Hub 3 with pods only accepts connections to 2.4 GHz

[papanoob]

I have a Hub 3 and a set of pods, all VM standard config - 2.4 and 5 GHz on same SSID etc. I noticed that our Fire TV was often buffering even though it's right next to the hub, and video calls on laptops often drop connection even though signal strength is good.

I checked "connected devices" and saw that every device in the house was connected to 2.4 GHz despite 5 GHz being enabled. By way of testing, I set up a separate SSID for 5 GHz, disabled wireless optimisation and set it to channel 36. Devices can connect to that, which is great - but only when in range as it stops the pods working. So it's great for the Fire TV but not for laptops scattered around the house.

I just want every device to be able to connect to 5 GHz - what do I have to do? Thanks in advance!

[papanoob]

Update: I found that if I go back to both frequencies using the same SSID, but keeping wireless optimisation off and manually setting channels to ones that seem less congested seems to work a bit. Some devices that are in range connect to 5 GHz and the others connect to 2.4 GHz - not ideal but better than nothing. However it seems that this setting reverts to the default after a while. Wireless optimisation gets turned back on and most devices go back to 2.4. I read somewhere that VM enforces that via a policy.

So what can I do to get at least some 5 GHz connections that won't revert to 2.4?

[legacy1]

---

@papanoob wrote:

So what can I do to get at least some 5 GHz connections that won't revert to 2.4?

---

nothing with VM kit

[Adduxi]

Can you disable the 2.4Ghz band on your laptop WiFi Nic?

[Client62]

The VM Connect app is capable of re-enabling Wireless Channel Optimisation.

[papanoob]

Thanks for the suggestion - but the hub seems to always revert to default settings which stop the pods sharing 5 GHz beyond the basic range, so the NIC wouldn't have anything to connect to.

[papanoob]

Thanks - so are you saying if I use the VM box in modem mode and get my own router (and probably extenders) I can get this working?

[Client62]

The Hub 3 and VM Pods should work on both 2.4GHz & 5GHz 

The Hub 3 criterial are :

1. The Hub is in 'Router Mode'
2. Wireless Channel Optimisation is Enabled
3. The 2.4 & 5 GHz bands have the same SSID
4. SSID broadcast is Enabled on both bands
5. Both SSID are protected with the same password.
6: Security mode is the same :    WPA2-PSK      ( Avoid any mode with older WPA-PSK )
 

[papanoob]

Thanks - but as I said, that's the setup I have. I can see (from tools like MacOS Wireless Utilities) that there are channels open on both frequences, but most devices always seem to connect to 2.4. Right now out of 11 devices in the home, 10 are on 2.4 and the one that's on 5 isn't even the one closest to the router so I don't know why that is.

[Adduxi]

This is why I prefer my own Wifi kit.  I can allow/deny access to any of my AP's with the controller software.  It may have an initial cost, but its offset by no stress, and knowing I can change ISP without affecting my existing Wifi setup.