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KCrimson
Premium Member
join:2001-02-25
Brooklyn, NY

KCrimson

Premium Member

[iPad] Which WiFi Band Am I Using?

For troubleshooting my wifi network, I need to see which band my iPad is connected through. I recently changed to a single SSID scheme for our dual band Wifi network. The router firmware's webpage gives no indication for each device on which band the device is utilizing. I COULD attempt to extrapolate bit rates (a total for each band is given by the firmware), but this requires too much efforts for something that IOS devices should report (just as OSX does).
So, am I missing something obvious, or is there no way of getting the info reported by an iOS device?

WK2
Premium Member
join:2006-12-28
united state

WK2

Premium Member

In my past experience, if you wanted dual band you would have to make two different names.

Eg. Wireless and Wireless 5GHz
Daemon
Premium Member
join:2003-06-29
Washington, DC

Daemon

Premium Member

said by WK2:

In my past experience, if you wanted dual band you would have to make two different names.

Eg. Wireless and Wireless 5GHz

This isn't true for Macs, at least. Are you saying it's true for iOS devices?

KCrimson
Premium Member
join:2001-02-25
Brooklyn, NY

KCrimson to WK2

Premium Member

to WK2
Apple recommends the use of single SSID's in response to questions that users have regarding the lack of preference settings (ie, you can either alphabetize your SSID names to set the "Axxxx" to connect before the "Bxxxx" network, OR you can let IOS choose the stronger signal as Apple intended.)

koolman2
Premium Member
join:2002-10-01
Anchorage, AK

koolman2

Premium Member

The problem with this is that the 2.4 GHz will almost ALWAYS be stronger than the 5 GHz, even if the data rates will be better and have a cleaner signal on 5 GHz.

I have both set to the same SSID, then one with my SSID plus a 5 after it for devices that I only want on 5 GHz.

KCrimson
Premium Member
join:2001-02-25
Brooklyn, NY

KCrimson

Premium Member

said by koolman2:

The problem with this is that the 2.4 GHz will almost ALWAYS be stronger than the 5 GHz, even if the data rates will be better and have a cleaner signal on 5 GHz.

I have both set to the same SSID, then one with my SSID plus a 5 after it for devices that I only want on 5 GHz.

I've noticed the problem myself (2.4 Ghz is always the stronger signal).

I'm not sure of the method you described - you have 3 SSID's (ex. two "Acme" neworks - one on each 2.4 and one on 5 Ghz), OR do you have two networks (ex. "Acme" and "Acme 5")? In either case, I don't see what that accomplishes. You could just as easily have used "A" for preferred 5 Ghz network, and "B" for the 2.4 Ghz network.

koolman2
Premium Member
join:2002-10-01
Anchorage, AK

koolman2

Premium Member

I have three total SSIDs.

2.4 GHz: "Acme"
5 GHz: "Acme", and "Acme 5"

I have an Asus router with Tomato installed. Not all routers support this, of course.

The point of this is that devices that are 2.4 GHz only get online, and devices that can see both decide for themselves. I use the "Acme 5" for devices I know are 5 GHz and only want on that network. For example, my iPhone is on "Acme" so when I go outside it can hop over to 2.4 for better signal. My laptop is on "Acme 5" because I know it's only used where the 5 GHz works well.

KCrimson
Premium Member
join:2001-02-25
Brooklyn, NY

KCrimson

Premium Member

Its a good scheme, and I could use my Netgear's "Guest" networking provisioning in the same way, but I'm wondering whether you've monitored whether the 5 Ghz "Acme" SSID is getting much/any traffic.
Unfortunately, as I mentioned in the first post, my iPad doesn't seem to be able to tell me which "Acme" its connecting through.

koolman2
Premium Member
join:2002-10-01
Anchorage, AK

koolman2

Premium Member

Yeah, that's the one thing I dislike about iOS: the inability to view advanced info.

I don't really care if there's no traffic on the "Acme" 5 GHz. I assume those devices are on 2.4, but if they manage to grab 5, that's cool too.
dickmead
Premium Member
join:1999-08-22
Pasadena, CA

1 edit

dickmead to KCrimson

Premium Member

to KCrimson
If you can look at your wifi router/access point and see the bssid and it is different for each band (2.4 & 5Ghz) then you can use the free Net Analyzer Lite, as the Information page will show the bssid you are connected to and thus the band.
I just did this using an Asus router and my iPad. However the iPad should switch to any available network it has remembered and been connected to if the current one goes away. Although I suppose that is not quite the same as jumping between same-named networks.
Daemon
Premium Member
join:2003-06-29
Washington, DC

Daemon to koolman2

Premium Member

to koolman2
said by koolman2:

The problem with this is that the 2.4 GHz will almost ALWAYS be stronger than the 5 GHz, even if the data rates will be better and have a cleaner signal on 5 GHz.

I have both set to the same SSID, then one with my SSID plus a 5 after it for devices that I only want on 5 GHz.

In testing with my Macs, they will automatically chose the frequency with the higher throughput, not signal strength. I'm not sure what iOS devices do.

KCrimson
Premium Member
join:2001-02-25
Brooklyn, NY

KCrimson to dickmead

Premium Member

to dickmead
Thanks! That works, I'd already had Net Analyzer Lite installed too, I'm surprised I didn't think of checking that.
BTW - never really put 2 & 2 together and realized that those were referred to as "bssid"'s, I'd always thought of them as just the hardware (MAC) address of the wireless interface.
KCrimson

KCrimson to Daemon

Premium Member

to Daemon
said by Daemon:

said by koolman2:

The problem with this is that the 2.4 GHz will almost ALWAYS be stronger than the 5 GHz, even if the data rates will be better and have a cleaner signal on 5 GHz.

I have both set to the same SSID, then one with my SSID plus a 5 after it for devices that I only want on 5 GHz.

In testing with my Macs, they will automatically chose the frequency with the higher throughput, not signal strength. I'm not sure what iOS devices do.

Thanks. I'm liking the idea of keeping a single SSID for both wireless bands, but adding a second router as an access point to beef up the strength, even in this 2 bedroom apartment.

IIRC, the wireless access point will have the same SSID and password, with only the wireless channel changed. .
Uraki
Uraki
Premium Member
join:2003-06-22
Belle Plaine, KS

Uraki to KCrimson

Premium Member

to KCrimson
If you have a Mac laptop, right-click on the wifi icon in the menu bar for basic info.

Now, hold down the option key and right-click the wifi icon = advanced info.

ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium Member
join:2005-03-14
Woodstock, CT

ptrowski to koolman2

Premium Member

to koolman2
I have a similar setup. I have ZombieTacticalResponseCenter and ZombieTacticalResponseCenter5 set up.