But if you split the SSIDs, the only way the phone would connect at 5 GHz would be if you told it to connect to that SSID.
So is the idea that the human can more easily connect their phone to NETGEAR87-GUEST than forget NETGEAR87-5G? Seems like they would still need to either uncheck “connect automatically” when connecting to the guest network, or forget it once the IoT device is set up. I guess I’m missing why a 2.4 GHz only guest network is different from the main 2.4 GHz SSID assuming you have separate SSIDs for each band. From: AF <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Josh Luthman Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2026 4:22 PM To: AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [AFMUG] 2.4 GHz only guest networks ... why? Because the smart phones will connect to the 5 GHz and that could encounter issues when it sets up the device (ie different collision domain). On Thu, Jul 9, 2026 at 10:46 AM Ken Hohhof <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: Many IoT devices especially cameras tell you to set up a 2.4 GHz only guest network. This has me puzzled. The routers and mesh systems I am working with require you to turn off the single SSID or band steering feature on the main SSID before you can turn off 5 GHz on the guest network or alternate SSIDs. It seems like only more expensive enterprise WiFi equipment give you more flexibility in this regard. Have I just not tried enough router brands? I had the impression this was a chipset limitation. But here’s what really puzzles me. Once I disable band steering and split the SSIDs, why do I need a guest network? Let’s say I now have NETGEAR87 and NETGEAR87-5G. Isn’t NETGEAR87 now a 2.4 GHz only SSID? Why do I need to create a 2.4 GHz only guest network to make the camera happy? The only thing I can think of is they assume the user has already connected their phone to both NETGEAR87 and NETGEAR87-5G (or joined those networks, for iPhone people) and rather than tell them to forget NETGEAR87-5G on their phone, it’s easier to have them connect to NETGEAR87-GUEST. Or is there some technical reason I’m missing? -- AF mailing list [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
-- AF mailing list [email protected] http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
