Xbox One - Does it matter if I connect to 2.4GHz or 5.0GHz?

[BoDEAN]

Does it matter if I connect to 2.4 or 5.0 wireless with my XBOX One?

Is 5.0GHz going to provide an overall better performance on the console, or is 2.4GHz sufficient?

 

 

[trooper11]

The 5Ghz band for 802.11 N connections does offer the best signal quality/throughput, but over a shorter distance vs 2.4Ghz.

If your wireless router is fairly close to the console, I would try using the 5Ghz option first.

[Roger H. Veteran]

Well as mentioned, if you have the option for 5Ghz then use that.

 

 

Wired is Best

5Ghz is Good

2.4Ghz is if you must :p

[bobeck]

My one is about 2 feet from my router so I connect to 5ghz and have no issues

[benthebear]

Another plus for connecting to the 5GHz band is that there's less interference. So if a microwave is turned on, or a cordless phone goes off, it won't knock you off of the network.

[+Tyranade Subscriber²]

Another plus for connecting to the 5GHz band is that there's less interference. So if a microwave is turned on, or a cordless phone goes off, it won't knock you off of the network.

 

That can actually happen? I thought it was a myth xD!

[benthebear]

That can actually happen? I thought it was a myth xD!

 

:P

 

I had the unfortunate experience of living in an apartment with a microwave in between my wireless router and my computer. If the roommate decided to cook what seemed to be a Thanksgiving meal in the microwave, the network would be down the whole time. So I went out and invested in a dual band 5GHz set up and it did the trick. After that, he could have left the thing on for all eternity.

[Argi]

If you have good signal strength then 5ghz is the better option.

[123456789A]

My one is about 2 feet from my router so I connect to 5ghz and have no issues

 

Why not just plug it in directly?

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

Another plus for connecting to the 5GHz band is that there's less interference. So if a microwave is turned on, or a cordless phone goes off, it won't knock you off of the network.

You can get 5Ghz cordless phones, they moved for the same reason (Microwaves)

[bobeck]

Why not just plug it in directly?

pure laziness..plus the console travels frequently so i can't be bothered to use an ethernet cable

[compl3x]

Isn't there something with fluorescent lights interfering with 2.4ghz? Or is that part the myth?

[JonnyLH]

Another plus for connecting to the 5GHz band is that there's less interference. So if a microwave is turned on, or a cordless phone goes off, it won't knock you off of the network.

If anything, 5Ghz is way less tolerable to interference than 2.4Ghz. There's tons of consumer devices on the 5Ghz range.

 

To summarise:

- Higher Speed

- Less Range

- Can't penetrate walls and solid objects as well

[BoDEAN]

Seems like 5GHz is working great, so I will stick with that. Thanks for the replies

[Roger H. Veteran]

If anything, 5Ghz is way less tolerable to interference than 2.4Ghz. There's tons of consumer devices on the 5Ghz range.

 

To summarise:

- Higher Speed

- Less Range

- Can't penetrate walls and solid objects as well

 

I think you got some of that backwards but yes to the rest of that :p. My place is only 1100 sf so no Greenwich mansion here :p Once i'm in the 2500sf range i'll just have 2-3 APs all over the houe to handle the 5Ghz needs :)

[BoDEAN]

When I connect my xbox one to 5ghz, under detailed network statistics on the xbox one, I have a latency of 60ms, and a wireless signal strength of 51%.  You think that is suitable, or should I switch to either using my Powerline or 2.4GHz network?

[trooper11]

Well you could do a test of running it off the powerline connection and see what the numbers say.  In some cases, powerline connections can be much closer in performance to ethernet than wireless is.  It comes down to which version of powerline hardware you are using and the quality of your electrical wires in the house. 

[ViperAFK]

If anything, 5Ghz is way less tolerable to interference than 2.4Ghz. There's tons of consumer devices on the 5Ghz range.

 

To summarise:

- Higher Speed

- Less Range

- Can't penetrate walls and solid objects as well

5ghz has far more channels in the band, it *is* more tolerable of wireless interference. 2.4ghz is an extremely crowded band and only has 11 channels available.

 

And if you add in the fact that to get higher wireless speeds with wireless N (> 144mbit), you need to use 40mhz channel width, this often does not work well with 2.4ghz because it uses almost half of the available channels.

[neoadorable]

Using 2.4GHz here and can feel it...would say 5GHz is preferable. My X1 connection is good but inconsistent due to interference i'm guess. In the vicinity of the X1 got the PS4, TV, tablet, smatphone, and not too far away the PC, which is also wi-fi. Plus there's always neighbors and who knows how many other 2.4GHz radio signals floating around. So if you can, 5GHz is better. As Bane would probably say though, "...for now....". 

[JonnyLH]

5ghz has far more channels in the band, it *is* more tolerable of wireless interference. 2.4ghz is an extremely crowded band and only has 11 channels available.

 

And if you add in the fact that to get higher wireless speeds with wireless N (> 144mbit), you need to use 40mhz channel width, this often does not work well with 2.4ghz because it uses almost half of the available channels.

Being tolerable and congested are two different properties. The channel band in 5Ghz is used by less devices yes, but most of the channels in the 5Ghz aren't available to used and are frequently used in military, weather radars etc. Interference on 2.4Ghz is far exaggerated than it should be. For example a microwave would only effect a WiFi signal if your device was pretty much next to the microwave.

 

The good thing about 5Ghz is that it really doesn't penetrate through solid objects at all so the range is dramatically lowered through houses which means less interference between other LANs. Although if your in an old style house like mine which is an old Victorian house, having a 5Ghz router upstairs and across the house means you'd be lucky to receive a 50% STN ratio. Then your device starts using extra bits as contingency to create a suitable method to transmit data, and your speeds are halved and halved.

[BoDEAN]

Thanks. I have about 1250 square feet in my condo, and the router is in the back bedroom, where as the xbox one is in the family room.  I'll compare with the powerline.  But I'm wondering if having 50% signal reported on the xbox one with 5ghz is bad, or if that is acceptable.

[MikeChipshop Member]

That can actually happen? I thought it was a myth xD!

 

Still happens at my local pub which unfortunately is also a restaurant so the microwave gets used a lot and continuously knocks the network out.

[ViperAFK]

Being tolerable and congested are two different properties. The channel band in 5Ghz is used by less devices yes, but most of the channels in the 5Ghz aren't available to used and are frequently used in military, weather radars etc. Interference on 2.4Ghz is far exaggerated than it should be. For example a microwave would only effect a WiFi signal if your device was pretty much next to the microwave.

 

The good thing about 5Ghz is that it really doesn't penetrate through solid objects at all so the range is dramatically lowered through houses which means less interference between other LANs. Although if your in an old style house like mine which is an old Victorian house, having a 5Ghz router upstairs and across the house means you'd be lucky to receive a 50% STN ratio. Then your device starts using extra bits as contingency to create a suitable method to transmit data, and your speeds are halved and halved.

I've got a microwave in my kitchen, and my router in a totally different room, and whenever anyone turns on the microwave anyone using the 2.4ghz band gets dropped