One computer on the home network refuses to use 5GHz band on Wi-Fi 6 home network

CharlieDog · Jul 17, 2024

We have a TP-link Wi-Fi 6 router and six computers on the Wi-Fi 6 home network, all with wifi 6 network adapters installed, all running Windows 11, Version 23H2, all with the latest updates, and all but one have no problem running the 5GHz band on wifi 6.
I have Googled it and YouTubed it, and am tired of going into the Device Manager, to Network Adapter, to Advanced, and choosing Preferred Band 5GHz, closing the box and checking the connection only to find the computer is at 2.4GHz in 802.11n.
The problem computer is my wife's-of course-a refurbished Dell Optiplex 7060 with an i5-8500 CPU that works great in every other thing since I got it for her about a month ago to move on from Windows 10. I have even replaced the network adapter in the computer with a totally different one, and the result was still the same.
I am beginning to wonder if there is a setting in BIOS/UEFI that is preventing this computer from using the 5GHZ band in Wi-Fi 6.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

hsehestedt · Jul 17, 2024

Could you tell me what make and model WiFi adapter you have? It's possible I may have some settings to suggest depending upon what type of adapter you have.

jtjt00 · Jul 17, 2024

Change to a lower channel for the 5GHz signal.

glasskuter · Jul 17, 2024

Only suggestion I have to to set your router to assign a different ssid on each band.(For example I have my 2.4ghz band broadcasting a ssid of Linda2g and my 5ghz band broadcasting ssid of Linda5g.) Power Cycle the Router. In your case you can leave the 5g band broadcasting your current ssid so you won't have to change your other computers. Just assign a different ssid to the 2gz band) Verify that router is broadcasting 2 ssids.
Go into your wife's computer and forget the current network

On the taskbar, right-click the wireless icon and choose settings.
Select Manage Known Networks.
Choose Forget for the network you want to remove.

Restart her computer and see if you can connect to the 5ghz ssid.

If you can't connect, here's @FreeBooter bat file that will reset network components. Unzip it, right click on bat file and run as administrator. Try to connect again.
Here's Brinks tutorial to reset network adapters Reset Network Adapters in Windows 11 Tutorial

hsehestedt · Jul 17, 2024

Have not yet received a response and may need to leave again soon. Just in case it is an Intel WiFi adapter that you have, try these settings if you have not already tried them:

MisterEd · Jul 17, 2024

I had that problem when my router had a common SSID for all the bands. I solved the problem by setting a different SSID for each band.

Here is the result as shown on the router setup in the app on my phone. Note the router is WiFi 6E so there are 3 bands.

For example, sometime my laptop would automatically select 2.4GHz instead of 5GHz. I only realized that when I noticed the download speeds were much lower than expected. After I created different SSIDs for each band I selected the SSID for 5GHz and checked the box to automatically connect to it. No more problems after that.

Here are my options for the WiFi connections on my laptop. I have the SSID for 5GHz set as default. Note the third WiFi 6E 6GHz band is not shown because my laptop only supports WiFi 6.

hsehestedt · Jul 18, 2024

One follow-up to my earlier post. Not sure how I missed this, but make sure that the 5GHz radio is actually enabled as in the screenshot below. Note that because I am on WiFi 7, mine says 6GHz, but it is possible that you may have an entry for the 5GHz radio. Likely you already verified this, but I didn't want to simply forget this

CharlieDog · Jul 18, 2024

A quick thanks for all the helpful suggestions. My wife spends lots of time on her computer, so I have to wait until it's available. I'll try a few things and report back.

Winuser · Jul 18, 2024

hsehestedt said:
One follow-up to my earlier post. Not sure how I missed this, but make sure that the 5GHz radio is actually enabled as in the screenshot below. Note that because I am on WiFi 7, mine says 6GHz

Are you sure that's correct. I have a Wi-Fi 6 modem from Comcast and a Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 160MHZ card in my desktop and under Advanced setting it does list the Ultra High Band 6 GHZ setting. I would post a pic except I just found out that the Print Screen button doesn't work.

hsehestedt · Jul 18, 2024

Winuser said:
Are you sure that's correct. I have a Wi-Fi 6 modem from Comcast and a Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 160MHZ card in my desktop and under Advanced setting it does list the Ultra High Band 6 GHZ setting. I would post a pic except I just found out that the Print Screen button doesn't work.

100% sure. In fact, you just pointed out one of the main differences between WiFi 6 and 6e. WiFi 6 does not support a 6GHz band, WiFi 6e does. Of course, 6GHz is also supported by WiFi 7.

If your MODEM is indeed WiFi 6 and NOT 6e, then it will not support 6GHz.

Check your WiFi adapter status. It should show that it is NOT connected using 6GHz.

MisterEd · Jul 18, 2024

Winuser said:
Are you sure that's correct. I have a Wi-Fi 6 modem from Comcast and a Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 160MHZ card in my desktop and under Advanced setting it does list the Ultra High Band 6 GHZ setting. I would post a pic except I just found out that the Print Screen button doesn't work.

Comcast's top Gateways are:

Xfinity XB7 Specs
Wireless Standard: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Band Frequency: Dual-Band (2.4/5 GHz)

Xfinity XB8 Specs
Wireless Standard: Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Band Frequency: Tri-Band (2.4/5/6 GHz)

I have the XB8 Wi-Fi 6E one. Which one do you have? If you are unsure the model number is on the back.

Winuser · Jul 19, 2024

hsehestedt said:
100% sure. In fact, you just pointed out one of the main differences between WiFi 6 and 6e. WiFi 6 does not support a 6GHz band, WiFi 6e does. Of course, 6GHz is also supported by WiFi 7.

If your MODEM is indeed WiFi 6 and NOT 6e, then it will not support 6GHz.

Check your WiFi adapter status. It should show that it is NOT connected using 6GHz.

It is connecting using 5GHz.

MisterEd said:
Comcast's top Gateways are:

I have the XB8 Wi-Fi 6E one. Which one do you have? If you are unsure the model number is on the back.

View attachment 101693

It's probably the XB7 or whatever they use for the triple play.

MisterEd · Jul 19, 2024

Winuser said:
It is connecting using 5GHz.

It's probably the XB7 or whatever they use for the triple play.

I have triple play also. I used to have Blast Internet (200Mbps). When my deal ended they said I could upgrade to Gigabit Extra Internet (1200/200) cheaper than keeping Blast Internet. I did that and got an XB-7 gateway. My download speed for my laptop wasn't any faster so I asked for a service call to resolve that. While the tech was there he asked if I wanted to trade the XB-7 for an XB-8. I said OK. At first that didn't make a difference but after a couple resets from the service center the speeds started to be as expected.

My main laptop and my phone use Wi-Fi 6 5GHz (802.11ax) and get download speed of 600-800 Mbps.
My other laptop uses Wi-Fi 5 5GHz (802.11ac) and get download speeds of 150-200Mbps.
I don't have anything that uses Wi-Fi 6E (6GHz).

Winuser · Jul 19, 2024

MisterEd said:
I have triple play also. I used to have Blast Internet (200Mbps). When my deal ended they said I could upgrade to Gigabit Extra Internet (1200/200) cheaper than keeping Blast Internet. I did that and got an XB-7 gateway. My download speed for my laptop wasn't any faster so I asked for a service call to resolve that. While the tech was there he asked if I wanted to trade the XB-7 for an XB-8. I said OK. At first that didn't make a difference but after a couple resets from the service center the speeds started to be as expected.

My main laptop and my phone use Wi-Fi 6 5GHz (802.11ax) and get download speed of 600-800 Mbps.
My other laptop uses Wi-Fi 5 5GHz (802.11ac) and get download speeds of 150-200Mbps.
I don't have anything that uses Wi-Fi 6E (6GHz).

Has your Wi-Fi transfer speeds increased with the new modem? When I upgraded my Wi-Fi 5 adapter in my old desktop to a Wi-Fi 6 adapter the transfer speed more than doubled. The speeds are still slow but it was finally decided that the slow transfer speed is because the router is located upstairs and my two computers are located down stairs. If I knew it would help and Comcast in my area has a newer all-in-one modem I would swap devices in a heart beat. The two computers are less then 15' apart and I have thought about running a network cable between the both of them but I'm not sure if I would be opening a can of worms that needs to remain closed.

MisterEd · Jul 19, 2024

The main difference between the XB-8 and the XB-7 is that it adds the 6GHz band. Otherwise they are the same.

If the Gateway from Comcast has Wi-Fi range problems then you can gets XFi pods to extend the range.

Like I said Wi-Fi 6 5GHz (802.11ax) is much faster than Wi-Fi 5 5GHz (802.11ac). If your equipment supports it then use it.

BTW, I just checked my Comcast account and was surprised to see that they increased my speeds again:
Gigabit Extra Plan
Download speeds: up to 2000 Mbps
Upload speeds: up to 300 Mbps

I just used the Speedtest app on my phone. The speeds were 852/221 Mbps.

CharlieDog · Jul 20, 2024

This can be marked solved for the most part. Using hsehestedt's colorful chart, my wife's computer is now on the 5GHz band of Wi-Fi 6.
The thing is, the up/down speed is not as fast as the other computers in the house, and I wonder if there is any setting to possibly improve that. I noticed there was nothing in the colorful chart about the roaming aggressiveness, does changing that have any effect on the actual speed?
As usual TIA.

MisterEd · Jul 20, 2024

CharlieDog said:
This can be marked solved for the most part. Using hsehestedt's colorful chart, my wife's computer is now on the 5GHz band of Wi-Fi 6.
The thing is, the up/down speed is not as fast as the other computers in the house, and I wonder if there is any setting to possibly improve that. I noticed there was nothing in the colorful chart about the roaming aggressiveness, does changing that have any effect on the actual speed?
As usual TIA.

Does your wife's computer support 802.11ac or 802.11ax? Supporting "ax" will give faster speeds on 5GHz.
For example, I have two laptops. The download speeds for the one with 802.11ax are 4 to 5 times faster than the one with 802.11ac.
Specifically for 802.11ac I get about 150-200Mbps and for 802.11ax I get about 600-800Mbps.

Also, the speeds using 5GHz decrease the farther the computer is from the router.

hsehestedt · Jul 20, 2024

Try checking the actual connection speed of your WiFi Connection. If that connection speed is low, then the resulting transfer rates that you get will also be low. The speed of the actual WiFi connection will in large part be related to the signal quality so you should check that as well. Fortunately, you can see both on the same screen. Here is how to check it...

Go to Start and search for "Control Panel". Open the Control Panel. Make sure to select either "Small icons" or "Large icons" for viewing.

Select "Network and Sharing Center".

Select "Change adapter settings".

Right-click on the Wi-Fi adapter and select status.

You are looking for a good, fast, connection speed and a good signal quality like below.

NOTE: Don't expect a 2.4Gbps connection. I'm using a WiFi 7 adapter with a WiFi 6e router so I'm getting faster speeds than you will ever see on your configuration

.

JonDoe · Jul 30, 2024

Especially if this is one of the ultra-SFF optiplexs, check that your external antenna is actually rated for 5Ghz. While one made just for 2.4 will pass the higher band, that does not mean it will do so well.
The newer antennas coming from dell actually list both, but there are a fair amount of 2.4 exclusive ones floating around, and refurbishers are not all going to be choosy about getting it out the door if it all looks right. On a 7060, screw on antennas from Dell should carry a designation of frequencies, if not, it was likely replaced, grab another.

Aside from this, keep in mind, 5Ghz is generally lower range than 2.4, with less potential for penetrating walls, so distance matters, especially for speed, but most houses should be fine.

Helmut · Aug 5, 2024

You need to state the technical specs of the particular WiFi Cards involved, or at least a model number or something.

Also the specs of the Wireless Access point/router.

Without that it is not possible to move on your query.

The biggest factor in WiFi speed is the number of channels supported, that is usually buried in the technical specs.

One computer on the home network refuses to use 5GHz band on Wi-Fi 6 home network

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