These days, the internet has become so prevalent in our day to day lives that it can no longer really be considered a luxury.
Without it, we no longer have access to many things that our modern lifestyles rely on, and with many of us doing all of our banking online, running our businesses online, and hosting important business meetings from the comfort of our own homes.
Of course, with the demand for these capabilities skyrocketing in the last few years, it was inevitable that so many companies would suddenly spring into existence to supply the hardware necessary to make it all possible.
With that, wireless connections have taken precedent over the more antiquated wired ones, offering mobility and the ability to connect as many devices as you want at a time.
However, there is a downside to all of this. With wireless connections, the likelihood that something will go wrong here and there is increased as more variables are introduced.
One of these complications that can pop up is often just having to choose between the 2.4 and 5GHz bands. So, with that in mind, we decided to put together this little guide to help you separate the two bands.
How To Separate The 2.4 And 5GHz Xfinity
Before we get into this, we should probably let you know that you won’t need a high level of expertise to get your head around this. It may sound tough if you haven’t done it before, but it is actually mercifully simple. So, with that having been said, let’s get stuck into it!
2.4GHz & 5GHz Channels
When you are using a modern router such as the one you are suing, the wireless gateways will operate on two different frequencies, each with their own pros and cons. The main difference between the two is that you can connect to a few different channels with the 2.4 band, whereas the 5GHz channel will give you more – dozens, in fact!
What the gateway does is that it detects what channel will be best for your device at any given time, then it will automatically connect to it. Basically, the whole goal of this is that your various devices will always get the best possible signal that is available to them, ensuring that any downtime is limited.
The process for the auto-selection of a channel can vary due to a few different reasons including:
- How many devices are currently using the same channel.
- The ability of the device you are using to use that channel.
- How far apart the gateway and device are.
Though this may seem like it is all out of your control, this isn’t the case. If you know how, you can always choose specific channels as favourites for your devices to connect to.
The good news is that your Xfinity XFi can be used to change channels at will. However, there is one caveat to this. You can’t use the Xfinity XFi to change channels if there happens to be any XFi pods attached to your network infrastructure.
In some cases, some of you may not be able to get into your networks Wi-Fi channel settings. If this is the case for you, it will be because the channels are being managed automatically in order to make sure that you’re getting the best one available at that time.
However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it is okay to trust that the system is doing the best it can.
Moving back to what’s good about either one, the best point of the 2.4GHz signal is that it travels further. However, it is more likely to get interfered with by other devices as there are many that operate on this frequency.
The 5GHZ band will offer much better speeds, but only at a relatively short range when compared to the 2.4GHz band. There will also be a reduced chance that the signal will be interfered with. So, as you can see, either one can be the ‘best’. It really just depends on the specifics of the situation.
How To Change The Wi-Fi Channel Through XFi
There are a few different ways to change the channel on an XFi gateway. Of those, this technique is probably the best. That being said, it won’t work for all of you. If this one doesn’t work in your case, the next one will.
- The first thing you will need to do is open the official Xfinity website or app. Then, log in using your credentials.
- Once you have logged yourself in, you will need to go into the ‘connect’ tab.
- Next, go into ‘see network’ and then into ‘advanced settings’.
- You can now click on 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi.
- To edit either channel, you can no click on the ‘edit’ button beside each one. Once you’ve done that, a window will pop up to facilitate the fine tuning.
- From here, all that’s left is to is to choose a channel number from the menu and then hit ‘apply changes’.
Method 2: Using The Admin Tool
In the event that you are unable to get into the XFi webisite or app, there is always the option to use the admin tool to make your changes instead. If you are unsure how to do this, just follow the steps below:
Hook up your internet and Wi-Fi connection.
Next up, you will need to sign in using the 10.0.0.1 IP address. To sing in, you will need to use the default username and password. That is: Username: admin. Password: password.
Now you can get into the ‘gateway’ tab and then go into ‘connections’.
From here, you will need to open ‘Wi-Fi’.
Next to the Wi-Fi channel there will be an edit button. Hit that and then hit the radio button afterwards.
Once you have clicked the ‘radio’ button, you will now be able to select the Wi-Fi channel you want.
And that’s it! Just remember to save your settings afterwards!