Is it possible to get a mesh set up with a seperate dedicated 2.4ghz band

[sgreenberg]

Basically title. My Dad got one of those device so he could tell google to turn on/off his lamp but it requires his iPhone to be on a 2.4ghz band. I have been using a wifi extender but it doesn't always work. I am thinking of switching to a mesh setup to make it more reliable (plus I don't get usuable speeds when using the extender), could I get it to work with a mesh set up?

 

Context: My plan is 50Mbps but I think that should be fine as I don't play anything competitive

[DrMacintosh]

What device is actually controlling the lights?

[LIGISTX]

27 minutes ago, sgreenberg said:

Basically title. My Dad got one of those device so he could tell google to turn on/off his lamp but it requires his iPhone to be on a 2.4ghz band. I have been using a wifi extender but it doesn't always work. I am thinking of switching to a mesh setup to make it more reliable (plus I don't get usuable speeds when using the extender), could I get it to work with a mesh set up?

 

Context: My plan is 50Mbps but I think that should be fine as I don't play anything competitive

It shouldn’t matter what band the phone is on to control devices on the network. 
 

A mesh WiFi setup is typically a great idea, but it has nothing to do with your question. Your network is just a subnet (192.168.1.1 typically), and your WiFi access point (usually built into routers) is just broadcasting that subnet wirelessly. The band doesn’t matter, devices will still be on that subnet, same as if you plugged them in with an Ethernet cable. 

[TheGreatestGazoo]

What are your router/access points that you are currently using for wifi in your home? You may be able to set up a specific SSID for 2.4ghz only - this isn't always recommended but depends on your wifi hardware and its limitations, plus the limitations of the device you are trying to connect.

 

The phone doesn't need to be on 2.4ghz band to operate it normally, but just about all IoT devices need to be on that band. However, that usually means during the setup that your phone needs to be on that 2.4ghz band during the initial setup and this is because of cheap device's hardware/firmware limitations.

[sgreenberg]

It is an embrighten switch and it absolutely does matter that is on the 2.4ghz band. I tried and tested and it wouldn't get set up when the phone was on the dual band. It even tells me it needs to be on the 2.4ghz band when I am setting it up

[sgreenberg]

19 minutes ago, TheGreatestGazoo said:

What are your router/access points that you are currently using for wifi in your home? You may be able to set up a specific SSID for 2.4ghz only - this isn't always recommended but depends on your wifi hardware and its limitations, plus the limitations of the device you are trying to connect.

 

The phone doesn't need to be on 2.4ghz band to operate it normally, but just about all IoT devices need to be on that band. However, that usually means during the setup that your phone needs to be on that 2.4ghz band during the initial setup and this is because of cheap device's hardware/firmware limitations.

Is there a mesh network that allows me to set up a specific ssid for 2.4ghz?

[LIGISTX]

12 minutes ago, sgreenberg said:

It is an embrighten switch and it absolutely does matter that is on the 2.4ghz band. I tried and tested and it wouldn't get set up when the phone was on the dual band. It even tells me it needs to be on the 2.4ghz band when I am setting it up

It may need it for the setup (which is weird…‘I have never have that before), but if so, just disable 5ghz for a minute while you set it up. Then after that turn 5ghz back on…… 

[sgreenberg]

31 minutes ago, LIGISTX said:

It may need it for the setup (which is weird…‘I have never have that before), but if so, just disable 5ghz for a minute while you set it up. Then after that turn 5ghz back on…… 

I would still need a 2.4 ghz band for the iot devices to be always on. So it would be annoying still using the wifi extender while having a mesh network

[TheGreatestGazoo]

3 hours ago, sgreenberg said:

It is an embrighten switch and it absolutely does matter that is on the 2.4ghz band. I tried and tested and it wouldn't get set up when the phone was on the dual band. It even tells me it needs to be on the 2.4ghz band when I am setting it up

The device (switch) needs to be on 2.4 but the phone does not also need to be on 2.4 for it to work...the phone only needs to be on 2.4 for the setup process. I was actually asking what your wifi/router was so we could find out what settings may currently be on it. There may be no need to get a mesh style network depending on what you have already. If possible, you would log into your current wifi system, turn off 5.0, log back in with your phone to that wifi, setup the embrighten switch, then turn 5.0 again on the wifi network. The switch will stay on 2.4, and your phone(s) will either use 2.4 or 5.0 and no matter which band it uses, the switch will still work.

[Alex Atkin UK]

54 minutes ago, TheGreatestGazoo said:

The device (switch) needs to be on 2.4 but the phone does not also need to be on 2.4 for it to work...the phone only needs to be on 2.4 for the setup process. I was actually asking what your wifi/router was so we could find out what settings may currently be on it. There may be no need to get a mesh style network depending on what you have already. If possible, you would log into your current wifi system, turn off 5.0, log back in with your phone to that wifi, setup the embrighten switch, then turn 5.0 again on the wifi network. The switch will stay on 2.4, and your phone(s) will either use 2.4 or 5.0 and no matter which band it uses, the switch will still work.

Agreed.  The issue is the device is only 2.4Ghz and sometimes when your router has a single SSID for both bands, it confuses some devices.

 

You could either split the bands on the router, temporarily turn off 5Ghz as mentioned above to see if it helps, or the router may even let you create a second SSID for 2.4Ghz only.

 

4 hours ago, sgreenberg said:

Is there a mesh network that allows me to set up a specific ssid for 2.4ghz?

 

As for the WiFi extender not always working, that may not be the extender at fault, it could be the switch.  Switching to mesh probably wont make any difference, as an extender and mesh are pretty much doing the same thing, the only difference is mesh is designed to let you roam more clearly between different extenders.  Given the switch doesn't like the combined SSID, it may not like mesh either.

Is the extender hard-wired into your router or acting as a WiFi repeater?  If the latter, check if it can be configured as a plain Access Point hard wired into the router, that will likely improve reliability.

[sgreenberg]

9 hours ago, TheGreatestGazoo said:

The device (switch) needs to be on 2.4 but the phone does not also need to be on 2.4 for it to work...the phone only needs to be on 2.4 for the setup process. I was actually asking what your wifi/router was so we could find out what settings may currently be on it. There may be no need to get a mesh style network depending on what you have already. If possible, you would log into your current wifi system, turn off 5.0, log back in with your phone to that wifi, setup the embrighten switch, then turn 5.0 again on the wifi network. The switch will stay on 2.4, and your phone(s) will either use 2.4 or 5.0 and no matter which band it uses, the switch will still work.

My current router is an xfinity prepaid router. Instead of dual bands I am having the router and repeater do seperate bands (the repeater picks up the 2.4ghz band)

 

9 hours ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Agreed.  The issue is the device is only 2.4Ghz and sometimes when your router has a single SSID for both bands, it confuses some devices.

 

You could either split the bands on the router, temporarily turn off 5Ghz as mentioned above to see if it helps, or the router may even let you create a second SSID for 2.4Ghz only.

 

 

As for the WiFi extender not always working, that may not be the extender at fault, it could be the switch.  Switching to mesh probably wont make any difference, as an extender and mesh are pretty much doing the same thing, the only difference is mesh is designed to let you roam more clearly between different extenders.  Given the switch doesn't like the combined SSID, it may not like mesh either.

Is the extender hard-wired into your router or acting as a WiFi repeater?  If the latter, check if it can be configured as a plain Access Point hard wired into the router, that will likely improve reliability.

 I don't know what a switch actually is but I think the extender is acting more like a repeater. I don't think there is a clean way of hard wiring a cable except maybe through the 'attic' which I think might be more of a ceiling than an attic. I know for the TV there is a coax cord in the attic that connects to this end of the house (and it is currently being used for a TV).

 

Some additional context: My room is about 800 feet from the router (with a brick wall in between) and the wifi extender functions as a repeater at about 500 feet from the router but almost a straight shot (realistically the wifi signal has to bounce off a small wall or go through quite a bit of drywall to reach the repeater) and doesn't have a brick wall in between.

[Alex Atkin UK]

12 hours ago, sgreenberg said:

My current router is an xfinity prepaid router. Instead of dual bands I am having the router and repeater do seperate bands (the repeater picks up the 2.4ghz band)

Repeating a possibly already congested band is likely to cause issues.

 

Apparently to split the radios you have to use the smartphone app:

Quote

With the phone app, Change WiFi modes, and assign different broadcast names (SSID name) to the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz signals.

Assuming you gave the extender a different SSID it should be as simple as naming your main routers 2.4Ghz band the same as the extender then turning off the extender so the device reconnects back to the routers 2.4Ghz network.  You may also need to check if the router has a client isolation option, that likely needs to be off so the phone on 5Ghz can see devices connected on 2.4Ghz.

[sgreenberg]

20 hours ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Repeating a possibly already congested band is likely to cause issues.

 

Apparently to split the radios you have to use the smartphone app:

Assuming you gave the extender a different SSID it should be as simple as naming your main routers 2.4Ghz band the same as the extender then turning off the extender so the device reconnects back to the routers 2.4Ghz network.  You may also need to check if the router has a client isolation option, that likely needs to be off so the phone on 5Ghz can see devices connected on 2.4Ghz.

Ok. I gave them the same name and hopefully there won't be any issues. How do I handle jitter and how do I handle the decreased speeds that come with using a wifi repeater? (I don't mind spending a small bit of money)

[Alex Atkin UK]

13 hours ago, sgreenberg said:

Ok. I gave them the same name and hopefully there won't be any issues. How do I handle jitter and how do I handle the decreased speeds that come with using a wifi repeater? (I don't mind spending a small bit of money)

The idea here is to try not using a repeater at all, have one name for your bandwidth heavy devices on 5Ghz and a different name for the 2.4Ghz for devices which don't need a lot of bandwidth.

 

Failing that, the best option is to hard-wire (plug in via ethernet) a proper WiFi Access Point, or a router/repeater in Access Point mode.  But for a simple smart switch, range shouldn't be an issue as 2.4Ghz can go for miles at the low speeds smart devices use, unless your building materials are blocking the signal.

[sgreenberg]

5 hours ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

The idea here is to try not using a repeater at all, have one name for your bandwidth heavy devices on 5Ghz and a different name for the 2.4Ghz for devices which don't need a lot of bandwidth.

 

Failing that, the best option is to hard-wire (plug in via ethernet) a proper WiFi Access Point, or a router/repeater in Access Point mode.  But for a simple smart switch, range shouldn't be an issue as 2.4Ghz can go for miles at the low speeds smart devices use, unless your building materials are blocking the signal.

I found I need the repeater even for using 2.4ghz in my room. I guess if I want to play video games I could go to the place where the router is and use 5ghz for the better speeds. I think my parents will need to stay on the 2.4ghz network in order to use the chromecast though.

[Alex Atkin UK]

12 hours ago, sgreenberg said:

I found I need the repeater even for using 2.4ghz in my room. I guess if I want to play video games I could go to the place where the router is and use 5ghz for the better speeds. I think my parents will need to stay on the 2.4ghz network in order to use the chromecast though.

No possibility to hard-wire a dual-band repeater closer to your room?  The performance would be a lot better.

 

Flat ethernet cables can be very useful for hiding around the perimeter of rooms and even under doors if the gap is big enough.

[sgreenberg]

On 2/5/2024 at 10:19 PM, Alex Atkin UK said:

No possibility to hard-wire a dual-band repeater closer to your room?  The performance would be a lot better.

 

Flat ethernet cables can be very useful for hiding around the perimeter of rooms and even under doors if the gap is big enough.

I live with my parents and my mom vetoed any idea of me routing any cables throughout their house.