Not someone crossing their fingers that the Wi-Fi works
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There can be many reasons why your Mac isn’t connecting to Wi-Fi properly, but some problems can be fixed by changing your router’s 2.4GHz and 5GHz settings.
A small number of M2 Mac mini users they are reporting problems connecting to Wi-Fi on 5Ghz networks, but the problem doesn’t have to be limited to just one machine. You can experience the same or similar difficulties with any Mac, and before you change your router, there are two potential quick fixes.
Make sure your wireless router is three feet or more away from your Mac. Or, if you have a Logitech Unified Receiver USB-A plug, put it on a short extension cord—four inches will do.
If none of these fix the problem you’re having, however, the problem may be with how your router is set up to distribute an SSID on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. 4GHz works best over long distances, while 5GHz is much faster when your router is close, though not too close, to your Mac.
In theory, you should be able to leave the selection of which band to use up to the individual device. But devices will select a band based on signal strength, and depending on how far away you are from your router at the time, there’s a good chance they’ll go for the 2.4GHz band.
As a result, the lower speed band will be crowded, while the faster one will not be used enough.
Divide the network
So rather than letting the devices figure out a band, tell them which one you want. Your network might handle both bands on one SSID, but you can instead tell it to treat the two frequency bands as separate SSIDs.
It tells your router to create one Wi-Fi network that runs at 2.4GHz and another that runs at 5GHz. Each network has its own name and appears separately in your device’s list of available Wi-Fi connections .
Once you’ve done that, you can try putting your Mac on one network, knowing it’s the 5GHz one, and your iPad on the other, knowing it’s the slower 2.4GHz network, or however you want to spread out the devices .
Or you could, for example, reserve the 5GHz network for you and your devices, then allow children, guests, or the like to use the 2.4GHz one.
Wi-Fi split option example (source: BT)
How you do it
There is the problem. Not all routers let you split an SSID in two, and those that do, might do it differently.
Typically, you need to log into your router as an administrator. Then, in your router settings, there is likely to be an Advanced option, which is where the controls for splitting the SSID will be located.
Once you find this, if your router has the capability, it will be a matter of clicking a button to turn it on. And then give the two networks separate names.
This could very well break any HomeKit setup completely, at the cost of good wireless connectivity to your Mac. If so, you’ll need to manually add the devices again or use the Home app to switch the device to whatever network yours is on. telephone. We will leave this decision up to you.
Speed and distance make the difference
You want maximum speed for all your devices, but in practice you don’t need it at all.
If everything works out, you can leave him alone. But when there are problems, dividing your wireless network into two SSIDs can be the solution.