How to find out if the device supports 5GHz. What to do if the laptop or Wi-Fi adapter of the computer does not see the router's network

As you know, some models of routers (of the new ones, mostly) support the mysterious 5ghz wifi, that is, the same “5 GHz Wi-Fi”, which seems to automatically mean not only a “faster” Internet, but also a more stable connection.

In fact, this is approximately the way it is (although not always), but this is not about that now. And then how to find out if your laptop supports this same 5ghz wifi, and if so, how to turn it on.

The fact is that, unlike the usual and familiar to all users “wi-fi” (when it is enough just to select the name of the router and enter the password), 5ghz wifi, figuratively speaking, is not just given in the hands, and to turn it on you need a bit stretch your favorite brain muscle.

But better in order.

how to know if your router supports 5ghz wifi?

This is in case you don’t really know how many bands your router is, 1 or 2, and whether it supports 5 GHz WiFi at all. Since if it does not support it, and another suitable one is not yet available, then there is no need to rush to turn on 5 GHz in a laptop. So, we find the packaging or user manual of the router and read its brief specification. Or open the router settings directly from the laptop and get acquainted with the Wi-Fi parameters.

By the way, since you have already found these settings, you can slightly correct something. The fact is that, by the way, in some 2-band routers, the same SSID (a unique network name that distinguishes one Wi-Fi network from another) is registered for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. If this is found, then it will not be superfluous to change it so that in the future it will be easier to find the appropriate network, even from a laptop, even from a tablet or smartphone.

What Wi-Fi standards work on 5GHz?

At 5GHz, 802.11a, 802.11n and 802.11ac work, 802.11n is optional. And since most of the current routers are just models of the 802.11n standard, you have to clarify whether support for 5 ghz wifi is provided in the device at hand. In addition, not every router that supports 2ghz and 5ghz wifi can work in both bands at the same time. So, if yours is also one of these, then it is possible that it is better not to run 5ghz wifi with it.

After all, if in some of your mobile devices that you use daily, 5ghz wifi support is also not provided (and many models do not have it), then switching the router to 5GHz is not entirely advisable. Of course, modern dual-band routers, as a rule, do not have such problems. But there are problems with the devices connected to them, which can lose contact with each other, and then an unnecessary mess is obtained. When, for example, an iPhone 7 connected to a home network at 5GHz suddenly stops seeing your MacBook, which connects to the same network and through the same router at 2.4GHz.

how to find out if your laptop supports 5ghz wifi?

This is not easy either. The most accessible way for a regular user is to go to " Device Manager " (across " Control Panel") and in the tab " Network adapters » find the exact name of the laptop's built-in WiFi adapter. Next, you can google the detailed specification of this device by its name. If you read that the laptop's WiFi adapter supports 802.11a and 802.11ac, then it definitely supports 5ghz wifi.

There is another option:

v " Device Manager "Right-click on the name of the WiFi adapter, in the menu that appears, select" Properties ", go to the tab" Additionally ” and in the list of properties we are looking for a mention of 5GHz. If the option to switch to 5ghz wifi mode could not be found, then either it is not supported at all in your laptop, or there is a fact that there is an incorrect WiFi adapter driver (it happens).

However, if you really need 5ghz wifi, then the issue is guaranteed to be solved by purchasing an external WiFi adapter. Such a device is inexpensive and allows you to do without all the fuss described above.

By the way, about the fuss. As we know, work related to data recovery, replacement of components, removal of malware, installation and configuration of the operating system, etc. performed faster and more efficiently by qualified professionals. In this regard, knowledgeable people advise to be extremely careful in choosing a company whose employees can be trusted with your laptop. vlatar.com.ua- this is in case or when you need a workshop with a good reputation, specializing in the repair and maintenance of any laptops. Not prevent.

One of the main reasons why Wi-Fi is the most widely used wireless communication standard today is because it is fast, reliable, and very easy to use.

When the first commercial Wi-Fi devices began to appear in the late 1990s, most users could choose between two major versions of the IEEE 802.11 protocol: a and b. Since the second one was more affordable in terms of price, it gradually turned into a mass standard. And since it uses the 2.4 GHz frequency band to transmit information, a significant part of Wi-Fi devices today rely on it.

In the early days of the mobile revolution, this wasn't much of a problem, as most homes rarely had more than one or two Wi-Fi devices. However, the situation has changed dramatically over the past decade. Today, our houses and apartments are “densely populated” with laptops, tablets, mobile phones, digital cameras, and a significant part of them rely on the good old 2.4 GHz band. Moreover, a number of household electrical appliances such as microwave ovens and many peripheral devices such as wireless mice and keyboards also use this frequency range. The next most common wireless consumer standard, Bluetooth, also relies on it.

The more devices using the same frequency at the same time to communicate, the more they interfere with each other. The reason for this phenomenon is called "interference", which degrades the quality of the signal and leads to connection problems and a decrease in the speed of information transfer.

In an attempt to solve this problem, the Wi-Fi Alliance (a commercial organization that tests and certifies equipment under the 802.11 series standards) has introduced a new frequency band - 5 GHz. It first became part of the n version of the protocol, but was introduced as an option. In other words, an 802.11n-certified device can either only operate in the 2.4 GHz band, or it can be dual-band, i.e. support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

However, with the latest version of the standard, ac, all certified devices must only support the new frequency band, meaning any wireless product bearing the 802.11ac designation must use the 5GHz operating band.

Why You Should Start Using 5GHz Wi-Fi

Because it's relatively new (the 802.11n revision was officially introduced in 2009), the 5GHz band is still relatively underused. This means that even in a “crowded” home or office with wireless devices, using the 5 GHz band guarantees a minimum of interference and maximum quality (speed plus stability) of the Wi-Fi connection.

Of course, both devices to be linked must support such communication. In other words, both the wireless router used to broadcast the Wi-Fi signal and the Wi-Fi module of the device must support the appropriate version of the 802.11 standard, which provides communication at a frequency of 5 GHz.

How do I know if a device supports 5 GHz?

To do this, it is usually enough to read the user manual of the router or check the model specifications on the manufacturer's official website. In addition, if a router offers 5 GHz support, then this will be clearly stated on its packaging or case - this feature is new and very important, so the manufacturer is unlikely to be too lazy to mention it.

Alternatively, you can open the router settings panel and check the supported frequencies there. This is usually done by entering a specific address in a browser. To enter the panel with parameters, you also need to know the access name and password. As a rule, as a default login and password, all manufacturers use a combination of admin and admin, respectively, or admin and password.

Here is a short list of standard combinations used to enter the control panel of Wi-Fi routers from popular manufacturers:

Address: http://192.168.1.1, login: admin, password: Admin

Address: http://192.168.0.1, login: admin, password: admin

adr EU: http://192.168.1.1, login: admin, password: Admin

Address: http://192.168.0.1, login: admin, password: password

But even if the 5GHz band is supported by your router, to take advantage of it, your device's wireless module must also support it.

Again, you can find out by reading the list of technical data in the official documentation or on the web page of your device, and if you have a laptop or tablet with Windows, just open the “Control Panel”, and then “Device Manager”, expand the section "Network adapters", find the wireless adapter in it and go to its properties. On the tab "Advanced" (Advanced) you will find the information you are interested in.

As you can see in the image above, in our particular example, the Asus GL552J laptop has an Intel Dual Band Wireless-N adapter that supports and works with two Wi-Fi frequencies: 2.4 and 5 GHz.

Features of using the 5 GHz band

In order to take full advantage of 5GHz bandwidth, it is important to have a so-called “dual-band” router. Devices of this class usually use the n-version of the 802.11 protocol, and most importantly, they offer the ability to simultaneously transmit a signal both in the widely used and mass range of 2.4 GHz and in the new 5 GHz. That is, they provide backward compatibility with older Wi-Fi devices. If your router only supports 5 GHz, then any 2.4 GHz compatible device simply won't be able to work with it.

But what to do when the router supports 5GHz but the laptop/tablet does not? In such cases, you can purchase an additional Wi-Fi adapter. Fortunately, such devices are not very expensive, and most of them are extremely compact. The only inconvenience associated with using such an adapter is that it will take up one of your computer's USB ports.

Have a great day!

Some routers and laptops support 5GHz Wi-Fi, and using it usually means a faster and better internet connection. Here's how to find out if your laptop supports it and how to enable 5GHz.

Overall, Wi-Fi is easy to use and reliable. You choose a router name, enter a password, and forget about it. But when you want to use 5GHz, things can get terribly complicated. Here we will explain how to work if your laptop supports it and how to enable 5GHz.

Find out if your router supports 5 GHz

If you don't already know for sure that your router is a dual-band model and certainly has a 5GHz radio, it's worth checking that out first. There is no point in using 5GHz Wi-Fi on your laptop if your router doesn't support it.

The easiest way to do this is to check the manual or log into the router and check the settings available under the Wi-Fi section. In fact, some routers have the same SSID (network name) for 2.4 and 5 GHz, so it's worth changing one so that you can easily identify each network from your laptop, phone, or tablet.

See Also: Best 802.11ac Routers

What Wi-Fi standards work on 5 GHz?

802.11a, 802.11n, and 802.11ac operate at 5 GHz, but this is optional with 802.11n. This means that since most modern routers are 802.11n models, you will probably need to find out if you have a 5GHz radio in addition to the more frequent 2.4GHz.

Not all routers can use both frequencies at the same time, so if you don't have the option, you won't be able to use 5GHz at all. The reason is that even if one of your Wi-Fi devices doesn't support 5GHz (many don't), it won't be able to communicate with your router when you set it to 5GHz.

I will describe one common situation: a high-speed Internet wire comes into your apartment, after which it connects to a black (white, etc.) Wi-Fi router, and most of the declared speed is somewhere disappears. Familiar? I had the exact same problem until recently.

The fact is that the majority of access points operate in the 2.4 GHz frequency range. And there, as you know, there are only three non-overlapping channels. Around me now there are about ten networks, each of which sits on one of these channels. Of course, the signals overlap. In such conditions, failures on the air are inevitable.

Almost every router has an automatic channel selection function, but it doesn’t help much with a heavy load. Yes, and manually this " porridge» not to organize in any way. Exit one, transfer to 5 GHz network and screw in there 802.11ac to the heap.

Why exactly 5 GHz?

Distributing a signal at 5 GHz frequencies was allowed relatively recently. This range is used with might and main by the old standards IEEE 802.11a and IEEE 802.11n.Chances are high that your router already supports 5GHz, and you don't need to huddle in three channels of the 2.4GHz band. True, this will not greatly affect the connection speed, but the stability of the signal in the line of sight of the transmitter will increase markedly.

Advantages:

• more non-overlapping channels - the networks will not overlap each other;
• interference-free air - household devices do not use these frequencies, and most neighbors are still on 2.4 GHz;
• support for channels with a width of 20/40/80 MHz.

Flaws:

• smaller coverage area - at these frequencies, the waves attenuate faster, so the signal will not break through a couple of concrete walls;
• not all client devices understand the 5 GHz frequency.

On the other hand, the main disadvantage of 5 GHz networks is a real boon in an apartment building. Not only are there a bunch of independent channels, but also the signal hardly passes the floor or ceiling. Neighbors may simply not see you in the list of networks. Therefore, the signals will not be imposed on top of each other, even if they are on the same channel.

And what about 802.11ac?

This is a new wireless networking standard that has replaced 802.11n. It works at full power exclusively in the 5 GHz band, is backwards compatible with 802.11n, respectively, and will understand 2.4 GHz frequencies. But the speed of work will be the same as before.

802.11ac boasts huge bandwidth (up to 160MHz!) and a theoretical speed of 6933 Mbps. Beautiful, but in the real world it is unlikely that you will be able to squeeze out more than a gigabit per second, which is also not bad. Plus, this default standard includes two cool features:

1. MU-MIMO- Up to 8 spatial streams that are shared between devices for a more stable connection. In other words, some torrent on a PC will no longer put your network on the blades, the rest of the devices will work at the same speeds.
2. Beamforming- beam shaping. With this function, the router is able to transmit antenna signals in such a way as to direct them to the currently connected device.

Advantages:

• 8 streams of 160 MHz each can deliver sky-high 6933 Mbps;
• backward compatible with 802.11n.

Flaws:

• work only in the 5 GHz frequency range - a 802.11ac network is more expensive to deploy over large areas;
• a young standard that not all devices understand.

802.11ac is the future, obviously. So far, we are far from the maximum speeds, but manufacturers are improving devices every year. Although in many countries 802.11ac has not even begun to spread. Many people think that this applies to Russia as well. I'm in a hurry dispel this myth:

Both 802.11ac and 5GHz networks are already allowed in Russia

For a long time, the 5 GHz band was not allocated for domestic needs. On December 20, 2011 the decision came into force State Commission on Radio Frequencies(GKRF) No. 11-13-07-1, according to which it was possible to use frequencies 5150-5350 MHz in 802.11a and 802.11n networks.

Two years ago, on February 29, 2016, the SCRF allowed the use of the new 802.11ad standard ( WiGig, short range network). The same decision opened frequencies 5650-5850 MHz (channels 132-165) for 802.11ac. Also, for the 5 GHz bands, the allowable radiation power was doubled.

In other words, you can use 802.11a with routers and cannot be registered anywhere (if the transmitter radiation power does not exceed 100 mW). And both at home and in the office.

But Apple doesn't care

Apple routers for Russian buyers have always been sold with a truncated 802.11ac mode. That is, you can not expect any new chips from them. Ordering from an online store will not save you, you will receive exactly the same model.

The only option is to order a router to a foreign address and send it to the Russian Federation. Until recently it was illegal.

In 2015, the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission decided that all devices that use encryption to some extent (read all that have Wi-Fi or Bluetooth) must receive FSB notification. In fact, this is an import permit.

The notification is issued for a specific model, the full list can be viewed on the official wildly buggy website. For Apple routers, there are only two documents, both for spare parts and accessories. Why the Cupertinos have not yet received notification for the devices themselves is unknown.

But there is also a holiday on our street.

At the end of last year, the FSB allowed physical individuals to import equipment for personal needs! That is, you can order up to two routers in a “purely for yourself” package.

So how do you buy a router with 802.11ac?

If you really need AirPort, you will have to order it to an address abroad and send it to Russia. Most likely, courier delivery will not work, but it will be possible to send it by postal service. The simplest thing is to clarify everything in advance on the intermediary's website.

If the Apple ecosystem is not so important, then order some Xiaomi Mi Router 3, it has both 802.11ac, and gadgets like beamforming technology, and MIMO, and a nice price tag.

In fact, it is not necessary to bring them from abroad, routers with 802.11ac are already sold in any electronics store. From inexpensive models, you can stop at one of TP Link Archer(C20, C25, C50) or on Tenda AC6.

The main thing is that they work in dual band mode, then you will have a fast 5 GHz network next to the router and a regular 2.4 GHz network in the back rooms. Well, old devices are connected to such routers without problems.

One caveat: Mac may not see 5 GHz network

This is not a marriage and not a glitch. This is how he works in Russia. Mac picks up the Russian Country code (CC) from the router and builds its frequency map accordingly. And if the router, for example, transmits its signal on a different channel, the Mac simply will not see the 5GHz network and will connect to the router in 2.4GHz mode.

It is checked simply: click on the Wi-Fi icon while holding down the option key -\u003e the "country code" field. If there is RU - most likely 5GHz does not work. You need to edit the router settings in the admin panel. You can set another country there or disable data transfer via 802.11d (h) and Regulation Mode, if any.

Wireless technologies do not stand still and more and more routers appear on the market that can distribute WiFi at frequencies 2.4GHz and 5 GHz. Frequency 5 GHz has a number of advantages, among which, first of all, it is necessary to note less network congestion, support 23 channels versus three in 2.4GHz and higher throughput. Lack of frequency workers 5 GHz- smaller coverage area than networks 2.4 GHz.

Alas, not all computers and mobile devices can see such a network. Let's assume you have a router that supports 5 GHz, but your Windows 10 laptop does not detect the WiFi. Can something be done? Unfortunately, your device's wireless adapter does not support networks on the frequency 5 GHz is the main condition for working with them. However, there is a possibility that the adapter still supports the frequency 5 GHz, but the settings are incorrect.

How to know if the adapter supports 5 GHz

The first option is to go to the website of the adapter manufacturer and get acquainted with its technical characteristics. But there is an easier option. Open a command prompt as administrator and run the following command:

netsh wlan show drivers

Among the list of parameters we find and see what standards the adapter supports.

802.11b and 802.11g 2.4GHz.
802.11ac- support for networks with range only 5 GHz.
802.11a, 802.11n, 802.11j and 802.11n- can operate at a frequency as 2.4GHz, so on 5 GHz.

Note: a distinction must be made between adapters with a standard 802.11n Dual Band 2009 years and adapters 802.11n 2006 of the year, working only in one range.

If support is declared, but WiFi- the network is not visible, in the device manager in the properties of the wireless adapter driver, you need to check the selected range. For example, in the case of an adapter Marvell AVASTAR Wireless-AC Network Controller tab "Additionally" property must be selected Band and set a value for it "Automatically" or "Only 5 GHz".

It is also worth considering the case when a networked 5 GHz the computer stops seeing it after upgrading to Windows 10. The main reason for this is the replacement of the adapter driver with a standard driver from Microsoft.

This problem is usually solved by downloading and installing the latest version. "native" wireless adapter drivers from the official website of the manufacturer. In this case, it is better to turn off automatic updating of Windows drivers so that the next update does not replace the driver again. If the adapter does not support a higher frequency, but work on the network 5 GHz I still want to, you can buy an external one USB WiFi-adapter with appropriate characteristics.