Asus RT-AC3200 5Ghz 2 or 1 SSiD

[Maikel]

Hi,

I just bought the Asus RT-AC3200. Currently im running two 5ghz SSID's but i find out that one channel has a beter range when i am upstairs. I only have 4 5ghz devices. Is it possible to make the two 5Ghz the same SSID? So that it uses al the four 5ghz antennas?

I also have smartconnect off because i read a lot of problems with it on.

 

[TonyH]

If you have same SSID, some times it will create a confusion being unable to distinguish whether you're on low channel or high channel.

 

[pete y testing]

So that it uses al the four 5ghz antennas?

it doesnt actually work that way as they are still 2 separate transmissions

the reason the high channel has greater coverage is its power level is higher where the lower on is lower due to fcc regs with regard to radar / weather radar interference

if you only have a few 5 gig devices just disable the low band and just use the high band , to disable it access the advanced wireless menu

 

[sfx2000]

If you have same SSID, some times it will create a confusion being unable to distinguish whether you're on low channel or high channel.

Actually, it doesn't...

If same SSID, a client sees all AP's, but they attach to a single AP, which in 802.11 speak is a BSSID...

Please review the following link:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/basi...751-snb-answer-guy-how-many-ssids-is-too-many

SmartConnect devices like the AC3200/AC5300 are actually three AP's in a single box, along with a Router and a Switch...

Done right, SmartConnect with a common SSID can work very well... lot depends on the client side - some are smart, some are merely clever, and some ride the short bus...

 

[TonyH]

it doesnt actually work that way as they are still 2 separate transmissions

the reason the high channel has greater coverage is its power level is higher where the lower on is lower due to fcc regs with regard to radar / weather radar interference

Actually antenna is tuned more toward higher channel frequencies. My personal measurement with instrument showed that. Higher channel shows lower SWR reading.

if you only have a few 5 gig devices just disable the low band and just use the high band , to disable it access the advanced wireless menu

 

[TonyH]

Actually, it doesn't...

If same SSID, a client sees all AP's, but they attach to a single AP, which in 802.11 speak is a BSSID...

Please review the following link:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/basi...751-snb-answer-guy-how-many-ssids-is-too-many

SmartConnect devices like the AC3200/AC5300 are actually three AP's in a single box, along with a Router and a Switch...

OP said smart connect is disabled. When I manually set the channel, it over rides my setting. In this case manual
setting is neaningless.

Done right, SmartConnect with a common SSID can work very well... lot depends on the client side - some are smart, some are merely clever, and some ride the short bus...

Actually, it doesn't...

If same SSID, a client sees all AP's, but they attach to a single AP, which in 802.11 speak is a BSSID...

Please review the following link:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/basi...751-snb-answer-guy-how-many-ssids-is-too-many

SmartConnect devices like the AC3200/AC5300 are actually three AP's in a single box, along with a Router and a Switch...

Done right, SmartConnect with a common SSID can work very well... lot depends on the client side - some are smart, some are merely clever, and some ride the short bus...

 

[sfx2000]

might want to self-moderate to clean up and repost...

 

[LoneWolf3574]

Try using the Smart Connect Rule, experiment with it some to get what you want. Asus doesn't have much documentation, but SNB has an article providing some insight into it.

ASUS RT-AC3200 Smart Connect: The Missing Manual

 

[Jerry12]

There's also an ASUS FAQ with info about configuring Smart Connect (on days when their FAQ pages are up). But both documents basically explain some details about the controls. What's missing are the main points:

• A conceptual model of steering connections between the 3 bands -- what the router and clients can do and how they interact.
• Strategies on how to use this in different WiFi environments (needed coverage range, amount of radio interference, walls and other propagation factors) and client devices (802.11a/b/g/n/ac support, bugs in certain manufacturer's devices, incompatibilities between particular device pairs, ...).
• Example configurations for several common cases.
• Techniques to test a configuration to tell what's working, what's not, and what's working well.
• How to tune the parameters and re-test.

People have posted some configurations in these forums but it doesn't help me without knowing their WiFi conditions, their strategy, and the main points above.

So I turned off SmartConnect. Instead I do manual "steering" by allocating the clients among the 3 bands with separate SSIDs. E.g. restrict one or both 5G bands to ac-capable devices so they can use full ac speed.