2.4GHz vs 5GHz

When it comes to installing your own router it can be pretty simple to start with. All you need to do it plug in the cable at the back and use the default SSID and password.

However, when you search for your new WiFi connection you’re hit with an option of Wifi Name & Wifi Name 5. What’s the difference and what one should you use?

In a nutshell, they are different bands. Let’s not go any further into that as there are plenty of sites that explain the difference better than I ever can. Where it matters is what they do. 5 travels less distance but it much much faster. Standard is slower but can reach much further around your house. So whilst distance is important everyone wants speed. Every. Single. Time. I want YouTube to load when I choose the video, I want my social streams to load instantly. I don’t want to be sitting waiting for anything to load when there’s fibre coming into my house. So I choose 5 all the way. To battle the distance issue (which is significant) I have installed multiple dual band access points around the house via CAT6 cable. This gives me 5G in every part of the house. Perfect. 

So why have 2.4? Good question. I personally use 2.4 for all my non-essentials. I have over 50 smart devices in the house. Smart bulbs, smart plugs, printers etc. These are prime for 2.4 because they don’t actually need that much speed. I mean, how fast do you really want a light to turn on? 50ms vs 250ms? It’ll always be faster than getting up and turning them on by hand so put them on 2.4. It also keeps the 5Ghz band less congested to allow more speed to run through.

 What if you don’t see an option for 5G? You either don’t have a dual band router or your device will be combining both bands and deciding which device gets which connection. If this is the case get in that router and turn it off. I have a top of the range Netgear router and it’s just plain awful trying to decide. Like a new driver at a double roundabout, it just doesn’t work. 

Just how much faster is 5G? Here’s a video demonstrating my connection (at the same time).