Who utilizes dual band routers?

Question

I connect my Smart TV's to the 2nd channel on my dual band routers.  The first channel is for the tenants to connect their own devices to.  Any other smartypants on here do the same?

Joe Splitrock · Answer

I might as well share my non real estate knowledge from my IT and electronics experience. Signal strength is not an indicator of the speed (bandwidth). You can connect to 5GHz and only have a couple bars, but get higher bandwidth than if you have full bars at 2.4GHz. That being said, either one of these connection frequencies (2.4 or 5GHZ) has faster throughput capacity than your internet connection. In other words the limiting factor is your internet connection at 100MB which is shared by all devices in your home. Either band can connect you at higher speeds than that.

To answer the original post, there is no real benefit to reserving a band for your smart TV. Generally speaking the 5GHz band is better, but it is also subject to more interference. That could be the microwave or your neighbors internet router. It is best to keep both bands open and connect to whichever one provides better internet. Two bands gives you better options if there is interference. You can use speedtest.net to check speeds.

Jon Crosby · Answer

When you say dual band are you referring to the 2.4GHz and 5GHz? Generally those bands are for different use cases (e.g. high bandwidth needs but closer proximty to router would be a good 5GHz use case, an older device further away from router would be best for 2.4Ghz, etc.).   Generally most routers come with a 'guest' network and that is usually what I utilize for my guests and then everything I need is on private personal network.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

That may be but we have a son with a powerful gaming computer, a smart TV, several tablets, a laptop, and five phones in my house. I never have a problem with lag on any of them, even at our busiest periods.

Paul Sandhu · Answer

Yes.  If it's a tenant I like, I name one of the bands after him.  Like this:  "Jon's Wifi" is the network name.

John Underwood · Answer

I leave the password on the fridge and the router with both bands are available for use.

I have throttled it down in the past when I only had satellite internet, but I have DSL now so I don't worry about it.

Jon Crosby · Answer

@Nathan G.  2.4Ghz will handle up to 450Mbps so it should always be enough to handle most loads and before I purchased a Google WiFi I would try and spread the bandwidth between my streaming devices and regular devices between the 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz.

Nighthawk is a excellent router (good choice) but if you are only pumping in 100Mbs thru it you are only utilizing a fraction of it's capacity.  Think of it like water thru a hose...you basically have a garden hose (100mbs) feeding into a fire hydrant (Nighthawk Gigabit router) then to your devices...you are still only going to get what the garden hose pushes at best.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I'm no expert. I tried using the 5GHz and couldn't notice any difference in speed but the signal was definitely weak for distance. My son tried using it for gaming while all our other devices remained on 2.4GHz. His computer is about 20 feet away from the router but he still had lower performance with it and went back to 2.4GHz. Our internet is 100/10 and we have a Nighthawk X6 router so it's not an equipment issue.

Paul Sandhu · Answer

When I first started doing this, my internet speed was 10mbps.  People were complaining that they were getting killed in video games.  Someone with faster internet could sneak up behind my tenants and shoot them in the back.

Chris Gottshall · Answer

Both channels are open for anyone to use on mine.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

What's the benefit? I use a single-band and put everything on it. Four smart TVs, a smart thermostat, and multiple devices are capable of running simultaneously without a hitch.

Who utilizes dual band routers?

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