2.4G or 5G? Do you know the difference between Wi-Fi frequency bands?

Overview

The 2.4G and 5G mentioned in the title refer to the operating frequency bands of wireless devices.

The 2.4G operating frequency band ranges from 2400 to 2483.5MHz. Each channel occupies about 20M. 2.4G is divided into 13 channels. The 2.4G operating frequency band is mainly based on IEEE 802.11b and other technical standards. The supported modes include 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11b/g, 802.11b/g/n/ax. The bandwidth supports 20MH and 40MHz. The operating frequency band is 2.4GHz.

The 5G operating frequency range is 5150MHz~5825MHz. The larger frequency range enables it to have 13 non-overlapping channels (channels 100~140 are not available in China). The 5G operating frequency is mainly based on the IEEE 802.11ac technical standard, supporting modes including 802.11a, 802.11a/n/ac, 802.11a/n/ac/ax, and bandwidths of 20MH, 40MHz, 80MHz and 160MHz, with an operating frequency of 5GHz.

Advantages and disadvantages of 2.4G and 5G

Currently, there are many dual-band wireless devices on the market that support dual bands (2.4GHz band + 5GHz band). The general feature of these devices is that they have 4 independent external antennas. However, at the same time, the wireless terminal can only choose one frequency band to access the corresponding wireless network. So, what are the advantages and disadvantages of these two frequency bands?

Next, we will compare these two frequency bands in terms of wall penetration and network speed.

Wall penetration effect

The physical property of electromagnetic waves is that the longer the wavelength, the less attenuation, and the easier it is to bypass obstacles and continue to propagate. 5G signals have high frequencies and short wavelengths, while 2.4G signals have low frequencies and long wavelengths, so 5G signals attenuate more when passing through obstacles.

Therefore, at the same distance, the wall penetration ability of 5G signals is weaker than that of 2.4G signals. This is the case for all dual-band wireless routers.

Network speed

The operating frequency of the 2.4G band is 2.4~2.4835GHz, and the bandwidth is 83.5MHz. The operating frequency of the 5G band is 5.150~5.725GHz, and the bandwidth is 575MHz. For example, with a 2×2 antenna and a 20M bandwidth, the 2.4G band can reach a maximum transmission speed of 144Mbps.

Currently, all wireless terminals support the 2.4G frequency band by default, and there are relatively few wireless terminals that support the 5G frequency band.

The 5G band has a wider bandwidth and a cleaner wireless environment. Therefore, under the same signal strength, the network speed of the 5G band is faster. It is especially suitable for applications that have high requirements for network speed and latency, such as downloading, voice, online games, etc. For example, with a 2×2 antenna and 80M bandwidth, the 5G band can reach a maximum transmission speed of 866Mbps.

The document uses a table to sort out the advantages and disadvantages of 2.4G and 5G Wi-Fi:

Which frequency band is more appropriate?

In summary, 2.4G and 5G frequency bands have their own advantages and disadvantages, but you do not have to choose only one of them. When the wireless network usage environment is complex, the terminals are diverse, and the number of accesses is large, the two frequency bands can be used together to maximize the wireless advantages.

For general home users, the document recommends:

Connect less mobile terminals such as set-top boxes, Internet TVs, desktop computers, smart homes, etc. to the wireless network in the 5G frequency band.

Connect laptops, mobile phones and other terminals that need to move frequently to the 2.4G frequency band wireless network.