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My router is dual-band and both bands are active as they are both being used by other devices. My Humax HDR-1100S, however, cannot ‘see’ the 5GHz band and so can only connect to the 2.4GHz band. I wish to connect the Humax via the 5GHz band and I was wondering could I do this by plugging-in a dual band USB WiFi dongle? I know these are designed for PCs but I thought I would ask here to see if anyone else has tried them.
Very unlikely as there would be no way to install the required driver.
Why not connect a dual band Wireless Bridge to the box network port
For what reason do you want to connect to the 5GHz WiFi?
The 2.4GHz band is normally fast enough. If the signal is weak on 2.4GHz, then switching to the 5GHz band is unlikely to help as the 5GHz band generally has less range than 2.4GHz band.
If it’s because of interference on the 2.4GHz band, then change the 2.4GHz WiFi channel to a clearer channel.
Alternatively hard wire it, powerline it or do as suggested by GLT above.
The hard wire route and powerline adapters are impractical in my case. This morning I did another network scan and this time the box found the 5GHz band so this confirms that the HDR-1100S is dual-band WiFi but the 5GHz is not as reliable or else it would show up as an option at every scan. The reason I was considering 5GHz is due to picture problems sometimes when watching Netflix. I assumed it was interference from nearby networks using the same channel but my router is set to ‘Auto’ and it automatically selects the best channel. I have seen it use Ch1 and Ch6. I just thought that 5GHz is less congested and no channel overlap. I’ll look at your suggestion GLT but for now I’ll stick with 2.4GHz.
Thanks to you both for your help.
If you have a WiFi PC or better still laptop, then install inSSiDer. It’s free and shows all the networks that you are seeing in both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands (if your lappy does 5GHz)
Trev – I will try out inSSiDer. It seems a good information tool.
GLT – I might give the wireless bridge a go. It seems that the ethernet cable connection will allow me to place the bridge in an advantageous position enabling a good 5GHz signal. If I can establish a good, reliable 5GHz connection with it then it should be better than the 2.4GHz connection because 5GHz channels do not overlap, my router will pick the best channel anyway and 5GHz is not as congested. For the price it’s worth giving it a go.
Thanks to you both.
Let us know how you get on Justin….
You can get the same sort of thing as inSSIDer for Android phones, but looked for one for my son’s iPhone and couldn’t find one.
I use WiFiInfoView by Nirsoft. It’s free. http://nirsoft.net/utils/wifi_information_view.html and you don’t have to register giving personal details out. Incidentally the Nirsoft website has a lot of free utilities on it.
Disclaimer: – I have no connection with Nirsoft other than as a satisfied user.
Yes I’ll update this post.
Update as promised: – I installed inSSIDer on my laptop then ran it. By carrying the laptop around I found the 5GHz signal strength at my Humax box was worse than the 2.4GHz band. This only confirmed what I already knew but what was interesting was that if I placed my laptop where I might have placed the ‘Edimax’ bridge (thinking it was a better position)there was no change in the received 5GHz signal strength. Also interestingly the inSSIDer program showed the signal strength as -50 dBm which is in the ‘Very good’ range but this is no use to me if the Humax box cannot lock onto it and there is no point in buying the Edimax.
OK. That’s where I stand. I won’t get the Edimax but I may try the 5GHz band and see if the reception is stable. I can always go back to 2.4GHz.
Thanks.
I think you need a superior router to the ones that most ISP’s supply for free. One 1GB port on your router (usually yellow) is designated to connect a different router to provide just WiFi services. You just need to put the ISP router into Modem Mode and connect the new one. I have a seperate router for Wi-Fi it covers every room on my house and my whole quite large garden. It’s massively superior to my Virgin supplied home hub.
https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/pc-peripheral/best-wifi-router-3217482/
I have a decent router installed. It a TP-Link Archer VR-600. See here : – https://www.tp-link.com/au/products/details/cat-15_Archer-VR600.html .
Incidentally I went to my son’s house today and his smart TV is hard wired via Ethernet cable and he was also having trouble with Netflix picture quality. It was a lot worse than my WiFi connected Humax box reception so I am wondering if it is a Netflix or ISP problem and that they are sharing band-with out among several properties. I believe it is called ‘Contention ratio’.
Either way, having seen my son’s Netflix picture quality I am now content.
I have been thinking that the issue happens in the evening at peak viewing times so it may be a temporary channel overlap issue from neighbours or, since streaming is a high-demand requirement, it may be an ISP ‘throttling’ issue or Netflix servers are struggling to cope with band width demand.
Thanks for your input.
Justintime – 3 days ago »
I have a decent router installed. It a TP-Link Archer VR-600. See here : – https://www.tp-link.com/au/products/details/cat-15_Archer-VR600.html .
Incidentally I went to my son’s house today and his smart TV is hard wired via Ethernet cable and he was also having trouble with Netflix picture quality. It was a lot worse than my WiFi connected Humax box reception so I am wondering if it is a Netflix or ISP problem and that they are sharing band-with out among several properties. I believe it is called ‘Contention ratio’.
Either way, having seen my son’s Netflix picture quality I am now content.
Do you have a challenging property
ie 3 storeys, thick walls or energy saving foil lined platerboard ?
No. It is a semi-detached house and my Humax box is almost line-of-sight to the router which is 5.5m away. If my glass panelled dividing door is open the signal only has to pass through the backrest of a leather armchair. In the evening with the doors closed it passes through both door and chair backrest.
I have concluded that, as long as the on-demand services perform well then I will forget about 5GHz. Why change what works? It is only the Netflix problem that caused me to start this thread and that could have been a temporary issue or related to the content I was streaming which was a film series called “Shaka Zulu”.
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