New smart hub plus split wifi bands

[moscab]

Can anyone tell me if the new Smart Hub Plus router which has been released not long ago has the ability to split wifi bands?

[Hazard_UK]

on my router you can.

go into settings section, in the basic wifi settings, where the toggle buttons allow you to turn on both 5ghz and 2.4ghz signals.

Ensure these are both ON.

Change the default name of your 2.4ghz SSID to something different (AND make it different to your 5ghz SSID name) 

Follow the instructions - restart your router when asked.

Shouldn't need to go into the advanced section at all (unless one day perhaps you may get interference from next door's 5ghz Wifi Router using a similar channel.)

[XRaySpeX]

But, @Hazard_UK , does that answer the OP's Q? Which router are you describing? I bet it's the black Smart Hub w/out the "Plus".

[moscab]

that's the smart hub plus I'm referring to, the one which supports Wifi 6 (not 6E)

[bobpullen · Accepted solution]

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@moscab wrote:

Can anyone tell me if the new Smart Hub Plus router which has been released not long ago has the ability to split wifi bands?

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No, it doesn't. Similar to the Smart Router, you can enable/disable the bands independently of each other, however when they are both enabled they share the same SSID/WPA key.

[gtwr]

Is this likely to change? When I only have 5GHz devices connected to my Wi-Fi, my work laptop always connects to 5GHz and I get my expected speeds. However as soon I connect some 2.4GHz devices, the laptop occasionally switches to 2.4GHz and gets much slower speeds.

Because it is a work laptop, I don't have full access to the device manager so I can't force it to connect on the 5GHz band.

On my previous router, I was able to one SSID for the 5GHz band and a different SSID for the 2.4GHz band. That why my work laptop would only connect to the 5GHz band.

[ArgyleGreen]

I’d be interested to know if this is possible as well. I have a Ring Doorbell that will only connect to 2.4ghz. 

[gtwr]

I have a Ring doorbell which connects fine to the Smart Hub Plus.

However if you do want to split the bands, you can buy an extender would should it. I recently bought the Netgear EAX12 WiFi 6 AX1600 which is currently selling for under £50. It took some setting up with help from Netgear support. You can have it with the single SSID of your Smart Hub Plus or have 2 separate SSIDs on 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. 

[dno1011]

Late reply but to anyone searching for this I just got a tp link deco X10 mesh and connected it on the floor next to my EE/BT smart hub 2.  The deco lets you set up a separate SSID and you can turn off the 2.4ghz band.  I then connected all my 5ghz devices to the new SSID and sorted.  It has and even stronger signal than the smart router.  For 50 quid it solves this problem in minutes

[bobpullen]

This thread is a bit dated and splitting the bands into separate SSIDs is now entirely possible in later Smart Hub Plus firmware. One way to do this: -

• Access the Hub Manager at 192.168.1.254 and navigate to Advanced > Wireless
• Go to the 'Compatible WiFi' section, enable, choose a wireless network/name for the 2.4GHz SSID and save (make sure you leave the 5GHz option unticked)
• Back on the main WiFi section, disable the 2.4GHz radio and save

All being well, that will leave you with a 2.4GHz-only and 5GHz-only network with separate names.

This said, if your problem is the inability to connect to a particular device to the default WiFi network, then I would suggest you start by simply enabling Compatible WiFi and try connecting your device to that i.e. no need to then disable 2.4GHz on the main network.

Edit: Smart Hub 2 / Smart Hub does not have this functionality