ASUS RT-N66U Simultaneous Dual Band Missing

[CattyWampus]

The SmallNetBuilder Reviews and the press on the ASUS RT-N66U advertise Simultaneous Dual Band. I guess it depends on your definition of simultaneous dual band.

The N66U has dual radios to function on 2.4GHz and 5GHz, and that is where the simultaneous stops. You have the choice of setting up an SSID with 2.4GHz, and a second separate SSID with 5GHz. In a matter of speaking there is simultaneous dual band.

I also bought the ASUS USB-N53. Nice USB access, in theory, for 802.11n, but not in reality. The N53 can connect to the N66U 2.4 GHz SSID OR, and notice I wrote the word OR, the N66U 5 GHz SSID, but NOT BOTH.

The N66U DOES NOT use simultaneous Dual Band. And the ASUS USB-N53 does not use simultaneous Dual Band. So I spend a good bit of money for a 802.11a/b/g router and USB card, or for a 802.11n 5GHz router and a 5GHz 802.11n USB card but not both. It is impossible for the N66U and the N53 to use both 2.4GHz and 5GHz at the same time, which is by definition, what 802.11n is all about.

Tomorrow it goes back to ASUS in the original boxes for a refund while I find something that works properly.

 

[RMerlin]

The SmallNetBuilder Reviews and the press on the ASUS RT-N66U advertise Simultaneous Dual Band. I guess it depends on your definition of simultaneous dual band.

The N66U has dual radios to function on 2.4GHz and 5GHz, and that is where the simultaneous stops. You have the choice of setting up an SSID with 2.4GHz, and a second separate SSID with 5GHz. In a matter of speaking there is simultaneous dual band.

I also bought the ASUS USB-N53. Nice USB access, in theory, for 802.11n, but not in reality. The N53 can connect to the N66U 2.4 GHz SSID OR, and notice I wrote the word OR, the N66U 5 GHz SSID, but NOT BOTH.

The N66U DOES NOT use simultaneous Dual Band. And the ASUS USB-N53 does not use simultaneous Dual Band. So I spend a good bit of money for a 802.11a/b/g router and USB card, or for a 802.11n 5GHz router and a 5GHz 802.11n USB card but not both. It is impossible for the N66U and the N53 to use both 2.4GHz and 5GHz at the same time, which is by definition, what 802.11n is all about.

Tomorrow it goes back to ASUS in the original boxes for a refund while I find something that works properly.

You won't find anything. There isn't a single device out there that allows one computer to connect to both bands at the same time. This is simply the way wireless works.

 

[Pierino]

As RMerlin said that's the way it is. It is simultaneous dual band in that in broadcasts both bands at the same time, allowing different clients to connect to whichever band they want and are capable of connecting to.
Older dual bands like the linksys e2000 only allowed the use of one band at a time. So if you had one pc connecting to the 5ghz band another PC could not connect to the 2.4ghz band because its not broadcasting.

 

[thiggins]

The RT-N66U and other routers that spec simultaneous dual band most certainly have it because they have two, independent radios.

Your complaint, if you have any, should be with the way that the Wi-Fi industry advertises wireless adapters. They class them the same way as they do routers, i.e. N900, AC1750. This leads consumers to think that they can achieve those speeds if they use, say an N900 client with an N900 router.

But wireless adapters have one radio, so can only operate on one band at a time. So an "N900" adapter used with an N900 router can only achieve a maximum link rate of 450 Mbps. This is why I wrote How Fast Can Your Wi-Fi Go?

 

[sm00thpapa]

The SmallNetBuilder Reviews and the press on the ASUS RT-N66U advertise Simultaneous Dual Band. I guess it depends on your definition of simultaneous dual band.

The N66U has dual radios to function on 2.4GHz and 5GHz, and that is where the simultaneous stops. You have the choice of setting up an SSID with 2.4GHz, and a second separate SSID with 5GHz. In a matter of speaking there is simultaneous dual band.

I also bought the ASUS USB-N53. Nice USB access, in theory, for 802.11n, but not in reality. The N53 can connect to the N66U 2.4 GHz SSID OR, and notice I wrote the word OR, the N66U 5 GHz SSID, but NOT BOTH.

The N66U DOES NOT use simultaneous Dual Band. And the ASUS USB-N53 does not use simultaneous Dual Band. So I spend a good bit of money for a 802.11a/b/g router and USB card, or for a 802.11n 5GHz router and a 5GHz 802.11n USB card but not both. It is impossible for the N66U and the N53 to use both 2.4GHz and 5GHz at the same time, which is by definition, what 802.11n is all about.

Tomorrow it goes back to ASUS in the original boxes for a refund while I find something that works properly.

The router is dual band as it transmits on the 2.4 and 5 GHz band at the same time. The adapter is dual band but can only connect to one band at a time. Can't explain it simpler then that.