Smart Connect

[ng4ever]

I read all the topics about it but is it recommended to keep on or off please? Thanks.

 

[st3v3n]

If your question means you want someone to recommend Smart Connect, or that someone believes you're better off not using Smart Connect, it's not that easy an answer; it really depends on the particulars of your setup. If you've tried it or not tried Smart Connect, what you do don't like about it, etc, since you didn't say. Smart Connect works for some people, not for others. What model router do you have, firmware version, number and types of devicesr, the services active, ie, VPN clients/server, any custom scripts, etc. Last but not least, what size area and what environment the router has to cover and deal with. Keep researching, gather information; try different settings and you'll find the answer that what works best for you.

Personally, I've used Smart Connect, but our situation needed a better solution than Smart Connect provided simply by turning it on and forgetting it. With trial and error and fine tuning your settings, you may find that Smart Connect works for you just by leaving it on, and is good enough rather than customizing. it's not fair to say you're better off with or without Smart Connect. Simple isn't always better. YMMV. Cheers.

 

[Rolo]

SmartConnect makes my Asus GT-AC5300 grind to a halt, forcing a reboot, every hour or so.

 

[st3v3n]

Bolo, My tests with Smart Connect never did that, but it has worked out well for some. Cheers.

 

[RMerlin]

The problem with SmartConnect is that your results will depend on your clients. Some clients react poorly to being bounced around, others do better.

 

[st3v3n]

Bolo, RMerlin said it best and my prior answer may not be better than this one. I had my problems with Smart Connect, only because my combination of iOS and older Androids didn't play well. In that respect, Smart Connect fought over what did/didn't connect at times but the router didn't grind to a halt nor did I ever had to reboot. I swapped bands, frequencies/channels/settings, saved/logged out and back in. So much has been written about Smart Connect, some makes sense but then everyone tests differently; what works for one may not necessarily work for everyone. Tests we ran with newer iOS tablets and phones always did fairly well with Smart Connect, even when a single new LG phone dropped by for a day, but if older or additional android units were added, particularly off-brand, cheap tablets/phones, Smart Connect became more a headache no matter how much or low long I tried. Several times I thought I finally had it figured out and dialed in, only to be mistaken.

A friend who has only an old iPhone 5, with the rest of the family devices being new Android tablets/phones, swears Smart Connect works fine for him without any tweaking, for about the area I tested, and he used only an extra 2.4 AP in his den, where no one else goes. After going to manual control and ignoring Smart Connect, all bands cooperated. Anything that's labeled 'smart' shouldn't be that difficult to get working. Best guesstimate is to test to see what or if it works for you, and read what everyone else has tried along the way. In the end, YMMV. Hope that's somewhat more helpful than my first answer.