High-speed WiFi at 5 GHz causes ping increases and delays.
High-speed WiFi at 5 GHz causes ping increases and delays.
Hello, I'm using a dual-band router that supports both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies. The SSIDs are distinct, which helps avoid confusion. My internet speed is 100 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload from the ISP. I can connect up to five devices at once—one via Ethernet (TV box), two smartphones on Wi-Fi, one laptop and a Chromecast on Wi-Fi. Neighbors have a single 5 GHz radio far away from my place, while others (around ten) are closer on the 2.4 GHz band. My router supports dual-band WLAN with 802.11 b/g/n and 802.11 ac on 5 GHz, plus 4 MU-MIMO antennas. Devices use these frequencies: iPhone 7 on 2.4 GHz, Galaxy S7 on 5 GHz, Chromecast on 5 GHz, laptop on 5 GHz, and others on 2.4 GHz. The issue is: when playing online games or browsing while my wife uses her laptop, I experience ping spikes and delays (from 30 ms to 250 ms) whenever she opens a site or uses the internet moderately. Even though we're about three meters apart, the performance drops significantly. When she isn't using the internet, everything works fine. Also, when I played CS:GO on my laptop over 5 GHz, lag appeared, but switching to 2.4 GHz eliminated it completely. I suspect her iPhone wasn’t active during those sessions, though I’m not certain. Both devices were connected to 5 GHz at once, yet lag persisted. Another case involved streaming the Chromecast while showing the phone screen—there was a brief delay (3-4 seconds) before the image appeared, but after that everything felt smooth and fast. With both S7 and Chromecast on 5 GHz, there’s only slight lag, no freezing. My question is: could using all devices on 5 GHz cause these problems? Would splitting them into separate bands—like two groups (5 GHz for gaming/work, 2.4 GHz for streaming)—improve stability and reduce lag? Or might my router struggle when everything runs on 5 GHz simultaneously?
If you're two meters away from the router, consider using a 2m Ethernet connection. For WiFi lag spikes, it seems unlikely anyone would play games over WiFi unless they had an alternative. Dividing devices into different frequency bands could help, though it appears interference might be the real issue. Use a WiFi analyzer app on your Android device to find other devices operating on the same channels nearby and learn more about channel sharing.
The Ethernet cable seems useful for my laptop gaming sessions, especially when playing online on my phone nearby. My wife uses a laptop in another room, and I occasionally play CS:GO on my laptop. Using WiFi Analyzer on my Galaxy S7 and Inssider on the laptop showed just one 5 GHz network, which is on a different channel than my own (100 vs 46). No interference was detected. My new router works well overall, but speed tests still show lag spikes. I’m wondering if all devices connected to the same frequency might be causing the issue.
It's mainly the wireless side effect causing issues. Each device gets its own time slot, and how packets are managed can lead to increased delays. At higher frequencies like 5GHz, latency spikes more due to interference, forcing more retransmissions. This is clear when one device uses 2.4GHz and another uses 5GHz—it works well because they operate on different channels. Using one or the other means no time slots and full speed. Fixing it isn't easy; placing cables can help if possible.
@Falconevo - 80 MHz, I've attached a screenshot to this message. P.S. My router can't adjust the channel width... @mynameisjuan - Thank you for the helpful info, but if my router has four antennas, does that imply it should manage two devices simultaneously? Possibly it's not functioning correctly.
The antennas ensure the signal travels correctly to and from the device. During communication, the router schedules specific moments for each device. For example, at 12:03.0000002 your S7 can communicate, then at 12:03.0000004 your PC does, and so on... Each time a packet portion is sent. If a device sends little data, it uses some time but not excessively, freeing up time for others. However, if packets are lost, they must be retransmitted. This means the S7 might take longer—say 5 slots instead of 3—to send its data properly. Other devices could have used the extra time to send faster. This delay is linked to higher ping because interference and processing still consume real time.
Your setup sounds technical, but the difference in performance between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz often comes down to how your devices handle wireless signals at those speeds. At 2.4 GHz, connections tend to be more stable and less prone to interference, which explains smoother streaming. When you switch to 5 GHz, you get faster speeds but more susceptibility to obstacles and congestion, leading to that initial lag you noticed. It’s a trade-off between speed and reliability.
I've observed that the farther you are from your router, the more lag spikes everyone else experiences. It doesn't matter how near you are; it's the distance between your device and the router that matters. Moving my laptop closer fixed the packet loss problem for me. I'm not familiar with 5GHz lag—it seems to be a concern for me too. From my experience, 5GHz works well for streaming and downloading but isn't ideal for gaming due to higher ping. As you mentioned having 100Mbps, I recommend sticking to 2.4GHz since it performs better at lower speeds. I own a network with over 300Mbps, and testing on 5GHz showed speeds around 330 downloads versus 120Mbps on 2.4GHz. I notice lag on my phone using 5G while it has no lag on 2.4G. Hope this helps!