Forums
New posts
Articles
Product Reviews
Policies
FAQ
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Digital Lifestyle
Internet, Networking, and Wireless
Mac not agreeing with Netgear wi-fi range extender
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="HouseMouse8" data-source="post: 1656773" data-attributes="member: 350617"><p>My recent experience might relate to your problem. I recently got an iPhone 5 and iPad. Both consistently dropped WiFi in my bedroom, 2 rooms away (same floor) from the router. My old iPhone 3 and Windows laptop had no problems getting a strong WiFi signal in that location. Turns out that the older devices use a 2.4gHz frequency from the router. The newer Mac devices "support" a 5gHz connection frequency, meaning that if it's available, they'll try to use it. Most routers put out both frequencies (dual-band), and are configured with the same SSID (network name) and password for both bands - meaning that your device displays one network ID, you put in the password, and your device chooses the frequency. I'm guessing your landlord's router is set up this way. Problem is, the 5gHz, although faster, is a shorter wavelength, so it's weaker. It has a problem passing through walls and has a shorter range even in open air. Thus the problem with my new 5gHz devices dropping WiFi, where my old 2.4gHz devices had no problems. Now you would think that, since the new devices CAN operate on 2.4 gHz, that they'd automatically switch to 2.4gHz when out of 5gHz range, since both bands were configured with same network ID and password. But no, the devices just dropped the signal and switched to cellular data. I solved the problem by going into the router settings and giving different SSIDs to the two frequency bands (I kept the same password for both). Thus, they show up as two different networks on my devices, and I can choose the faster 5gHz close to the router, and the stronger 2.4 gHz farther from the router. You don't have that option, since you can't reconfigure your landlord's router. Getting your own internet connection and router would be expensive. I'm guessing your Android tablet doesn't support 5gHz; therefore it uses the 2.4gHz connection and does fine. But your Mac devices are choosing the 5gHz, and showing them on the WiFi selection menu, even though the signal is too weak to use (my devices also showed the network on the WiFi menu, even after dropping the signal). Is there any way to configure your range extender to only amplify the 2.4gHz signal?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="HouseMouse8, post: 1656773, member: 350617"] My recent experience might relate to your problem. I recently got an iPhone 5 and iPad. Both consistently dropped WiFi in my bedroom, 2 rooms away (same floor) from the router. My old iPhone 3 and Windows laptop had no problems getting a strong WiFi signal in that location. Turns out that the older devices use a 2.4gHz frequency from the router. The newer Mac devices "support" a 5gHz connection frequency, meaning that if it's available, they'll try to use it. Most routers put out both frequencies (dual-band), and are configured with the same SSID (network name) and password for both bands - meaning that your device displays one network ID, you put in the password, and your device chooses the frequency. I'm guessing your landlord's router is set up this way. Problem is, the 5gHz, although faster, is a shorter wavelength, so it's weaker. It has a problem passing through walls and has a shorter range even in open air. Thus the problem with my new 5gHz devices dropping WiFi, where my old 2.4gHz devices had no problems. Now you would think that, since the new devices CAN operate on 2.4 gHz, that they'd automatically switch to 2.4gHz when out of 5gHz range, since both bands were configured with same network ID and password. But no, the devices just dropped the signal and switched to cellular data. I solved the problem by going into the router settings and giving different SSIDs to the two frequency bands (I kept the same password for both). Thus, they show up as two different networks on my devices, and I can choose the faster 5gHz close to the router, and the stronger 2.4 gHz farther from the router. You don't have that option, since you can't reconfigure your landlord's router. Getting your own internet connection and router would be expensive. I'm guessing your Android tablet doesn't support 5gHz; therefore it uses the 2.4gHz connection and does fine. But your Mac devices are choosing the 5gHz, and showing them on the WiFi selection menu, even though the signal is too weak to use (my devices also showed the network on the WiFi menu, even after dropping the signal). Is there any way to configure your range extender to only amplify the 2.4gHz signal? [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Digital Lifestyle
Internet, Networking, and Wireless
Mac not agreeing with Netgear wi-fi range extender
Top