Is the Note4 really 802.11ac WiFi compatible? - Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I recently upgraded to a new 802.11ac router.
All my other ac equipped devices work well in the full dual-band mode. But not the Note4. It doesn't want to use the two bands together, with the full added bandwidth.
The Note4 is supposed to be ac compatible, but mine will only use one band or the other. In normal use it only locks onto the 2.4GHz channel.
If I switch off the router's 2.4GHz channel, the Note4 locks onto the 5GHz channel straight away, no problem. And of course it has more bandwidth.
But as soon as I turn the 2.4GHz signal back on again, the Note4 goes back to the 2.4GHz channel only.
This happens regardless of the phone being close to the router with big signals on both bands, or further away with weaker signals.
I've tried using the 'Smart Network Switch on and off, but that seems to make no difference.
Any ideas?
Edited to say: The channels I'm using are both clear of interference, checked with inSSIDer.

Thats strange, i know its 802.11 AC. Thats a fact. But i never checked to see if its dual band compatible. gotta look into this, thx for the heads up...

Related

wifi bands

Does the Nexus 4 have all the wifi bands... 802.11abgn or just the 802.11bgn?
I couldnt find an answer to this.
Hopefully someone who hasbhe device and also uses the a-band can chime in...
Thanks
C
It is abgn
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1964850
KyraOfFire said:
It is abgn
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1964850
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks mate.
It comes to me as a surprise because Google doesn't list 802.11a support for the Nexus 4 on the Play store specs.
Is 802.11a not officially supported by android? I ask because even in my Galaxy Nexus (and this is just couple a days ago with full wipe and installing 4.2.1 from the stock rom via adb), i initially tried to connect via my 5Ghz network but it just wouldn't connect for the life of me. 2.4Ghz worked like a champ.
EDIT: I should note that the problem with the 5Ghz band is only upon initial starts. If I disable and re-enable wife, 5Ghz works just fine, but I simply don't get why it fails on the first try.
C
802.11n also uses the 5Ghz band, or do you honestly mean 802.11a, that most ancient of wireless standards?
Ajfink said:
802.11n also uses the 5Ghz band, or do you honestly mean 802.11a, that most ancient of wireless standards?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes 802.11n "can" potentially use the 5Ghz "a" band if the 5Ghz "a" band is supported.
802.11n standard was designed to implement speed rates upto 450mbps (depending on the number of channels being bonded)
802.11n doesn't simply imply that it can use the 5ghz and 2.4ghz bands. it has to state that its 802.11abgn for me to be able to do "n"-speeds over 2.4ghz or 5ghz
google play store's specs show 802.11bgn which implies its only 2.4ghz.
if its 802.11abgn, then it works for me because i use the 5ghz exclusively to avoid the noise of all the 2.4ghz channels around me and theres a ton of them

[Q] 802.11AC and 5GHz Issue

I've researched for any past issues on this topic but couldn't find anything similar.
I live in London and use Asus AC68U, I have connected my Note 4 (N910C) and Tab S fine on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz, but never checked whether this is connected on N or AC. The Channel setting on the router is left on Auto, and I've labaled the 5GHz SSID to have a "5G" at the end (eg. 2.4GHz SSID: "My WiFi" ; 5GHz SSID: "My WiFi 5G")
Then flew to Indonesia bringing along the AC68U, reset and reconfigured the Router to be used there, I have also configured an N66U as an Access Point (not repeater). Now my Note 4 cant' even see 5GHz anymore, even though wireless configuration is exactly the same as in London (except the WiFi SSID and password). I then found out a way to know which 802.11 speed my phone is connected to (by doing the #*0011# thing), and turned out it's on 802.11N 2.4Ghz.
I then went to the N66U (out of Radio range of the AC68U) and I still cannot see the 5GHz SSID. So I took out my Tab S 8.4, switched WiFi on, lo behold, 5Ghz is visible and able to connect to both router seamlessly. Checking the connection type, the Tab S is on 802.11AC Ch. 36 Frequency 5180Mhz, WiFi Power Save Mode On, link speed 866Mbps, to the AC68U.
My Dad has a Galaxy S5, it also cannot see the 5GHz SSID, but is at least connected to the 2.4GHz 802.11AC.
I have changed channels manually on the router but still can't see 5GHz from the Note 4, also switched OFF the WiFi Power Save Mode.
So the question is.... does my Note 4 N910C even have AC? And what is going on with my 5GHz band? Has anyone seen this problem before or point me to a thread you've been to?
I've got the n910c and connects in ac on 5ghz fine. I have a netgear r7000 running ddwrt. Has it ever worked for you ?
manook said:
I've got the n910c and connects in ac on 5ghz fine. I have a netgear r7000 running ddwrt. Has it ever worked for you ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have the 910F and a Netgear R6300 with DD-WRT.
It took some configuring. But i expect this has something to do with the preset ups for using your router in Indonesia.
itll probably;y work when you get back to wherever you live.
Thanks for the replies.
manook said:
I've got the n910c and connects in ac on 5ghz fine. I have a netgear r7000 running ddwrt. Has it ever worked for you ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
5Ghz has worked for me in London using the same Asus router that I used in London, but I'm not sure if my Note 4 ever connected as AC.
fkofilee said:
I also have the 910F and a Netgear R6300 with DD-WRT.
It took some configuring. But i expect this has something to do with the preset ups for using your router in Indonesia.
itll probably;y work when you get back to wherever you live.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I brought the AC68U I used in London to Indonesia, the phone was connected on 5GHz on this router when it was in London, but somehow it can't even see the 5GHz SSID now in Indonesia.
I think I need to reset the modem and WiFi module somehow, been searching the web on how to do that but haven't found it yet.
Other devices that are currently able to connect to 5GHz and/or AC:
Galaxy Tab S: Can connect to 2.4GHz + 5GHz on AC
Galaxy S5: Can connect to 2.4GHz AC (Cannot see 5GHz AC)
Laptops: Can connect to 2.4GHz + 5GHZ N
Added Info: Tried WiFi Analyzer, Note 4 still cannot see 5GHz signal while the Tab S can.
Did you put in a local SIM? The phones may be respecting local regulations regarding frequency usage that the other devices don't, as they don't have a SIM giving them locale. I'd be curious what would happen if you put in your London SIM.
rcobourn said:
Did you put in a local SIM? The phones may be respecting local regulations regarding frequency usage that the other devices don't, as they don't have a SIM giving them locale. I'd be curious what would happen if you put in your London SIM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I'm using local SIM, but when I arrived still with my Voda UK SIM in the phone, the existing N66U Router (before I turned it into Access Point) was transmitting both 2.4GHz and 5GHz, my Note 4 couldn't see it. I thought I had switched off 5G SSID but when I checked, it was ON. Very sure something is up with this Note 4.
I removed the SIM card and inserted it to my LTE Tab S, switched it on, switched WiFi on, connected to 5G just fine.
I'm gonna try re-flashing the same stock ROM. This phone and the Tab are all Non-Rooted btw.
Solution: Don't set the frequency to "Auto". Manually choose the frequency for 5 Ghz, preferably to something low such as channel 36. This worked for me. I haven't tried with any other frequency though. Someone mentioned online that it might be due to Android phones not supporting DFS frequencies.
Good luck.
manook said:
I've got the n910c and connects in ac on 5ghz fine. I have a netgear r7000 running ddwrt. Has it ever worked for you ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just installed dd-wrt on my netgear r7000 and my n910h stopped seeing the 5Ghz band after that.
With r7000 stock firmware everything is fine.
Could you please tell me what's your dd-wrt settings for the 5Ghz band?

Wi-Fi connection problems when using Bluetooth device

So I just bought a TWE last week for my Nokia 6 (TA-1021), and I have noticed that when I connect that device to my phone it sometimes has a hard time connecting to our Wi-Fi network, or if it does connect it sometimes display 'No internet access'. Strangely, the problem goes away the moment I disconnect the Bluetooth earbuds. Now, this only happens on that specific device. I have a cheap Bluetooth speaker as well but my phone can easily connect to the Wi-Fi network. I have seek for Nokia's chat support but the solution they gave me wasn't for long term. Does anyone also has this kind of experience with their device? And does anyone know how to resolve this problem?
Bluetooth frequency range overlaps with Wifi 2.4GHz band. So if BT device working frequency clashes with Wifi 2.4Ghz channel your access point using you will have connectivity issues. You can try re-configuring your Wifi access point and selecting another channel. Or ditch 2.4Ghz band and use 5Ghz only. I had a similar issue with UE Boom speaker and ended up using 5Ghz band for wifi.
qwertysmerty said:
Bluetooth frequency range overlaps with Wifi 2.4GHz band. So if BT device working frequency clashes with Wifi 2.4Ghz channel your access point using you will have connectivity issues. You can try re-configuring your Wifi access point and selecting another channel. Or ditch 2.4Ghz band and use 5Ghz only. I had a similar issue with UE Boom speaker and ended up using 5Ghz band for wifi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that you mentioned it, the audio does act up when using my Bluetooth devices near my wireless mouse, which also uses 2.4GHz band.
But as I said before this only happens on my true wireless earbuds, and not on my Bluetooth speaker. Does that mean that my speaker uses a different frequency?
yottabytenOugat said:
Now that you mentioned it, the audio does act up when using my Bluetooth devices near my wireless mouse, which also uses 2.4GHz band.
But as I said before this only happens on my true wireless earbuds, and not on my Bluetooth speaker. Does that mean that my speaker uses a different frequency?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bluetooth operates in range 2400 to 2483.5 MHz (79 channels having 1Mhz width, plus two guard channels), while Wifi 2.4GHz operates in range 2412Mhz to 2484Mhz (12 overlapping channels of 20/40 Mhz width). So your speaker uses one of those 79 channels which does not clash with your WiFi, while earbuds use some channel causing interference. Unlike Wifi you cannot configure your earbuds/phone to use another BT channel to avoid clashes with Wifi.
As I said before you can try reconfigure your access point to use another 2.4GHz channel. But in my case reconfiguring Wifi AP did not help too much, because I have a noisy neighborhood with lots of access points operating in 2.4GHz band, so selecting available channel not clashing with bluetooth and not deteriorating Wifi performance appeared an impossible task, so I resorted to 5Ghz band.
qwertysmerty said:
Bluetooth operates in range 2400 to 2483.5 MHz (79 channels having 1Mhz width, plus two guard channels), while Wifi 2.4GHz operates in range 2412Mhz to 2484Mhz (12 overlapping channels of 20/40 Mhz width). So your speaker uses one of those 79 channels which does not clash with your WiFi, while earbuds use some channel causing interference. Unlike Wifi you cannot configure your earbuds/phone to use another BT channel to avoid clashes with Wifi.
As I said before you can try reconfigure your access point to use another 2.4GHz channel. But in my case reconfiguring Wifi AP did not help too much, because I have a noisy neighborhood with lots of access points operating in 2.4GHz band, so selecting available channel not clashing with bluetooth and not deteriorating Wifi performance appeared an impossible task, so I resorted to 5Ghz band.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. That really puts me at ease. I thought my device was somewhat broken.
Oh, I just received the December patch yesterday and my problem somehow disappeared. While writing this I am using the aforementioned wireless earbuds and so far, it doesn't do that constant connect and disconnect.
Probably earbuds/phone auto-selected another BT channel after the phone update.

Samsung Galaxy A20 5ghz Wifi not working.

To be clear off the bad, its not the router. Every other device in the house that connects to the 5ghz band works flawlessly. This is a brand new international phone being use with AT&T in the US, calls and texts function fine. Phone is fully updated and so is the router.
Wifi however is only picks up 2.4ghz bands. Not 5ghz.
Wifi analyzers pick up 2.4ghz but when switching to 5ghz I get a messages stating my phone does not support 5ghz. Anyone else with this issue?
@aq3e No. It doesn't have 5GHz.
2.4GHz has better penetration through walls anyway.
5GHz is really only good if you're in the same room.
physwizz said:
@aq3e No. It doesn't have 5GHz.
2.4GHz has better penetration through walls anyway.
5GHz is really only good if you're in the same room.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone does 5GHz as mentioned on samsungs website : 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4+5GHz
Snekxs said:
The phone does 5GHz as mentioned on samsungs website : 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4+5GHz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have dual band and can only see 2.4
Might be different in other countries.
Australia had only 2.4 as shown here.
Connectivity
ANT+
No
USB Interface
USB Type-C
USB Version
USB 2.0
Location Technology
GPS, Glonass, Beidou
Earjack
3.5mm Stereo
MHL
No
Wi-Fi
802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz
Wi-Fi Direct
Yes
Bluetooth Version
Bluetooth v5.0 (LE up to 2 Mbps)
NFC
Yes
https://www.samsung.com/au/smartpho...-Q3bFagLE-84I8pWNocaAq5vEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
I also dont have 5ghz and dont have the advacned wifi option to change bands... Why this model suck this much? Probably a OS stupid limitation...
rophiroth said:
I also dont have 5ghz and dont have the advacned wifi option to change bands... Why this model suck this much? Probably a OS stupid limitation...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
5ghz is only good if you're in the same room
The A20 does support dual band, but it's disabled. I tried to enable it by replacing the mx140_wlan.hcf file located at /vendor/etc/wifi/ with the one from the A30 and it worked, but there's a problem.
For some reason the signal range is terrible, to detect a 5 GHz network the phone needs to be next to the router, if it gets some centimeters away the signal drops at the point where the network is not detected anymore.
physwizz said:
5ghz is only good if you're in the same room
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
5ghz wifi is certainly not only good in the same room, check online heatmaps of 2.4 vs 5ghz to compare, it's not a huge difference. Given how much less interference you will get on the 5ghz it often works a lot better than 2.4ghz even at longer ranges. Fix peoples internet for a living and I've seen thousands of peoples speeds double or even triple from changing to 5ghz even when router is on the first floor and they use it on the second.
FrankdonkeybrainReynolds said:
5ghz wifi is certainly not only good in the same room, check online heatmaps of 2.4 vs 5ghz to compare, it's not a huge difference. Given how much less interference you will get on the 5ghz it often works a lot better than 2.4ghz even at longer ranges. Fix peoples internet for a living and I've seen thousands of peoples speeds double or even triple from changing to 5ghz even when router is on the first floor and they use it on the second.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read the article here.
It shows that 5ghz suffers from greater attenuation rates than 2.4
2.4 GHz vs. 5 GHz WiFi
Learn about when to use 2.4 GHz vs. 5 GHz WiFi with CenturyLink. The difference between these frequencies can affect your speed.
www.centurylink.com
physwizz said:
Read the article here.
It shows that 5ghz suffers from greater attenuation rates than 2.4
2.4 GHz vs. 5 GHz WiFi
Learn about when to use 2.4 GHz vs. 5 GHz WiFi with CenturyLink. The difference between these frequencies can affect your speed.
www.centurylink.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
(I know this doesn't help much with the OP's question but to dispel hearsay I felt it needed to be said.)
I know you don't know me, but I said I resolve peoples internet problems for a living both on supplier and consumer side and have tested this with thousands of customers but you trust a random article with very little info more and don't even bother to look at heat maps? This article has been made by someone who read a blurb about wifi, but they did get one thing right...
"A lot of electronic devices and appliances use the 2.4 GHz frequency, including microwaves, baby monitors, and garage door openers. If you have many of these in your home, or if you live in apartments or condos surrounded by other people, that 2.4 GHz band is likely to be congested, which can damage speed and signal quality."
That list is very short, it also includes lots of computer peripherals, security cameras, smart home devices, walkie talkies, radios, remote controls, wireless handsets (landlines, not mobiles) basically every wireless device you can think of uses 2.4ghz and even your microwave! all these devices on a long range signal means your neighbours devices also overlap to combine together to make the 2.4ghz band for most consumers a disaster for anything requiring more than slow speeds. This goes without even mentioning that the 2.4 ghz band only has 13 channels (3 none overlapping) to spread every wifi device out on to stop interference, in most residential are this is simply not enough. In many cases this is so bad that even next to the router people can lose 80 - 90% of their speeds or have so much interference that even loading webpages takes a long time due to the amount of data being lost.
Like I said before, even if the 5ghz DOES have shorter range, it is not so short that you have to be in the same room, what would be the point? That is a something people assume because it's a "shorter range signal" but it's not that short! the 5ghz is usually faster due to it's naturally higher data rates and more consistent due to the lack of interference from intermittent signals. Most things that interfere with 5ghz are constant and therefore it's much easier to test and know what speed you can get in other rooms away from the router, unlike the 2.4 which has the same issues with passing through anything only with a load of other issues on top too!. The 5ghz also has the advantage of having over 100 wifi channels to spread networks out on to avoid them interfering with each other, a vast upgrade to the 2.4ghz.
Here is an example of a heatmap comparing 2.4 and 5ghz but just looking at any article that goes beyond a very brief description will show you why the 2.4ghz is often so much worse than the 5ghz.
What's the Difference Between 2.4 and 5 GHz WiFi?
What do these numbers actually mean? Does it realy matter? Is one better than the other? How many questions are we going to ask in this description?
socialwifi.com
2ldr - It depends on your house and nearby networks, test both bands with different devices in different rooms and compare speeds, outside of doing more thorough testing with other apps and equipment this is the easiest and quickest way to see which will work better.
You have 2 choises use BT modem BT modem Plan A: one Device in 5GHz network one device sharing Internet from BT modem feature. +Advance use Open Garden mesh client for better Internet throught BT modem. Construction of my plan:One or two devices in 5GHz WiFi network and 3 devices creating PAN network trought Bluetooth.if Your Bluetooth version is 5.0 you can use Mesh network profile. than using Mesh network structure. Mesh Bluetooth network structure helping one device to other. but you need to know you will use 2.4GHz trought BT modem and Mesh networks.
TBM 13 said:
The A20 does support dual band, but it's disabled. I tried to enable it by replacing the mx140_wlan.hcf file located at /vendor/etc/wifi/ with the one from the A30 and it worked, but there's a problem.
For some reason the signal range is terrible, to detect a 5 GHz network the phone needs to be next to the router, if it gets some centimeters away the signal drops at the point where the network is not detected anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I fixed this issue on crDroidAndroid-13.0-20221126-a20-v9.0 by copying both mx140_wlan.hcf and mx140.bin taken from this a30 git. Works great on my a20.
shammoi said:
I fixed this issue on crDroidAndroid-13.0-20221126-a20-v9.0 by copying both mx140_wlan.hcf and mx140.bin taken from this a30 git. Works great on my a20.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. What's your A20 model? I believe I also tried to do that, but I'm going to retry it.
Done it on a SM-A205W.
shammoi said:
Done it on a SM-A205W.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No luck. I still have the signal issue
Do it again in the following order maybe ?
1. Download both mx140_wlan.hcf and mx140.bin from the git I gave you above.
2. Turn your wifi off.
3. Reach /vendor/etc/wifi folder using your favorite file browser ( Mine is Mixplorer ).
4. Overwrite both files.
5. Reboot your device.
6. Turn Wifi back on.
7. Do a Wifi speed test ( Wi-Fi Sweetspots app for me ).
shammoi said:
Do it again in the following order maybe ?
1. Download both mx140_wlan.hcf and mx140.bin from the git I gave you above.
2. Turn your wifi off.
3. Reach /vendor/etc/wifi folder using your favorite file browser ( Mine is Mixplorer ).
4. Overwrite both files.
5. Reboot your device.
6. Turn Wifi back on.
7. Do a Wifi speed test ( Wi-Fi Sweetspots app for me ).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use a Magisk Module instead of directly overwriting the files, but this should make no difference. I believe it may be a hardware difference between our devices. On the schematics the 5GHz antenna seems to be marked as optional, maybe that has something to do.
I tried to put my device next to the router, and when I did it the network got detected (with bad signal tough), I could connect and the download speed oscillated between ~50-200 mbps (my network has 300 mbps). Once I moved further from it, the WiFi disconnected as the signal was lost.

Link found to WiFi 5GHz problems

So like everyone else I have the 5GHz wifi problem. If I'm not in the same room as the router you can forget using 5GHz. So I found the link to the problem. I just don't know how to solve it. I connected to the 5GHz in a trouble location while having mobile data and Bluetooth turned on. Internet speeds were terrible to the point the speed test would barely run. I turned Bluetooth off, and the speed test are right on par with my old phone, and 5GHz is working fine while Bluetooth is off.
5Ghz is not meant for long range though, 2.4Ghz takes care of that..
You should be able to obtain a signal within around 30feet, potentially more, but it'll drop off at that point.
2.4 carries a lot better..
Could it be to do with the channels that the phone may be using for WiFi??
Turn off all WiFi devices and Bluetooth in the room and see how the test goes.
Very strange.
I am a bit confused as to why people are reporting needing to turn BT off to operate 5GHZ Wifi. BT operates in the 2.4xx space. If you are saying turning it off resolves your problem this points to either a greater hardware/software issue or that you are not operating in 5Ghz at all.
I understand how 2.4 and 5 work as far as range and bandwidth goes. I tested this theory in the same spot my old phone would get 100mbps down (what I pay for) while connected to 5Ghz Wifi. The OnePlus 8 Pro while connected to 5Ghz in the same spot with Bluetooth enabled would cause the phones speed to drop to around 5mbps down and sometimes to the point I get nothing and losing connection. Now if I repeat the same scenario but this time I disable Bluetooth the connection is stable and speeds are 90-100mbps down. I repeated this multiple times sitting in the same location. Yes I understand that BT uses 2.4Ghz. I'm not saying that you need to turn BT off for 5Hhz Wifi to function. What I am saying is some how on this phone, and reported by others, the 5Ghz Wifi on this phone does not function properly. There have been zero solutions or reasons why that I am aware of. My post was pointing to a possible reason why and the fact that it is a hardware/software problem and maybe the right person could look into. I have no reason why the BT being on and off affects the 5Ghz Wifi on this phone and not the 2.4Ghz but it does. And my old phone was a $300 Samsung A50 that I was testing this phone against in my post. I tried to find what channels the phone uses for WiFi but was unsuccessful. If you find the channel lost I would be more than happy to switch channels and see.
dladz said:
5Ghz is not meant for long range though, 2.4Ghz takes care of that..
You should be able to obtain a signal within around 30feet, potentially more, but it'll drop off at that point.
2.4 carries a lot better..
Could it be to do with the channels that the phone may be using for WiFi??
Turn off all WiFi devices and Bluetooth in the room and see how the test goes.
Very strange.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It ends up it is an issue with the channel. Before I bought the phone I had manually set my router to channel 153 because auto kept putting me on the same channel as my neighbor. The OnePlus will connect to channels 149 and 153 but isn't really functional. I had to select one of the UNII-1 Channels. Once I did that 5Ghz worked and is functional and stable. The sad part is the reception isn't nearly as good as my $300 Samsung. Maybe they'll improve that if they can. I'm still bewildered why turning off Bluetooth allowed channel 153 to work.
travle said:
It ends up it is an issue with the channel. Before I bought the phone I had manually set my router to channel 153 because auto kept putting me on the same channel as my neighbor. The OnePlus will connect to channels 149 and 153 but isn't really functional. I had to select one of the UNII-1 Channels. Once I did that 5Ghz worked and is functional and stable. The sad part is the reception isn't nearly as good as my $300 Samsung. Maybe they'll improve that if they can. I'm still bewildered why turning off Bluetooth allowed channel 153 to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turn on auto channel on your router. You're going to have issues unless your entire network and devices are moderated perfectly.
Auto does the job

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