Can Only See One Of The Two Configured WiFi Networks

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tackyjan

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Oct 30, 2012
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Hello All,

I have a Netgear WNDR4300 wireless router configured as follows:

Wireless Network(2.4GHz b/g/n)
Enable SSID Broadcast: Checked
Name (SSID): MY_WIFI1
Channel: Auto
Mode: Up to 130 Mbps
Security Options: WPA2-PSK [AES]

Wireless Network (5GHz a/n)
Enable SSID Broadcast: Checked
Name (SSID): MY_WIFI2
Channel: 44
Mode: Up to 450 Mbps
Security Options: WPA2-PSK [AES]

My desktop computer uses a wireless adapter to connect to the internet. The wireless adapter is a
TP-LINK TL-WN881ND. Here is the manufacture's product page:

TP-LINK TL-WN881ND

I am looking at the available networks and I can see MY_WIFI1 but I don't see MY_WIFI2.

Does anyone know why I can't see the other wireless network? Does it have something to do with it being 5GHz a/n? What exactly is the difference between the 2.4 and 5 GHz networks?

Thank you.

Jan
 
Solution
B
Yup your adapter in your desktop only support 2.4g so it cannot see 5g signals. The difference is mostly the radio frequencies it runs on which is what 2.4 and 5 generically mean. Pretty much the 5g band just gives you more options to pick from if you get interference from your neighbors on the 2.4g
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bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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Yup your adapter in your desktop only support 2.4g so it cannot see 5g signals. The difference is mostly the radio frequencies it runs on which is what 2.4 and 5 generically mean. Pretty much the 5g band just gives you more options to pick from if you get interference from your neighbors on the 2.4g
 
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tackyjan

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Oct 30, 2012
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Thanks for the quick response!

Do you think it would be worth it to invest in an adapter that supports 5 MHz? Am I really going to see a big difference?

Thank you.
 
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Jaxem

Jaxem

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Jul 22, 2013
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Your internet connection speed is probably between 12 and 50 Mbps, so going from 130 Mb network speed to 450 Mb network speed won't make any internet depended processes faster (as your internet connection is the limiting factor). What it will make better is any local file transfers or streaming if you have something like a Plex server.
 
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bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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Mostly no.

The 5g band actually has less coverage in most houses. the higher the frequencies the more easily it is absorbed. So it will run the same or maybe slower in some houses.

The key reason you would do it is if you are getting very slow response or drops because too many other people are trying to use the 2.4g frequencies in houses near yours.

There is a free software INSSIDER that will show you all the other routers near you and which radio channels they are using in the 2.4g range....it will do 5g also but you need a 5g card to see it.

If you do not see a lot of overlapping you are likely ok. Most the time people go to 5g when they are seeing problems. If you system is running ok then it is likely something you do not need to worry about
 
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tackyjan

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Oct 30, 2012
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Good point. Funny you mention that... I forgot all about the fact that I have an external hard drive connected through a wireless adapter to my home network. I stream lot's of videos and upload/download lot's of files to this drive so I guess updating my PCs wireless adapter would be worth the money!
 
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tackyjan

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Good point! I am not having any connectivity issues so perhaps I don't need to upgrade. If it aint broke don't fix it! :)
 
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bill001g

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You should try if at all possible to attach the hard drive via ethernet cable. Your router can run 300m on the 2.4g. It is running 130m I suspect because you have a card that can only run on 20mhz channels. You can go into the router and force it to run on 40mhz and it might go to 300. Its hard to say why it did not default to 300.

This is always the challenge when upgrading stuff to get the maximum speed you need to upgrade everything to the same level.
 
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bill001g

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That is their top of the line product. tplink has pretty good support so it will likely work as well as any other major brand card. You now in theory can get 450m on the card using 5g on your router. The key thing will be you must transfer from a wired port since the 450m is total so if you use 200m for the hard drive to the router you only have 200m to go from the router to your PC.

 
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tackyjan

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Oct 30, 2012
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I misspoke in my earlier thread. It's actually a Network Attached Storage (NAS)... :)

Unfortunately I can't connect to my NAS with a cable. In my old apartment I was able to use a cable because I placed the NAS right next to the router. In my new apartment the router is downstairs and my NAS is up in my room. (I want to keep it in my room for security reasons.)

When I moved into my new place and realized that I couldn't put my NAS next to the router I went to Best Buy and purchased a Netgear WNCE2001 Universal WiFi Adapter to connect my NAS to the network.
 
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bill001g

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Netgear is being sneaky trying to say you can run 300m when they only have a fast ethernet port. Still you should be able to run the disk on the 2.4g band and your new card on the 5g band. This will let both devices run without interfering. You should in thoery be able to get it to run to the 100m if the nas itself can put out data that fast.
 
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