People who know - why will my Mac connect to wifi, but my phone won't?

[Mildredop]

I've used a powerline adaptor to extend the internet to my workshop. I've then plugged that into a TP Link router I had lying around.

My Mac connects to the wifi and gets the internet no problems. As does my wife's Mac.

My Samsung S8 has an exclamation mark next to the wifi symbol and says "Internet may not be available" and nothing loads.

My partner's iPhone (7 I think) just doesn't load a thing.

Why could this be? Isn't wifi just wifi? Or is there actually different types of wifi for different devices (apart from the a/b/g/n business).

 

[casperes1996]

Why could this be? Isn't wifi just wifi? Or is there actually different types of wifi for different devices (apart from the a/b/g/n business).

There are not different wi-fi's per se, but there are different frequencies the signal can run at, i.e. 2.4GHz and 5GHz. It could just be a reception issue, so you could try and change the channel to a 2.4GHz spectrum if you aren't already using that. 2.4GHz has an easier time penetrating obstacles like walls and doors, and it could be the antenna system in the phones is worse

 

[Mildredop]

There are not different wi-fi's per se, but there are different frequencies the signal can run at, i.e. 2.4GHz and 5GHz. It could just be a reception issue, so you could try and change the channel to a 2.4GHz spectrum if you aren't already using that. 2.4GHz has an easier time penetrating obstacles like walls and doors, and it could be the antenna system in the phones is worse

The router is literally a few feet away from all the devices, in the same room with no obstacles.