Is It Better To Use 5g Or 2.4g

Router Header Image — Shadow Inspiration/Shutterstock.com

If you're looking at replacing your old router—maybe even upgrading from your Isp'due south combined modem/router unit—yous may come across terms like "dual band," which refers to a router that uses both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi. Curious near what these numbers mean? Well, wonder no more.

What's the Real Deviation Between ii.4 GHz and 5 GHz?

These numbers refer to 2 different "bands" that your Wi-Fi tin utilise for its signal. The biggest departure between the two is speed. Under ideal conditions, two.4 GHz Wi-Fi will support up to 450 Mbps or 600 Mbps, depending on the class of the router. 5 GHz Wi-Fi will support up to 1300 Mbps.

Note: In that location are also Wi-Fi 6E routers out there that can circulate on 6 GHz, and future Wi-Fi vii routers will support it as well. The six GHz band has a maximum theoretical speed of about 9.6 gigabits (Gbps), but real world speeds will most certainly be less than that. The major advantage of the 6 GHz band for everyday life is decreased network congestion, which should improve your connection significantly if you're in an area with a lot of Wi-Fi networks.

Of course, there are some caveats hither. Outset, the maximum speed y'all might see is as well dependent on what wireless standard a router supports — 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, or 802.11ax. You can learn more virtually how those standards impact things in our guides on whether you need 802.11ax and whether you should upgrade your wireless router.

RELATED: Why Y'all Should Upgrade Your Router (Fifty-fifty If You Have Older Gadgets)

The second big caveat is that of import phrase we mentioned: "ideal weather condition."

The 2.iv GHz band is a pretty crowded place, because information technology'southward used by more than just Wi-Fi. Old cordless phones, garage door openers, baby monitors, and other devices tend to employ the two.iv GHz band. The longer waves used by the 2.four GHz band are meliorate suited to longer ranges and transmission through walls and solid objects. So it's arguably ameliorate if you need amend range on your devices or yous have a lot of walls or other objects in the areas where you need coverage. Nevertheless, because so many devices use the two.4 GHz band, the resulting congestion can cause dropped connections and slower-than-expected speeds.

RELATED: What Are Mesh Wi-Fi Systems, and How Do They Work?

The 5 GHz band is much less congested, which means y'all volition probable get more stable connections. You lot'll also run into higher speeds. On the other hand, the shorter waves used by the v GHz ring makes information technology less able to penetrate walls and solid objects. It's also got a shorter effective range than the two.4 GHz ring. Of course, you may besides exist able to mitigate that shorter range through the apply of range extenders or mesh Wi-Fi systems, but that will hateful a bigger investment.

What Are Dual- and Tri-Band Routers?

RELATED: What Are Dual-Band and Tri-Ring Routers?

The good news is that most modern routers act every bit dual- or tri-ring routers. A dual-band router is one that broadcasts both a 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz signal from the same unit of measurement, essentially providing you with ii Wi-Fi networks and the best of both worlds. Dual-ring routers come in 2 flavors:

Selectable dual-band. A selectable dual-band router offers a 2.4 GHz and v GHz Wi-Fi network, but you tin simply apply one at a time. You lot actually have to use a switch to tell it the band y'all want to utilise.
Simultaneous dual-ring. A simultaneous dual-brand router broadcasts split up ii.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi networks at the same time, giving y'all two Wi-Fi networks that you tin cull from when you set upwards a device. Some router brands likewise allow you assign the same SSID to the two bands so that devices simply see a unmarried network — fifty-fifty though both are still operational. These tend to be a scrap more than expensive than selectable dual-band routers, but non by much. The advantages of having both bands operating simultaneously commonly outweigh the cost difference.

A tri-band router broadcasts iii networks simultaneously — ii 5 GHz signals and 1 2.iv GHz signal. The reason for this is to help alleviate network congestion. If you lot accept multiple devices that really use a 5 GHz connection heavily — similar streaming high-resolution or even 4K video — yous might do good from spending a bit more than on a tri-band router.

Should I Select ii.4 or 5 GHz for My Devices?

RELATED: Wi-Fi vs. Ethernet: How Much Improve Is a Wired Connection?

First things beginning. If you accept a device that supports a wired Ethernet connectedness and it's not to awkward getting a cable to the device, we highly recommend using a wired connection over a wireless one. Wired connections offer a lower latency, no dropped connections due to interference, and are only plain faster than wireless connections.

Person plugging an Ethernet cable into a router. — Proxima Studio/Shutterstock

That said, we're here to talk about wireless. If you currently use 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and are wondering whether you lot need to upgrade to 5 GHz, information technology'south actually all most what you need to practice with it. If you lot're experiencing dropped connections or if y'all need more speed for watching videos or playing games, and so y'all probably need to move to 5 GHz. In that location'south only so much speed you lot tin go out of a 2.4 GHz network, even nether platonic conditions. If you live in a crowded apartment complex with dozens of wireless routers, infant monitors, and other two.4Ghz band devices, then you lot should definitely consider switching to the 5 GHz ring (or even the 6GHz band) if you already haven't.

If y'all're already using a dual- or tri-ring router and take both the 2.4 GHz and five GHz bands available, you'll take to make some decisions on which i to connect your devices to. It's tempting to merely go alee and utilise 5 GHz Wi-Fi for any device that supports it and use 2.4 GHz for the rest — and you can certainly do that, and it's a fine selection in almost situations — merely it's not always the all-time strategy.

Instead, think about how you use each device. If a device only supports ii.iv GHz, then your decision is already fabricated for that device. If a device supports both, recollect almost whether you really demand to employ v GHz. Does that device need the college speed or are you mostly checking email and browsing the web? Is the device experiencing dropped connections on the 2.4 GHz network and do you lot demand it to be more reliable? Are you okay with the device having the shorter effective range that comes along with using the 5 GHz ring?

Modern applications are pretty data hungry — between the abundance of 4K content available, high-resolution images all over the internet, video and voice calling over Wi-Fi, and countless other applications, you're probably going to exist using a ton of information. Y'all should always use the band that offers y'all the best connection.

RELATED: 5 GHz Wi-Fi Isn't Always Better Than 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi

In near cases, that'll probably be the 5 GHz ring, though the ii.4 GHz band might be advantageous in some situations. If you're in an area with a ton of Wi-Fi networks, the 6 GHz band would also be a bully choice if your hardware supports Wi-Fi 6E.

RELATED: Change Your Wi-Fi Router Channel to Optimize Your Wireless Signal

Hopefully, this gives you the information you lot need to make a conclusion most whether you demand v GHz Wi-Fi in your life and how best to utilise it if you exercise. Likewise go on in mind that no matter what y'all choose, yous should too take the fourth dimension to optimize your wireless signals past selecting an appropriate channel on your router. Y'all might exist surprised at the difference such a small change can brand.