this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2024
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The problem with 5Ghz is that it doesn't go through walls very well compared to 2.4Ghz, resulting in APs having less range (or having to use several times more power)
The max power a 5 gigahertz access point puts out is 1 watt where the max on 2.4 gigahertz is 0.3 watts. You are right though. You do have to do better about centrally locating the access point in your home in order to get the best performance from it. Because otherwise, one side will have good WiFi and the other side will have nothing or very weak WiFi.
Edit: Another benefit of that is that if somebody wants to crack your Wi-Fi network, they have to be physically closer to your house to do so. So, on like 60 gigahertz, where the signal doesn't leave the room you're in, it's basically as secure as Ethernet, because an intruder would have to break into your house to crack your Wi-Fi network.
Don't forget it's 2-way communication so your device also needs to output enough power to reach the AP.
That is a fair point, and mobile devices are going to be hardest hit by that, since they have such small batteries, but laptops and desktops and stuff would be just fine since they are constantly connected to a power source, and can use a card with higher transmit power.