It is your device that selects which network to connect to, not the router as just broadcast the signal. You will need to research the device to see if it has an option to select the 5GHz over the 2.4GHz network.

@FataleLieberi 

 

Check your device. It is probably set to connect to the strongest band it sees. Going away from a router, the distance matters for band strength. The 2.4Ghz stays stronger for a longer distance than the 5Ghz does. Suspect in your case, the 2.4Ghz became stronger and the device switched. It will not switch back to the 5Ghz as long as the bands have the same power level. All you can do is disconnect and reconnect, the device should then switch back. 

 

By the way, most router Smart Connects are not 'dynamic' or 'load leveling'. They 'figure out' what the device is capable of and connect to that band. If the device were to see a band that had a stronger signal it would switch.

 

If TP-Link's implemation employed 'load-leveling' however it would move devices to even the number attached per band. I've not seen this in residential routers. However, this LINK would imply it does use 'Dynamic':

 

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Smart Connect relies on an advanced algorithm that not only automatically determines which band is best for each device,but also constantly monitors the overall status of each device to determine if and when a particular device would benefit from being automatically reassigned to a different band.

==========

 

Once connected to that different band, I suspect it would not switch back unless there was a stronger band? Personally, I have NEVER seen this happen. I prefer to always manage my devices exactly for the problem you see, a fast device on a slow band.

@ArcherC8 

 

The device is confirmed to be compatible with 5GHz. It's Samsung Galaxy A50.

 

I don't really understand what you said about to select 5Ghz over 2.4GHz. When Smart Connect is activated, there's only one SSID. If I connect to that network and if I'm close enough to the router, the Galaxy will use 5GHz. But if I move away, like into other room, it will use 2.4GHz. But, if later I go back close to the router, the Galaxy will stay at 2.4GHz network no matter how I long I wait in that room.

@IrvSp 

 

Based on your reply, then it's not the router that choose the network, rather the devices connected to it that have the job to switch to another network. Is this correct?

Correct. The router is broadcasting on both networks. Your device selects one of them.

@ArcherC8 

 

Then, I would say that TP-Link is misleading people with its marketing materials, such as in this link. It implies that all the work is done by the router and what we should do is only ensuring the device is 5GHz compatible.

 

FataleLieberi wrote

@ArcherC8 

 

Then, I would say that TP-Link is misleading people with its marketing materials, such as in this link. It implies that all the work is done by the router and what we should do is only ensuring the device is 5GHz compatible.

@FataleLieberi 

 

No, the device 'makes' the choice which band to use.

 

However, under Smart Connect, it is different. In some cases both the router and THEN the device will decide.

 

Let me explain more.

 

When Smart Connect is enabled, ONLY a single SSID is put out using a single Password (both the 2.4 and 5Ghz radio has the same SSID and P/W). You set your device to use that single SSID and suppy the single Password. If you didn't have Smart Connect, you'd be using 2 SSID's (or 3 with a Tri-Band router). In that case, the device determines the band to use by using the desired SSID and Passwork. In the Smart Connect case though, the Router will determine the BEST band for your device.

 

Now, there are a few ways for the router to run Smart Connect. The chipset manufacturer provides 'options' on how it operates. From the link you posted:

 

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By balancing the load and assigning devices to the most appropriate band, Smart Connect can reduce delays and interruptions.

=============

 

Well, 'balancing the load' or 'Load-Leveling' could place a device on the undesired band. The 2.4Ghz Band is generally the slow one, whereas the 5Ghz would be the fast one. G speed device are 'slow' (usually printers and many IoT devices) and Smart Connect would put them on the 2.4Ghz band. Some N Speed devices as well. The AC and AX would go on the fast band. On Tri-bands with 2 5Ghz bands, the N speed would be on the slower 5Ghz and the other 2 on the higher speed band.

 

Now 3 things can happen to 'change' things.

 

1) The 'balancing the load' occurs. You have many devices, but most of N speed or more (AC, AX). Those normally routed to the 5Ghz band, but you have few 'slow' G speed devices. At some point, to level the load, a 'fast' devices is assigned to the slow band (in theory it would have more bandwidth and operate faster with few device in contention for the router).

2) The 'balancing' happens after the devices had already connected and assigned to a band. To balance the loads, devices are switched from one band to another, usually called 'dynamic balancing' but I do NOT think many residential routers do this.

3) The device sees a weak signal and tries to reconnect. I suspect this is what is happening to you. The further away from the router, the 2.4Ghz signal is stronger than the 5Ghz. It is quite possible that your device sees a degraded wifi signal and the tries to reconnect (it was on 5Ghz, but the signal is weak due to distance) and since the 2.4Ghz band is better at this distance, it is assigned. Some devices automatically will connect to a new SSID if it finds a stronger signal too. Large homes that have Repeaters have the same SSID as the router, and as you go from one area to the others coverage, the device switches automatically to the stonger signal. However, if that SSID is for Smart Connect you could change bands.

 

Smart Connect takes the worry out of connecting a device to the router. It might not be the best way to do it for everyone. I want to MANAGE my devices and where they connect. I force devices that are KNOWN to be slow (IoT for instance), Printer, and the Echo devices to the 2.4Ghz SSID. My Tri-band has the N devices on the slower 5Ghz band the the faster AC devices to the 2nd 5Ghz band. Never have device problems that way.

How can I tell which of my devices are AC vs N and which of my 5ghz bands is the faster of the two?

 

Jaoelrich wrote

How can I tell which of my devices are AC vs N and which of my 5ghz bands is the faster of the two?

@Jaoelrich 

 

Well, the device spec will state the 802.11 speed, G, N, or AC, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11) it is capable of using. Most if not all are backward compatible, that is an N speed device can be used on a G speed 2.4Ghz band. N and AC can both connect to a 5Ghz SSID.

 

Which 5Ghz band is faster, in theory, both are the same speed. However, there are two things that can complicate that. For instance, if an N speed device is already connected to a 5Ghz band, connecting an AC speed device to the same band can slow down the speed capability of the AC device as the band will generally work at the slowest device band. Also, the 2 5Ghz bands work on two different channels. Band 1 is on the lower ones and band 2 on the higher one. Dual band routers one have a single  5Ghz band and they work on the lower channels. Using the 2nd 5Ghz band then reduces the possibility of local interference from other dual-band routes nearby.

 

However, you must also 'manage' what you connect where. Mixing device speeds on any band can reduce performance for a specific device. That is the problem with load leveling Smart Connect. It looks more at what the device can connect to so it can keep the same number of devices connected to each band vs. which band is best for the device (it does do this initially, but with more device connecting it will switch to leveling connected device to each band, and it is not dynamic in that it will reconfigure and switch devices when devices disconnect).

 

Generally you want the older G speed devices on 2.4Ghz, N speed to the 1st 5Ghz band and AC to the other 5Ghz.