My laptop with Windows 10 can connect to 2.4G WiFi as well as 5G WiFi, but when I turn on the hotspot in Windows 10 settings, it says that only the devices supporting 5G WiFi can find the hotspot. I am wondering whether it is my wireless adapter or Windows 10 that limits 5G WiFi broadcasting.
Update:
My wireless adapter is Qualcomm Atheros AR5BWB222(AR9462).
I change another 2.4G WiFi connection and then turn on the hotspot in settings and then I can find my AP now. But it make me more confusing…Why the adapter works in this way? Moreover, the built-in hotspot settings on Ubuntu can only share internet connection from Ethernet…
Best Answer
Your adapter is dual-band which means you have to configure Windows so it knows which band you want to use (2.4GHz or 5.0GHz) for the virtual router. This configuration might be at the device level, which means you want to look at the configuration of the device in Device Manager. If you still can't figure it out there are multiple third-party programs that will provide you that granularity configuration of your network.
However if you are connected to your network using the 2.4GHz band, and you're using the adapter to create a virtual hotspot, that would explain the reason you can only create an 802.11n 5.0 GHz hotspot. You can't create a virtual network on the same band you are connected, to an existing network on given your current hardware.
The reason you were able to do it with the other adapter is likely because the configuration of that adapter allows you to configure both bands to the same frequency. I can only use my two decades worth of engineering experience to make an educated guess, considering, I know nothing about the other adapter. Given how this feature works in the first place I am confident that I am right, connected to your network using the 5.0GHz instead, and you will be able to create a virtual network on the 2.4GHz band.
What you describe is the limitation of the adaptor. Windows does not have a limitation.
It was designed this way.