If you have an Internet connection installed at home and have to replace it with a Wi-Fi router, or just plan to connect to the Wi-Fi network of your favorite coffee shop, you may have noticed two available networks: 2.4GHz and 5GHz. but what does that really mean and which one should you use?
These numbers indicate the frequency at which the network signal is running, and which one you choose will have an impact on your overall experience, although you may not even notice the difference, but it depends entirely on what you’re doing.
Every few years, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers develops an updated Wi-Fi standard for public use; usually resulting in speed upgrades, improved security, or the addition of fancy new features. 5 GHz has been around for a long time, although initial adoption was rather slow, in part because the supply of home routers supporting the 5 GHz band to the market was much more delayed than the specification was released To much delay, most Wi-Fi routers have since been designed to be dual-band, supporting both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, with some even adding the newer 6 GHz and Wi-Fi 6E to the mix. According to a report by the Wi-Fi Alliance and ABI Research, 5GHz Wi-Fi reached the mainstream in 2015, a full six years after the launch of 2.4GHz Wi-Fi routers.
What is 2.4GHz Wi-Fi?
Introduced in 1999, 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, or the familiar IEEE standard 802.11b, has been synonymous with home Wi-Fi networks for a long time, and even modern dual-band and tri-band routers still use it today. Over the years, the 2.4GHz standard has undergone several revisions; finally ending with 802.11g aka Wi-Fi 3, which extends the 2.4GHz frequency range to achieve greater speeds and theoretically reduce interference between channels.
As the name implies, it uses channels in the 2.4GHz frequency range, specifically in the 2401 to 2495MHz range. Generally speaking, 2.4GHz Wi-Fi can use 14 frequency range overlapping channels with a maximum speed of 54Mbps, which is still sufficient for most basic home use cases, although this speed is long behind by today. At that time, the effective communication range of 2.4GHz Wi-Fi could exceed 150 feet, making it the best choice for low bandwidth and long-range applications.
The picture is the classic product Linksys WRT54GL
What is 5GHz Wi-Fi?
Introduced in 1999 as 802.11a, 5GHz Wi-Fi actually surprisingly predated the 2.4GHz variety, although its mainstream adoption came much later and 802.11a didn’t even become mainstream. 5GHz-enabled routers were later labeled 802.11b/g/n, 802.11ac, or 802.11ax, each with a different bandwidth. The first 5GHz network specification, 802.11a, operated at the same 54 megabits per second, no faster than 2.4GHz, while recent standards using the 5GHz frequency have increased speeds to a staggering 2.4Gbps.
Modern 5GHz Wi-Fi technology is able to achieve these huge speed increases because of the implementation of network balancing traffic technology, which allows more data links to devices by enabling features such as User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO). Networks using 5GHz technology also have access to more and wider channels within the 5GHz spectrum, which also means much less interference. Perhaps somewhat confusingly, the latest Wi-Fi revision 802.11ax, which includes the 5GHz frequency, is also known as Wi-Fi 6, although it does not include the 6GHz frequency, although it does add naked-eye functionality and performance improvements to the 5GHz Wi-Fi family.
5GHz is faster, but 2.4GHz signal range is wider
As mentioned earlier, 5GHz networks are much faster than 2.4GHz networks, but that speed comes at a cost. Because 5GHz uses shorter wavelengths to transmit data, it is more susceptible to signal fading. According to Litepoint’s white paper, on the other hand, networks operating at 2.4GHz have a longer range, up to 230 feet indoors, while 5GHz Wi-Fi networks are limited to about 115 feet. And those range numbers for 5GHz Wi-Fi look even worse when in houses built with dense materials like concrete.
While a wired connection is still the most stable option in terms of speed and latency, the speed boost of 5GHz over a regular 2.4GHz connection makes it worthwhile to make some adjustments to your setup. This is especially true if you need to work from home, or play eSports.
Today’s Wi-Fi routers have many antennas and multiple frequencies and channels working simultaneously
Find a balance between range and speed
The network you choose depends largely on what you need to do, and you can even do some experimentation and make some mistakes to find a sweet spot for your Wi-Fi router. If you have many devices connected to the same network via Wi-Fi and your router supports dual-band, it makes the most sense to connect high-bandwidth devices such as laptops, TVs and smartphones near your router to a 5GHz network and devices in other rooms or floors to a 2.4GHz network. Low bandwidth devices can be things like smart plugs, light bulbs, or even Wi-Fi cameras.
Minimize the number of devices on the 2.4GHz network, as this band tends to get crowded and can cause interference. If you’re eager to get 5GHz speeds, you can try repurchasing a more advanced router or adding a signal extender. If you’re out and about and want to connect to a router that you don’t own, the answer is much simpler, connect to the fastest network you can use. At this point, most restaurants hotels coffee shops libraries that offer Wi-Fi are now equipped with dual-band routers with reduced interference and increased speeds at 5GHz, the benefits are considerable and are a no-brainer in these cases.
