Trouble with Time Capsule 5Ghz N-only mode

[MacAlpha]

I have a TC that I have been using in n/b/g mode since I got it. I haven't had any speed issues but I like to play with things. So today, I thought I would dig out my old linksys and hook it up for b/g and switch my TC to n-only (5Ghz). I got the linksys working no problem but my speeds for the n connected items (my MBP and my MB) dropped like a stone to much slower than I am used to. When I set it back up for n/b/g the speeds went right back up. Anyone have any idea why that happened?

Should I try n-only 2.4? If I am do that will I get any speed boost from switching to n-only?

 

[emt1]

I have a TC that I have been using in n/b/g mode since I got it. I haven't had any speed issues but I like to play with things. So today, I thought I would dig out my old linksys and hook it up for b/g and switch my TC to n-only (5Ghz). I got the linksys working no problem but my speeds for the n connected items (my MBP and my MB) dropped like a stone to much slower than I am used to. When I set it back up for n/b/g the speeds went right back up. Anyone have any idea why that happened?

Should I try n-only 2.4? If I am do that will I get any speed boost from switching to n-only?

5Ghz has a very difficult time passing through walls. How far apart from each other are the computers and the router?

 

[TracingError]

When I switch to 5ghz mode, it won't hold the connection for more than two seconds (literally)--this on both a MB and a Lenovo T61--both wireless N, of course. This is even in the same room, ten feet away.

 

[MacAlpha]

5Ghz has a very difficult time passing through walls. How far apart from each other are the computers and the router?

They are on different floors, probably 40 ft from each other but they would have to pass through the floor. I have an Airport Express in the same room ( about 5 ft from the computer, but given that it is connected to the TC wirelessly, I doubt it would help.

Is 2.4 Ghz N mode faster than 2.4 b/g/n mode?

 

[gwihannom]

I have recently tried a similar thing you did.
Have Time Capsule and Airport Express, had them in different radio modes.

I found out that most of 5GHz wireless routers have problem passing through walls and interference materials. It's not just Apple. Actually, the Apple Care representative put it in a better words "2.4GHz does better at passing through objects than 5GHz."

Unless you are near or in perfectly clear path from from 5GHz N only router, you won't experience the speed anyway.

Just simply go with 2.4GHz N (b/g compatible).
If you select 2.4GHz N only and your Linksys to distribute b/g, they will interfere with each other.
If you have no wireless b or g devices, opt for 2.4GHz wireless N.
That should be the best setting for you.

 

[TracingError]

Doesn't solve my problem

Again, mine won't work in 5ghz mode even with a clear ten foot path from computer to router.

 

[peskaa]

The 5Ghz is, frankly, rubbish in a home environment. I ditched mine back to 2.4Ghz n-only due to the fact it wouldn't reliably penetrate through a single wall.

 

[paragonj]

While I know it is true that 5GHz doesn't penetrate through walls as good as 2.4GHz, I have to give my own impressions of it in action.

I have my setup as follows:

My office (spare bedroom) has a Time Capsule (simultaneous dual-band) in it. In the living room, there is an 802.11n AirPort Express set to extend the 5GHz Time Capsule band. I am sitting in the living room with my MBP. There are 2-3 walls between the office and living room.

I have no problems with connection reliability. According to the Time Capsule's statistics monitor, both the AirPort Express and my MBP are fluctuating in transfer rate between 108 and 243 Mbps on the 5GHz network. So obviously there is some loss because of the walls, but it's still reliable and it's still far far above my internet connection speed.

 

[MacAlpha]

I decided to unplug the linksys and go back to b/g/n mode. Frankly given that I had good speed before (faster than my internet signal), really the only place I would have seen improvement would have been in TC back ups and file transfers between computers on our system. Given that all of our computers are laptops, we can directly connect them if we want to do file transfers at much faster speeds.

But, thanks everyone for the help. Now I know what the problem was.

 

[spaceballl]

MacAlpha,
Did you try switching to N-only 2.4ghz? I think that might get you the results you want.

 

[omnimoeish]

I have the simultaneous dual band TC and its a rock for 2.4Ghz. Never once had it crash in nearly a year which is a big step up from every other router I've ever owned whose business is specifically networking (Netgear, Belkin and Linksys) but for the life of me I can't get 5Ghz to work.

I don't like in airport utility, the 5Ghz network is just an after thought. If I set a password for my 2.4Ghz network, I can connect with that password in 2.4Ghz, but then it always says invalid password on my Macbook, MBP, and Windows 7 computer with the Linksys AOE1000 adapter. If I have an open network, the Macs connect in 5Ghz, but the Windows 7 still doesn't. But there's some very inconsiderate bandwidth suckers in my complex so I have to have a password. All of the computers are 10 feet away or less from the TC when I'm trying to connect to the 5Ghz. I thought about having a closed network with no password, that doesn't connect either.

 

[macleod199]

If it's not connecting ten feet way in the same room, that sounds like a defective unit.

To the original poster - going to n-only on 2.4 GHz will help a little, but not a lot, and is probably not worth the pain of b/g devices not being able to connect.

I use a first gen 802.11n AEBS, and like having it in 5 GHz, because it honestly performs way better. I suspect it's because of the huge number of competing WiFi and other signals in 2.4 GHz around my building. Unfortunately the iPhone doesn't do 5 GHz, so I'm thinking about upgrading to the new AEBS when WiFi sync comes out with iOS5.