What Is the Difference Between a Wireless-N Gigabit & Dual Band Wireless Router?
The various wireless networking devices available on the market use a dizzying array of tech terms that aren't always clearly explained. Some routers are marketed as "Wireless-N Gigabit," while others that are labeled as "Wireless-N" also include the identifier "dual band." The difference between the two types of routers can cause a wide difference in their prices, so understand the difference between the two before making a purchase and setting up a network.
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Wireless-N
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A wireless-N gigabit router is a networking device that utilizes the "802.11n" network standard and is capable of one gigabit data transfer speeds. Wireless-N routers use "Multiple Input, Multiple Output" technology to receive and send data at the same time for faster speeds. This networking standard is an improvement over the "802.11g" and "802.11b" versions used in older routers and is more efficient at transferring large amounts of data for streaming high definition video files.
5 Ghz Band
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Networking devices that use the 802.11g or 802.11n standards operate in the 2.4 GHz wireless band. This band has become increasingly cluttered by traffic over time and is prone to dropping network connections in areas with many different wireless networks. The 5 Ghz band is now open to access from Wi-Fi devices and is significantly less cluttered by network congestion. Some Wireless-N router models are capable of operating within the 5 Ghz band for better performance and less interference from other devices.
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Dual Band
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While the 5 Ghz band is better suited for heavy network use, such as sending large video files or playing online games, not all network devices are capable of using the band. If you have devices on your network that use different types of technologies you may want to use a dual band router, which supports both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Besides supporting both bands, a dual band router also lets you manually switch between the bands.
Configuring Dual Band
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Your dual band router's advanced settings menu gives you the option to modify the band setting as necessary. The router's menu is accessible through your Web browser by navigating to the address "192.168.1.1." Once inside the menu, navigate to the "Wireless" tab and click the radio button labeled "Manual." Switch to the specific wireless band you want to use by clicking either the "2.4 Ghz" or 5 Ghz" radio button.
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