@terziyski Thank you for the reply, however from your reply, it looks like I was not understood.

Let me try to explain in a different way:

I am well versed in the features of Smart Connect and cannot use this function. I cannot have load balancing bouncing my devices from 5 GHz to 2.4 GHz and I'm trying to keep my channels static (Auto Channel mode off). I also cannot use different SSIDs with Smart Connect disabled, as my devices will lose certain inter-device communication features if they are on different WiFi network/SSIDs. The thread link provided in my original post is from @Riley_S on 2023-05-01. This person has explained that there are actually three methods:

1. Smart Connect Enabled (cannot use)

2. Smart Connect Disabled - Different SSID (cannot use)

3. Smart Connect Disabled Same SSID

I am specifically interested in method #3, which is not explained in any manual that I have seen. And I will again pose the 3 questions asked in my original post about method #3.

1. If I use method #3, do I also need to use the same password? (I can't see how it would work if I didn't)

2. What are the actual functional differences between method #1 and method #3? (ie. is load balancing not a feature in method #3)

3. And if I can get method #3 to work, will I be able to use the Channel Width, Channel, and Mode settings on each band?

These questions are posed for someone who is very familiar with method #3.

ps. I do understand that if method #3 works, and the WiFi signal on my devices on the 5 GHz band get weaker than the 2.4 GHz band, due to walls/distance etc., then my device will switch to the stronger 2.4 GHz band. (I currently have a router that does this, but I am not concerned with this type of automatic band jump)

Thanks for your time

  @Riley_S Thank you for your reply, especially from one of your posts more than a year ago.

I appreciate you posting the emulator GUI for this router, but as I mentioned in my original post, I have already viewed the emulator and that is where I knew what functions disappeared after selecting the Smart Control function. It is great that TP-Link allows users to see the GUIs before purchase. The manuals just don't compare in figuring out if the specific model fits customer needs.

Of the 3 questions I asked, I still need #1 answered. If I use method #3 (Smart Connect Disabled Same SSID), is my assumption correct that if I use the exact same SSID on both bands, that I will also need to use the exact same password on both bands? (seems like the router would get very confused if I didn't) Or will it just default to the 2.4GHz password and ignore the 5GHz password?

And on my questions #2 and #3, from your answer, it looks like if I use method #3 (Smart Connect Disabled Same SSID), then I won't have the router performing load balancing (automatic band switching) and I will be able to use the Channel Width, Channel, and Mode settings on each band? Please confirm if this understanding is correct?

Any confusion here lies in the fact that TP-Link did not document that I could set this router up in method #3 (Smart Connect Disabled Same SSID). I have very specific needs and my current modem/router is functioning this way and I need to duplicate this method. Had I not seen your post from last year, I would not have purchased this router.

As far as your question about what devices I am having problems with communicating with each other if they are signed on to two different SSIDs from the same router; let me explain. We need to establish that I will be using the terms "WiFi network" and "SSID" synonomously, and that the communication needs to happen locally (no internet). Since I am currently on the Apple ecosphere, I require the use of numerous Apple inter-device operability functions such as HomeKit, Continuity and Hand-off, and Bonjour. In the operation manuals for these functions, they all require that the user be on the same SSID for them to "see" each other. And that has been my experience with all my past routers.

For example, I have multiple computers that need to transfer large amounts of data using the Apple network protocol Bonjour. If I setup my current router/modem with an SSID on the 2.4GHz band and a different SSID on the 5GHz band, and I have one computer signed into the 2.4GHz SSID and another computer on the 5GHz SSID, these two computers will not "see" each other on the local network and I will have to switch one of the computers SSID network to match the other. This has been my experience with other routers, devices and other Apple inter-device functions as well.

You seem to suggest that this should not be the case with this TP-Link router. I have read that some routers have some sort of internal "bridge" function between the two separate SSIDs that allows the devices that are on seperate SSIDs to see each other on the local network. Is this what you are talking about? In my past experience, this has not been the case for me.

The router just arrived, so I will do some testing. Please if you could, answer the questions posed above.

Thank you very much for your time.

  @FrakeTrain 

A user here....

 If you use the same ssid and  password, the devices would pick either the 5 or the 2.4 network. If you use same ssid and different password, I would think there would be an issue with the device selecting the correct one. Does all your devices support two ssids named the same? 

Not sure why you are so set on using the same  ssid when you need to control which network each device is on. The device is the main factor which selects which wifi to connect to, not the router. 
 

I use separate ssids so I can control which network my devices are on including the quest network. On some of my devices I have multiple ssids set up and let it pick the best one such as my iPad. 
 

you could get better control of your network if you use something like pfsense or opnsense, but that takes a lot of design, hardware, and work to make it happen. Can you use Ethernet instead of wifi?

   @ArcherC8 Thanks for your input.

"Does all your devices support two ssids named the same?"

I'm pretty sure that's not how it works. What should be happening is that naming the two SSIDs the same, broadcasts only one SSID available to all devices, so they do not "see" two separate SSIDs named the same. (The router should only broadcast one SSID just like the Smart Connect function does)

"Not sure why you are so set on using the same  ssid when you need to control which network each device is on"

As I pointed out above, on my current and previous routers, when I have two different SSIDs, my devices are not able to communicate with each other on the local network.

It would be great if I could setup two different SSIDs on this router, and all my devices would inter-operate. I will test in the next few days.

"Can you use Ethernet instead of wifi?"

I do have two off-grid inverters communicating with my router via ethernet, but as for all my in-house devices, I have to stay on wifi.