Yes. Apple recommends giving your 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz Wi-Fi bands the same network name, because separate names can stop devices from connecting reliably. One name lets your phone or laptop use whichever band suits it, instead of being stuck on the one you picked.
Here is what that looks like at home. Say your router broadcasts "Home" and "Home-5G". You join "Home-5G" because it sounds faster, then carry your phone to a back bedroom. 5 GHz loses signal faster over distance than 2.4 GHz, so the connection weakens. Your phone can't fall back to the 2.4 GHz band, because to the phone that is a different network.
What does Apple actually recommend?
Apple's support page, Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points, says every router on your network should use the same name for every band it supports.
The same page has a few other settings that go with this:
- 2.4 GHz channel width: 20 MHz. Apple says this helps avoid performance and reliability problems near other Wi-Fi networks and 2.4 GHz devices, including Bluetooth.
BGR's summary of Apple's router advice also says to avoid common default names, such as your router brand's name, because similar names on neighbouring networks cause confusion. That is BGR's wording, so check Apple's page yourself if you want the original.
Apple's page is written for networks used by Apple devices. Owners of other gear on forums such as SNBForums have argued over the finer points. Apple's support page is the official guidance.
Why can 5 GHz feel slower than 2.4 GHz?
Because range and capacity pull in opposite directions. Extreme Networks, a networking vendor, explains in a technical blog on 6 GHz range that a 2.4 GHz signal loses about 40 dB in the first metre, while 5 GHz loses 47 dB over the same distance. That difference is why 5 GHz has a smaller effective range than 2.4 GHz.
Close to the router, 5 GHz is usually the better band. The same Extreme Networks post describes 2.4 GHz as "best-effort" and 5 GHz as the band for clients that need higher performance. Far from the router, the weaker 5 GHz signal can do worse than the slower but longer-reaching 2.4 GHz band. With one network name, your device can make that choice for you.
If a slow connection isn't down to the band, other settings get blamed too. Our piece on whether changing your DNS makes the internet faster covers one of them.
What is Wi-Fi 6E, and is 6 GHz faster everywhere?
No. According to TP-Link's Omada Networks blog, Wi-Fi 6 vs 6E, the "E" stands for Extended: Wi-Fi 6E is Wi-Fi 6 extended into the 6 GHz band. The same post says:
- The FCC opened 6 GHz for unlicensed use in April 2020.
- The Wi-Fi Alliance began certifying 6E devices in January 2021.
- Only 6E and newer devices can join 6 GHz.
- 6 GHz has no DFS requirement and requires WPA3.
- Older devices keep using the router's 2.4 and 5 GHz radios. A 6E router does not move ordinary Wi-Fi 6 devices onto 6 GHz.
The main gain is room. Extreme Networks says 6 GHz adds 1,200 MHz of new spectrum. The cost is reach: the Omada post describes shorter reach through walls for 6 GHz. Extreme Networks adds that the range gap between 6 GHz and 5 GHz is smaller than the gap between 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz. None of these sources give wall-by-wall figures, so treat any exact "6 GHz reaches X metres" claim you see elsewhere with caution.
How do the three bands compare?
| Band | Strength | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| 2.4 GHz | Longest range of the three | Treated as "best-effort"; Apple recommends 20 MHz width |
| 5 GHz | Higher performance | Shorter effective range than 2.4 GHz |
| 6 GHz | Adds 1,200 MHz of new spectrum | Only 6E and newer devices; shorter reach through walls |
What should you change on your router now?
If your router shows separate names such as "Home" and "Home-5G", open its settings and give every band the same name and the same password. If you have more than one router or mesh unit, Apple says they should all use that name too. While you are there, set 2.4 GHz to 20 MHz, set 5 GHz and 6 GHz to Auto, and make sure WMM is on.
Renaming the network means your devices will need to rejoin it. If you've forgotten the password, here is how to find a saved Wi-Fi password on iPhone and share it.
Don't buy a 6E router expecting every device to get faster. Only 6E and newer devices can use 6 GHz, and your older gadgets will carry on using 2.4 and 5 GHz as before.
