[SOLVED] Disable 5Ghz WiFi?

[abrakadabra2k]

Hello,
I noticed my Router (Fritzbox) uses the "band steering" Feature on my Raspberry Pi 4 frequently. Unfortunately this seems to cause Connection loss for Spotify Connect.
Can i Limit the Pi to use the 2.4ghz only?
I would like to keep the band steering Feature (and combined 2.4 and 5ghz ssids)

[TheOldPresbyope]

Hello,
I noticed my Router (Fritzbox) uses the "band steering" Feature on my Raspberry Pi 4 frequently. Unfortunately this seems to cause Connection loss for Spotify Connect.
Can i Limit the Pi to use the 2.4ghz only?
I would like to keep the band steering Feature (and combined 2.4 and 5ghz ssids)

Did you try your Internet search engine? The first three hits I got on "raspberry pi disable 5 ghz wifi" suggested adding a freq_list line in /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf (a file owned by root).

Regards,
Kent

[Tim Curtis]

AFAIK automatic band steering is done by the Router (the client has no choice) and it looks like Fritzbox Router clears the WiFi connection before switching bands if the client does not support "seamless steering" i.e. 802.11k, r or v standards. https://en.avm.de/service/knowledge-base...s-it-work/

I think you can disable band steering on a Router by assigning different SSID's to the 2.4 and 5G bands or there may be an explicit option to turn it off.

I'm not sure which if any of the Raspberry Pi's support 802.11k/r/v (seamless steering) but in any case it would be part of the Broadcom firmware for the WiFi chipset and maybe there are some config options or hacks?

ETA: or maybe a config to wpa_supplicant.conf as @TheOldPresbyope mentioned.

[Nutul]

ETA: or maybe a config to wpa_supplicant.conf as @TheOldPresbyope mentioned.

Isn't the wpa_supplicant.conf being rewritten by moOde's network configuration? Or is it smart, and changes only the things it manages (SSID + passkey)?

[TheOldPresbyope]

ETA: or maybe a config to wpa_supplicant.conf as @TheOldPresbyope mentioned.

Isn't the wpa_supplicant.conf being rewritten by moOde's network configuration? Or is it smart, and changes only the things it manages (SSID + passkey)?

Of course it is, but first things first. Does this hack solve the OP’s problem?

Regards,
Kent

[abrakadabra2k]

Unfortunately, No. Pi will Connect to the 2.4ghz and be steered to the 5ghz Afterwards

Update: Sometimes 5ghz is used also directly.

By the was, I added the frequencies to the Generic Part of the File and also to my specific wifi

[Nutul]

Unfortunately, No. Pi will Connect to the 2.4ghz and be steered to the 5ghz Afterwards

Wait... if you provide only the list of the 2.4GHz the Pi won't steer into the other frequency domain, isn't this the meaning of providing a subset of valid frequencies, instead of the (default) full spectrum for both the 2.4 and 5?

ETA
of course, I'd prefer to keep my router from doing sh*t without my consent...

[abrakadabra2k]

My silly workaround:
- use an old WiFi dongle with 2.4ghz only. Disable internal Adapter (via dtoverlay=disable-wifi active)
- disabled Auto Channel Change on my Router (but keeping the band steering active)

This keeps my Pi4 connected

[Nutul]

- use an old WiFi dongle with 2.4ghz only.

Wouldn't restricting the frequency bands to the 2.4GHz only have achieved the same result...?
Just asking, I'm curious...