And sometimes devices or computers get stuck on the 2.4GHz band just when you want to transfer some big files. My iPhone 5 quickly jumps from 5GHz to 2.4GHz when I walk down the stairs, but when I return to the living room, it typically takes a few minutes for it to switch back to 5GHz. Most of Apple's computers have two antennas, so they can do 144Mbps at 2.4GHz and 300Mbps at 5GHz. The iPhone 5 supports 72Mbps at 2.4 GHz, but 150Mbps at 5GHz. The benefit to this is that a single dual band network allows wireless devices that support both bands to switch to the band that has the best signal dynamically. This is what Apple's Airport Utility sets up for you if you don't tell it to use a separate 5GHz name. AdvertisementĮnlarge / Setting up a separate 5GHz network in the OS X Airport Utilityįor most people, the best choice is to set up a network that does both 2.4GHz and 5GHz as a single network. The downside is that if you join the 5GHz network, and then move away from the base station, you'll remain connected to the 5GHz network and get spotty performance at distances that 2.4GHz handles just fine. This means you can manually select the 2.4GHz network or the 5GHz network as needed. In the first case, you tell the base station you want a different name (aka SSID) for the 5GHz band.

There are two ways to do this: having a separate 2.4 and 5GHz networks, or having one network that spans both bands. You may also need 2.4GHz for compatibility with older devices that don't support 5GHz operation.īut fortunately, with newer Wi-Fi base stations, it's no longer necessary to make that choice: they support simultaneous dual band, operating in both the 2.4 and 5GHz bands at the same time. But in a big house away from interfering neighbors, 2.4GHz gives you better coverage further away from the base station. Especially when you let the base station select the channel, because that way, more channels are available.

In a small apartment with thin walls, 5GHz has enough reach, and you'll benefit from the extra speed and reduced interference. If you have one of those, you have to choose. Older base stations, such as the first and second generations of Apple's Airport Extreme (released in 2007), support either 2.4GHz or 5GHz operation, but not both at the same time. If all else is equal, 5GHz is twice as fast as 2.4GHz. In addition to this, Apple only supports using two channels as a single, double-speed wide channel in the 5GHz band. The 5GHz band on the other hand, has a much larger number of channels-and they don't overlap-but the higher frequencies have reduced range, even in open air. But the lower frequencies pass through walls and floors reasonably well. The 2.4GHz band suffers from lack of non-overlapping channels and interference from other devices. (The iPad has had it since day one.) So, how do you set up a Wi-Fi network that makes the most of this confluence of Wi-Fi bands? Not created equalįirst of all, it's important to realize that the two bands are created very differently.

Now, the iPhone 5 and the latest iPod touch also have that support. In many cities, there are numerous active Wi-Fi networks on those preciously few non-overlapping channels-that's in addition to microwaves, bluetooth, cordless phones, and baby monitors, which all share the 2.4GHz band.īut since about 2007, Apple has also built support for 802.11n Wi-Fi on the 5GHz band into its computers and Airport line of Wi-Fi base stations. For a while, it seemed that Wi-Fi was becoming a victim of its own success.

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