Manually connect MBP to identically-named 5GHz SSID?

[Cubytus]

Hello there,

I am looking for a way to connect the Mac to the 5GHz band of a given SSID. Of course, in an institutional setting, I can't change SSID. They have many access points, bearing the exact same SSID. Some of them are on 2.4GHz, some others on 5GHz, different channels.

How would I tell my MBP to use the 5GHz channel exclusively? I want to verify if it changes anything in speed and latency, where the typical limitations of a home connection are not present.

 

[simon48]

In System Preferences > Network > select Wi-Fi on the left > Advanced, you can set the order you would like your Mac to connect to Wi-Fi networks. Drag whichever one you want to be the highest priority to the top.

 

[snaky69]

In System Preferences > Network > select Wi-Fi on the left > Advanced, you can set the order you would like your Mac to connect to Wi-Fi networks. Drag whichever one you want to be the highest priority to the top.

Alternatively, you can hold Alt while clicking your Airport icon in the menu bar, which will tell you on which band and channel you are currently connected, among other things.

From my experience though my computer seems to seek out 5GHz by itself with no intervention on my part.

 

[Cubytus]

The order is correct. However, as I stated, 5GHz and 2.4GHz share the same SSID, and roaming is at least completely transparent on the 2.4GHz band.

I want to manually connect to the 5GHz one, while allowing for roaming on that band. Still, as 5GHz is not as widely deployed as 2.4GHz, I expect spotty coverage, but would be interested in trying nevertheless.