Way to set WiFi network priority based on strength not preference

[Tyrian Cedar]

I have a 2-story house with one router in the ground floor and another upstairs; my Mac can see both networks on both floors. Problem is: it will always opt to connect to the one I’ve manually ordered higher-up in the Advanced section of Network Preferences … even if I’m on the floor in which it is quite weak, forcing me to force a reconnect to the proper stronger network every time I change floors. Is there a way, through built-in configuration, nifty terminal/shell scripting, or maybe a 3rd-party tool, to instruct my Mac to connect to whichever known network it scans that happens to have more bars at the time rather than the upper-list-ranked one instead? That might probably mean continuously scanning for saved networks and re-connecting dynamically to only the stronger-signalled one at any given time.​

 

[chrfr]

I have a 2-story house with one router in the ground floor and another upstairs; my Mac can see both networks on both floors. Problem is: it will always opt to connect to the one I’ve manually ordered higher-up in the Advanced section of Network Preferences … even if I’m on the floor in which it is quite weak, forcing me to force a reconnect to the proper stronger network every time I change floors. Is there a way, through built-in configuration, nifty terminal/shell scripting, or maybe a 3rd-party tool, to instruct my Mac to connect to whichever known network it scans that happens to have more bars at the time rather than the upper-list-ranked one instead? That might probably mean continuously scanning for saved networks and re-connecting dynamically to only the stronger-signalled one at any given time.

macOS doesn't provide for this. You're better off solving this at the network level and setting up a mesh network so that your devices all just see one network so that you don't have to manage which network you're connecting to.

 

[MacCheetah3]

macOS doesn't provide for this. You're better off solving this at the network level and setting up a mesh network so that your devices all just see one network so that you don't have to manage which network you're connecting to.

That’s basically what I was going to suggest, use the same SSID for both networks.

 

[velocityg4]

That’s basically what I was going to suggest, use the same SSID for both networks.

I’d add to this. The network key and encryption method must be exactly the same. Pay close attention to encryption type. If one is WPA2 AES and the other is WPA/WPA2 AES. You’re going to have all sorts of authentication issues.

 

[MacCheetah3]

I’d add to this. The network key and encryption method must be exactly the same. Pay close attention to encryption type. If one is WPA2 AES and the other is WPA/WPA2 AES. You’re going to have all sorts of authentication issues.

Good catch. I did forget that.

 

[Tyrian Cedar]

Wow, this place is so helpful, thank you everybody. I don’t have fancy mesh-branded routers so I didn’t think meshing could be as easy as setting the same SSID and encryption! One of my routers was provided by my telco and it’s a super basic entry-level dLink, whereas the other is a proper Apple Airport . I’m very much looking forward to tinkering with this!

 

[Brian33]

didn’t think meshing could be as easy as setting the same SSID and encryption!

It is if all the devices are are Apple Airport (Time Capsule, Extreme, or Express) units. I guess it's more of a psuedo-mesh, but it has worked really well for me for years. I think it's worth a try for you even with the D-Link -- maybe it will work. Set identical SSIDs, passwords, and encryption.

If not, you could get your hands on a cheap or free old Airport, turn off the WiFi on the D-Link (you can still use it as your main router if you want to), and set up the Airport to be that location's access point. Of course, you won't have WiFi 6 or any new fancy features...

 

[Tyrian Cedar]

It worked! thanks to all your suggestions. I selected Extend a Network instead of Create a Network in Network Preferences when changing the name. In Airport Utility, it’s blinking amber perpetually like there’s an error, but the connectivity is AOK and the throughput is actually much improved… so I guess that settles it!