Enhanced home Wi-Fi networking

When your Wi-Fi gateway has band steering, it automatically guides your wireless devices to the best radio band. For example, if a newer 5GHz device connects to a 2.4GHz signal, it might not get the best performance. Some of your older devices won’t work on a 5GHz signal. Since your devices don’t know which radio band to connect to, our newest gateways steer your devices to the right radio band.

It’s like adding a fast lane for your Wi-Fi devices. Newer devices can connect to the 5GHz radio and not get stuck behind slower 2.4GHz devices. And, if a 5GHz device reaches the outer coverage boundaries of its signal, the gateway steers it to the 2.4GHz signal to keep its connection.

Radio bands

• 2.4GHz - Has 11 channels, can travel farther distances, and is the slower band. It’s most compatible with older Wi-Fi devices. These radio bands are more susceptible to interference.
• 5GHz - Has 25 channels and a shorter reach, but it’s the faster band. It’s most compatible with newer Wi-Fi devices.

Set up your Wi-Fi info for band steering

For band steering to work, make sure the 2 radios on your gateway have the same Wi-Fi network name and password. This is the default setting on your Wi-Fi gateway. If you changed the network names or passwords, change them back so both radios have matching Wi-Fi info. Here’s how:

1. Sign in to the Smart Home Manager. 
   
2. Select Tools. 
   
3. Choose Network Notifications. If you have different network names for each radio, you’ll get a Different Network Names notification. To combine your network names, select Choose One and pick the network name you want to keep.