Alternatives to splitting SSID bands

[Samholli]

Can any please tell how I get around the inability to split the bands 2.4/5ghz? 

I recently moved back to Vodafone and was able to do it previously but now they are saying I can’t. My elderly laptop won’t connect without it being split. Their customer service is slow and very unhelpful. 

I have a dongle that runs 2.4 is there anyway I can remove the sim and connect to router? Or any other way around it? 

I have read a few threads but don’t understand most of it. 

[Jayach]

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@Samholli wrote:
My elderly laptop won’t connect without it being split. Their customer service is slow and very unhelpful. 

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Why do you think the inability to split the bands would stop your laptop connecting?

My laptop is 12 years old and 2.4GHz only. but connects fine.

Which router do you have?

[Samholli]

Because I had to do it before. I have WiFi 6 hub

Several years ago when I first join Vodafone my laptop wouldn’t connect and after chatting to customer service they advised splitting the bands and I was able to connect. I then moved to Sky broadband and also had fibre to the door installed but I had no issues with laptop. I have recently moved house and changed back to Vodafone I also have fibre to the door and a different router to the previous time. My laptop will not ‘find’ any Vodafone signal. I had a temporary 4g dongle that is 2.4 band only and it connects to that without issue. 
So how do I get a separate band of 2.4 out of my new router please?

[Cynric]

@Samholli If you can't get 2.4 and I think it could be that your laptop cannot connect to channels 12 and 13, and currently that's what you router is on.

Does your laptop not connect on 5GHz? If so, you could get an USB 5GHz WiFi adapter. They are small, about 2 cm. I have one from TP-Link but other brands are available.

[Samholli]

Many thanks, ordered a cheap one to see if it works. Disappointed that Vodafone customer service didn’t think to suggest it. 

[Jayach]

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@Samholli wrote:

Many thanks, ordered a cheap one to see if it works. Disappointed that Vodafone customer service didn’t think to suggest it. 

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I'm sure they would have done, if they sold them.🤣

[Jayach]

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@Samholli wrote:

Because I had to do it before. I have WiFi 6 hub

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If you log into the hub, you should find a setting for "compatibility mode". Try setting that.

[Samholli]

Already done that, and also went to expert settings on the ip address to try splitting but it’s unavailable 

[Jayach]

Splitting really wouldn't help in this case, if the laptop is 2.4GHz only then it's not necessary to split the bands.

If you log into the router, under Status & Support and scroll down, you can see the channel being used by the 2.4GHz and see if it is 12 or 13 as @Cynric suggests. If it is we may be able to suggest how to get the laptop to see it.

[Samholli]