Consider your needs and environment before setting the 2.4 GHz band for SSIDs when MLO is active.
Consider your needs and environment before setting the 2.4 GHz band for SSIDs when MLO is active.
I have two EAP773 APs spread across a three-story home, positioned in opposite corners—basement and bedroom. The older WiFi AC router suffers from coverage gaps in many areas. On the IoT side, I’ve enabled both 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks, using 802.11r for faster handoffs on the 5GHz band. My setup includes two SSIDs: 5GHz/6GHz with 802.11r (for older devices) and 5GHz/6GHz with MLO (for newer ones). I’m curious about the pros and cons of using the 2.4GHz band on the 5/6GHz SSIDs, especially when devices can only roam between those bands.
If you have good coverage outside of 2.4GHz, I wouldn’t turn it on—it doesn’t add enough extra bandwidth to be worthwhile (especially if MLO is not functioning that way) and could make devices wait longer to switch networks because they keep getting a 2.4GHz signal.
It’s likely more efficient to turn off 5GHz and stick with 2.4GHz for your IoT network. Many devices can’t even use it, and those that do seldom gain much advantage. This will make more of the available spectrum free for other uses. Splitting MLO and Non-MLO networks doesn’t seem necessary from a performance standpoint—it just cuts down the frequencies in your area. Devices supporting MLO will take it, others won’t. If you’re adding VLAN isolation for security, it makes sense, but keeping IoT devices separate is still a solid approach.
I hope it could be fixed. However, my Switch Lite didn't connect to the MLO network name.
When every network streams through identical access points, it doesn’t significantly impact performance. Without 5GHz IoT devices, you’re merely reducing one beacon transmission. Channel allocation remains unaffected.
My earlier consideration was not fully clear. The devices limited to 2.4 GHz operate under WiFi 4 standards. WiFi 5 focused solely on the 5 GHz spectrum and did not alter the 2.4GHz rules. WiFi 6, 6E, and 7 expanded support for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz, adding the 6GHz band (6E and 7). When WiFi 4 equipment joins a network using WiFi 6, 6E, or 7 together, it can slow performance because of different connection protocols. This impact grows with more 2.4GHz devices, especially affecting IoT-heavy setups. That’s why many AP makers suggest isolating IoT gadgets to a dedicated 2.4GHz network. The issue stems from multiple frequencies sharing the same SSID, which is typically the source of the problem. If you don’t need 2.4GHz on your primary network, it reinforces the need to fully separate the bands.