Dual Band AP – Can I put the same SSID on 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz

dual-bandssidwifi-configuration

I'm extending my home network with a new AP that I'll place in a place where the main wifi router signal is not available, connected via LAN (Cat6).

I've read elsewhere about using the same SSID and PWD to extend the exisiting wifi and have the devices "roam" from one AP to the next. My new AP (Netgear EX6100, also found as AC750) allows setting different SSIDs for the 2.4 and 5 Ghz band – and actually that's the "default" behavior.

What issues might I run into if I configure both radios with the same SSID? Will the devices that support 5 GHz use the higher speed band?

The devices I'm going to connect are quite varied; the "main" ones (but by no means the only ones) are:

  • iPhone 6 & 5S
  • MacBook Pro (non-retina), "Mid 2012"
  • iPad 2 & iPad Air
  • Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
  • Asus UL20A laptop
  • Mac Mini (2006 or so)
  • Nintendo Wii
  • Multimedia player, etc…

Any tips/recommendations more than appreciated

Regards

— JJ

Best Answer

There is no issue with using the same SSID and PWD for the 2 channels. If you use it this way you can take advantage of the 5ghz when you're local to the AP, but fall back to the 2.4Ghz when interference it too much.

However, in some cases, if your SSIDs are the same - you will have a wireless connectivity problem when you are connecting client that was 2.4Ghz adapter ONLY. (adapter gets confused).

Referring to the above I would recommend to use different SSIDs for the 2 channels (troubleshooting purposes too).

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