TECH Airport Extreme 5ghz?

[verbal]

So I read about wireless possibly causing interference with some wireless speakers I have, so I started looking into making sure my Airport Extreme is using 5ghz, which has caused some confusion.

Right now I have it set as automatic. I'm under the impression that with auto, it will use 5ghz until something that is 2.4ghz is on the network, then the whole network goes down to 2.4ghz. Is that right?

Poking around the extreme, I found the option for setting up a separate network that is 5ghz only. Is this recommended? Should I leave 'use wide channels' checked? What are the best settings?

Also, is it true that the iPhone 4 is N but only works in 2.4ghz?

How do you guys have it setup? I'd like to set it up the best way possible to get the best performance possible.

 

[3dfx!]

I thought it did simultaneous band? Why would it set everything down to 2.4?

 

[TheWeasel]

Sounds like you have the newer unit if you can have separate networks with it. You are correct in that when set to just 802.11n it will run at 5GHz until a slower machine with g/a attempts to connect, at which point it will bring it all down to g/a for all connected devices. You can set it to allow only n and then setup the guest network for g/a. Only issue with that is the guest network is setup to firewall it off from your n network to prevent people visiting from seeing your other machines and being able to access them. Depending on what devices you're using, it may be best to set the internal network to n only and the guest one for g/a devices like your iPhone and other slower devices. I haven't heard of issues with 5Ghz causing issues with wireless speakers. Most wireless speakers seem to be 2.4Ghz where normal wifi networks could cause issues along with cordless phones.

Turn on "use wide channels" only if you are having connection issues as this setting slows things down.

Yes it is true that while the iPhone 4 does 801.11n, it is only the slower 2.4GHz protocol.

In my setup, I have the older Extreme and have it set for n only. Then I have an Express in the other room wired to it via ethernet that provides g service to things like my Kindle, Skype phone and iPhone 4, etc.

 

[3dfx!]

wait i thought it had to be 802.11a in order to do 5GHz? I didn't think 802.11n devices could use 5GHz?

 

[verbal]

wait i thought it had to be 802.11a in order to do 5GHz? I didn't think 802.11n devices could use 5GHz?

http://www.tested.com/news/wi-fi-80211n-24-ghz-vs-5-ghz-whats-the-difference/395/

N can be 2.4 or 5.

 

[verbal]

Sounds like you have the newer unit if you can have separate networks with it. You are correct in that when set to just 802.11n it will run at 5GHz until a slower machine with g/a attempts to connect, at which point it will bring it all down to g/a for all connected devices. You can set it to allow only n and then setup the guest network for g/a. Only issue with that is the guest network is setup to firewall it off from your n network to prevent people visiting from seeing your other machines and being able to access them. Depending on what devices you're using, it may be best to set the internal network to n only and the guest one for g/a devices like your iPhone and other slower devices. I haven't heard of issues with 5Ghz causing issues with wireless speakers. Most wireless speakers seem to be 2.4Ghz where normal wifi networks could cause issues along with cordless phones.

I'm confused by the stuff in bold. Aren't they saying the same thing?

What I read was that 2.4ghz causes problems with my wireless speakers. So I'm hoping if I separate networks, I might minimize the random choppiness.

 

[3dfx!]

get rid of the wireless speakers. problem solved.