're capable doesn't mean they automatically will. We had a batch of lenovo laptops which are 5GHzN compatible but were going for 2.4ghz so we changed the settings on the laptop.

[tmcd35]

If you're using a decent managed AP that supports multiple SSID and both 2.4 and 5Ghz aerials then it should be actively monitoring the clients and load balancing the channels as required. Ideally you should be seeing a mixture of clients across both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. If everything was going through the 5Ghz channel you'll just end up over saturating that and performance will suffer.

[localzuk]

The devices are all clones - either all the same model of HP laptop, or iPads. We can have 10 iPads in the same room - 2 will connect on 5Ghz, the other 8 on 2.4Ghz, as an example.

 

I understand the balancing part, but I'd expect more of a 50/50 split rather than a 70/30 split or similar. However, that said, at this sort of density, we should basically be seeing all devices going for 5ghz. We're a *long* way from saturating anything.

[themightymrp]

Distance from the AP's / building structure? 5Ghz although better has a shorter effective distance. It could be they are getting a stronger 2.4Ghz signal

[localzuk]

In the rooms where I'm looking at the moment - the building is one of those annoying metal framed ones which interfere with wifi. So, we have an AP in every room to cope.

 

I'm probably just being fussy - I've not actually had anyone complain about slow speeds.

[themightymrp]

I'm probably just being fussy

 

Probably

[ITGURU]

How many devices are you intending to connect in each room?

We have an AP in every other classroom, with the potential of 30 devices being connection in any room (even next door to each other) and have no issues getting all 60 connected.

 

In the rooms where I'm looking at the moment - the building is one of those annoying metal framed ones which interfere with wifi. So, we have an AP in every room to cope.

 

I'm probably just being fussy - I've not actually had anyone complain about slow speeds.

[Norphy]

If your laptops are using Intel NICs, there is a registry key which you can use to make them prefer 5GHz networks:

 

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

 

Underneath there, there are several more keys with numbers, your wireless NIC will be one of them. The 7260 in my laptop is 0007. There is a REG_SZ value called RoamingPreferredBandType, set that to 2 to make it prefer 5GHz networks.

[mjk]

The AP management should support band steering without the need to do anything on the client.

Most likely cause is distance, that 2.4GHz will have a stronger signal at a longer range.