Modems, routers & WiFi
2.4GHz vs 5GHz WiFi: what's the difference, and why won't the smart plug connect?
2.4GHz WiFi reaches further and gets through walls better. 5GHz is faster but fades sooner. Most smart plugs, cameras and doorbells only work on 2.4GHz, and their setup fails when your phone is on 5GHz under the same network name. Put the phone on 2.4GHz to set them up, or give the gadgets a 2.4GHz network.
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A new smart plug says it cannot find the network, while the phone in your hand shows full WiFi bars. The plug is probably not faulty. It is listening on one WiFi band and your phone is on the other, and it is one of the easier WiFi problems to fix yourself. If the gadgets still will not join, or the WiFi does not reach the front door where the doorbell is, that is a job for a WiFi technician for coverage and the devices that won’t join.
What is the difference between 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi?
They are two radio bands your modem sends out at the same time. 2.4GHz travels further and gets through walls better, but carries less; 5GHz is faster, but fades sooner as you move away and through brick. NBN’s own guide to setting up your home WiFi (opens in a new tab) puts it the same way: 5GHz is the faster of the two, and 2.4GHz is much better at getting through walls and reaches further.
| 2.4GHz | 5GHz | |
|---|---|---|
| How far it reaches | Further. The better choice for the far end of the house and the yard | Not as far. Best in the same room as the modem, or the next one |
| Through walls | Better through brick, timber and floors | Weaker through brick and concrete |
| Speed | Slower | Faster |
| Crowding | Busy in built-up areas, because most neighbours use it too | Less crowded, more room to share |
| What uses it | Smart plugs, many cameras and doorbells, older gadgets | Phones, laptops, TVs and streaming boxes that support it |
On the phone, our technician sometimes asks people with a slow connection near the modem whether there is a second network name on their phone, ending in 5G. In a street where everyone’s WiFi is on 2.4GHz, that band gets crowded, and the 5GHz network, usually on the same password, can be much quicker in the same room.
Which band should you use?
Use 5GHz for things that need speed and sit close to the modem, and 2.4GHz for things that are far away or only work on 2.4GHz. Most of the time you do not have to choose at all.
Most modems now put both bands under one network name and pick the band for each device as it moves around. NETGEAR calls this Smart Connect, and many provider modems call it band steering. With it on, you see one name. With it off, you see two, such as one name and the same name with 5G on the end.
- Leave it combined if everything in the house joins and stays on. That is the setting most homes should have.
- Split it when a gadget that only works on 2.4GHz will not set up, or when you want to keep the TV on 5GHz on purpose. If the TV is the one giving trouble, why a smart TV won’t connect to WiFi starts from there.
Why won’t my smart plug, camera or doorbell connect to the WiFi?
Because most of them only work on 2.4GHz, and they are set up through your phone. When both bands share one name, your phone is often on 5GHz, and the gadget’s app cannot hand the WiFi details over on a band the gadget cannot hear.
TP-Link says it plainly in its own help for its Deco mesh: most smart home devices only work on 2.4GHz, and their setup apps need your phone on the same band. One doorbell maker’s Australian help page says all its devices work on 2.4GHz and only some on 5GHz. Many other smart home gadgets are the same: if one only works on 2.4GHz, the box or the maker’s page will say so.
Casting a phone to the TV can fail the same way: why the phone won’t find the TV.
Some printers are the same; getting a printer that says offline back on the WiFi covers the rest of the checks.
- 2.4GHz
- 5GHz
Next to the modem
Close to the modem, both bands reach. 5GHz is the faster one, so a phone, laptop or TV here does best on 5GHz.
Two rooms away
Two walls away, 5GHz has faded and 2.4GHz is still getting through. Further from the modem, 2.4GHz is the steadier choice.
Setting up a smart plug
The phone is on 5GHz and the plug only hears 2.4GHz, so the plug's app cannot hand it the WiFi details. Put the phone on the 2.4GHz network for the setup.
The band is the most common reason, but not the only one. These come up too:
- It is too far from the modem. A doorbell at the front door or a controller at the gate has a small aerial, and the WiFi that is fine in the lounge room can be gone by the time it gets there. On one call, an electric gate opener was simply too far from the modem to get a signal at all.
- The mesh keeps moving it. TP-Link’s help says simple devices such as smart plugs and older cameras often do not cope with being handed from one mesh unit to another, and may refuse to connect or drop off.
- The security setting is too new for it. The government’s cyber security advice recommends WPA3, and says that if some devices cannot connect, to use the WPA3 transition mode, which lets older devices join on WPA2.
- The network name is hidden. If someone has set the modem not to show its WiFi name, the gadget cannot find it to join.
- It was set up on the old modem. After a new modem, a new provider or a new WiFi password, gadgets do not move across by themselves. Most need resetting and setting up again on the new network.
How to connect a device to 2.4GHz WiFi
Get your phone onto the 2.4GHz band for the setup, then let the device join that same network. How you do that depends on whether your phone shows one network name for the modem or two.
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Check what the device needs
Look on the box or in the app for 2.4GHz. If it says 2.4GHz only, the steps below are the fix.
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Look at the WiFi list on your phone
If you see two names for your modem, one ending in 5G, join the one without 5G and skip to step 4.
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If there is only one name, split the bands
Log into the modem or open the mesh app and find the setting in the table below. Turning off band steering or Smart Connect shows a separate 2.4GHz name; an IoT network makes a new 2.4GHz network just for gadgets.
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Set up the device
Keep the phone on the 2.4GHz network, open the gadget's app, and pick the same 2.4GHz network when it asks. Stay near the gadget while it finishes.
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Put the phone back
When the gadget shows as connected, put your phone back on the main network. The gadget stays where it is.
If you have never logged into your modem, how to log into your modem has the address for most of the modems in Australian homes, and the only settings you should touch.
What the setting is called on your modem or mesh
Every maker names it differently, which is half the confusion. These are the names each one uses on its own support pages.
| Modem or mesh | What the setting is called | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| TPG and iiNet Wi-Fi Max, Vodafone Super Wi-Fi Modem | Band Steering | On: one name for both bands. Off: 2.4GHz and 5GHz show separately, each with its own password box |
| Nokia FastMile 5G modem (TPG and iiNet) | Enable Single SSID | On: one name for both bands. Off: two names |
| NETGEAR routers | Smart Connect, in the Wireless settings | Off: a separate name for each band, such as NETGEARWIFI and NETGEARWIFI-5G |
| TP-Link Deco mesh | IoT Network, under More in the Deco app | Makes a separate network, with its own name and password, on the band you choose |
NETGEAR’s own page on what Smart Connect does and how to turn it off (opens in a new tab) shows the menus, and TP-Link’s settings for smart home devices on Deco (opens in a new tab) covers the IoT network. If your modem came from your provider and the setting is not where you expect, ring the provider and ask where its band setting is.
Once the bands are split, you can leave them that way. Put the gadgets on the 2.4GHz name and keep phones, laptops and the TV on the one ending in 5G if they are near the modem, or on the 2.4GHz one if they are far away.
Buying smart plugs? Most are 2.4GHz only, and these two set up with the steps above.
We earn a small commission if you buy through our Amazon links, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
| Product | What it is for | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Tapo P100 | 2.4GHz smart plug | View on Amazon for the Tapo P100 (opens in a new tab) |
| Tapo P110M | 2.4GHz, Matter, power use | View on Amazon for the Tapo P110M (opens in a new tab) |
Once the plug is on 2.4GHz, linking it to Alexa or Google Home and setting up a routine is the next step.
What about mesh WiFi?
A mesh system puts both bands under one name, as a modem does, and adds one more thing that can trip up a simple gadget: being handed from one unit to another. Most of the time the mesh sorts this out by itself.
Our technician’s view, from the calls, is that band steering in a mesh should normally cope on its own, because it puts each device on whichever band is closest or strongest. When a camera and a doorbell dropped off a mesh while everything else worked, the band was not where our technician started. So try the setup steps first, and split the bands only if they fail.
Where the mesh is the trouble, two things help:
- Place the units properly. One next to the modem, one about halfway, and one near where the gadgets are, as our technician tells callers. A doorbell at the front door wants a unit within sight of it, not two brick walls away.
- Turn off fast roaming for a stubborn device. TP-Link’s help suggests turning off Fast Roaming, under More and then Advanced in the Deco app, if a device will not connect at all.
After setting up a mesh, check for a firmware update in its app before you add the gadgets. The details of mesh placement and dropouts are in how to boost a mesh WiFi signal and why mesh WiFi keeps disconnecting, and choosing one is in the best mesh WiFi for Australian homes.
If you are choosing a mesh system, this three-pack is a common starting point.
| Product | What it is for | Link |
|---|---|---|
| TP-Link Deco X55, 3-pack | WiFi 6 mesh for most homes | View on Amazon for the TP-Link Deco X55, 3-pack (opens in a new tab) |
When it isn’t the band at all
If a gadget used to work and has now dropped off for good, or everything else is fine and one device will not stay on, look at these before you blame the WiFi bands.
- Something changed on the network. A new modem, a new provider or a new WiFi password leaves every gadget on the old details. Reset the gadget and set it up again on the new network, as you would a new one.
- The device or its maker’s app. If phones and laptops are fine in the same spot, the gadget, its app or its account may be the problem, and the maker’s support is the place to start.
- A fixed address. Some cameras are set to one fixed address on the old network, and a new modem hands out different ones. When cameras stop after a change like this, it is one of the first things our technician suspects.
- One gadget upsetting the rest. Every smart device is one more thing on the network. If everything drops at once, our technician’s test is to run the modem with nothing else on it, then add things back one at a time until the problem comes back.
- An old modem with too many devices. A modem that coped with a few phones can struggle once the house fills up with gadgets. If restarting it fixes things for a while, ask your provider for a newer one before buying anything.
When to call a technician, and when you don’t need one
Splitting the bands and joining a smart plug is yours to do, and the steps above cover it. A gadget that will not work while phones and laptops are fine beside it is the maker’s to sort out, and a modem your provider supplied that keeps dropping is theirs to replace.
Call us when the WiFi itself is the problem. If the signal does not reach the front door, the garage or the yard, our WiFi technician fixes the coverage, and sometimes the answer is a data cable to a mesh unit at the far end of the house, so the unit near the gadgets has a full-strength connection. If it is the setting up that is the hard part, home tech support gets every device back onto a new modem in one visit, and shows you how it works.
Not sure which one it is? Send us a message saying what will not connect and where it is in the house.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use 2.4GHz or 5GHz WiFi?
Use 5GHz for things that need speed and sit fairly close to the modem, such as the TV, a laptop or a games console. Use 2.4GHz for things further away or behind brick walls, and for smart plugs and other small gadgets that only work on 2.4GHz. On most modems you do not have to choose, because one network name covers both bands.
Why does my smart plug only connect to 2.4GHz?
Most smart plugs, and many cameras, doorbells and other small gadgets, are built with a 2.4GHz radio only. It is cheaper, uses less power and reaches further, and a plug needs very little speed. The catch is setup: the plug's app usually needs your phone on the same 2.4GHz band while it hands over the WiFi details.
How do I connect to 2.4GHz WiFi when my modem only shows one network?
One name means the modem is combining both bands. Find the setting that splits them, called Band Steering on many provider modems and Smart Connect on NETGEAR routers, and turn it off so a separate 2.4GHz name appears. Some mesh systems have an IoT network setting instead. Join your phone to the 2.4GHz name, then set up the device.
Can I just turn off 5GHz on my modem?
Many modems let you, but you give up the faster band for everything, including the TV and laptops sitting near the modem. It is better to split the bands so both names show, or use an IoT network if your mesh has one, and put only the gadgets on 2.4GHz. Leave the rest of the house on the combined network.
Need this fixed rather than explained?
This is written from the field. When the fault needs a technician on site, this is where to go next.