Router Access Points
Discussion
I have a BT Smart Hub 2 as my main router, with two Netgear WAC124 access points (connected to the Smart Hub via a switch) to give me coverage throughout the house.
Everything has the same SSID and password, but I have set them all to separate 2.4 GHz and 5.0 Ghz channels so that they don't interfere with each other:
Main router = channels 1 (2.4) and 40 (5.0)
AP1 = channels 6 (2.4) and 52 (5.0)
AP2 = channels 11 (2.4) and 44 (5.0)
It all works fine, however, I'd now like to add a third access point to cover my garage and as I understand it, I've effectively run out of non-overlapping 2.4 GHz bands (as i've used 1, 6 & 11 already). There are loads of spare 5.0 GHz channels left though, so is there any reason that I can't just add a third access point as long as I restrict it to 5.0 GHz only and I set it to a channel other than 40, 44 or 52?
I realise that 2.4GHz-only devices won't be able to connect with it, but that's not a big issue.
Can anyone confirm whether adding a third, 5.0GHz only access point will be OK?
Thanks!
chemistry
Everything has the same SSID and password, but I have set them all to separate 2.4 GHz and 5.0 Ghz channels so that they don't interfere with each other:
Main router = channels 1 (2.4) and 40 (5.0)
AP1 = channels 6 (2.4) and 52 (5.0)
AP2 = channels 11 (2.4) and 44 (5.0)
It all works fine, however, I'd now like to add a third access point to cover my garage and as I understand it, I've effectively run out of non-overlapping 2.4 GHz bands (as i've used 1, 6 & 11 already). There are loads of spare 5.0 GHz channels left though, so is there any reason that I can't just add a third access point as long as I restrict it to 5.0 GHz only and I set it to a channel other than 40, 44 or 52?
I realise that 2.4GHz-only devices won't be able to connect with it, but that's not a big issue.
Can anyone confirm whether adding a third, 5.0GHz only access point will be OK?
Thanks!
chemistry
I would also add that running 2.4 and 5 on the same SSID will usually compromise performance a bit, so unless you absolutely need 2.4+5 hand-off you could think about moving the 2.4 to a different SSID.
Most devices nowadays are happy on 5 GHz only and when I did this a couple of years ago and separated them out, putting only a couple of older low-bandwidth devices on 2.4, things got noticeably better in terms of hand-off and throughput. For reference I have 4 floors with the router downstairs and APs on the other floors. 30cm concrete floors and rebar mean there's not a lot of propagation between floors so you definitely move between APs as you go up or down the stairs.
As drmotorposrt says, devices are much better at doing the dynamic channel allocation on 5 GHz so you can probably set that and forget about it.
Most devices nowadays are happy on 5 GHz only and when I did this a couple of years ago and separated them out, putting only a couple of older low-bandwidth devices on 2.4, things got noticeably better in terms of hand-off and throughput. For reference I have 4 floors with the router downstairs and APs on the other floors. 30cm concrete floors and rebar mean there's not a lot of propagation between floors so you definitely move between APs as you go up or down the stairs.
As drmotorposrt says, devices are much better at doing the dynamic channel allocation on 5 GHz so you can probably set that and forget about it.
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