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Dual band adapter on a single band router?

post #1 of 12
11/4/12 at 10:16am
Thread Starter 
Hey guys,
So I recently bought a D-link DWA -160N Dual band adapter. I plan to get a dual band router soon, but don't have one yet.
So Im still connected to my old Cisco Single band N router. I've noticed that my signal strength to my router is significantly less than what is was when i was using my old adapter (a DWA-130). What's going on? All i did was switch adapters. Help would be appreciated thanks!

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post #2 of 12
11/4/12 at 10:20am
How are the antennas situated? Were the old ones less obstructed, or in a different place?
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post #3 of 12
11/4/12 at 10:22am
The single strength meter you see on your system is more than arbitrary, simply ignore it. It is based not just off of actual single strength, measure in dB, but its perceived transfer rates from client to host.

Meaning that your adapter is saying "Hey I can connect at X transfer rate, but only getting X rate. It is much less than what I know I can do, signal is bad!". The reason the rate is low, is your router isn't capable of the higher rate.
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post #4 of 12
11/4/12 at 6:44pm
Thread Starter 
Like I said, the only thing i changed was the adapter.
I think i've noticed a difference in speed when im downloading or browsing the internet, but i can't really compare it because my old adapter is broken...

Any other suggestions?
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post #5 of 12
11/6/12 at 12:04pm
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Could be the adapter has weaker antennas than the other one.
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post #6 of 12
11/6/12 at 12:10pm
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Try different drivers or let windows manage the adapter if you are not already.
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post #7 of 12
11/6/12 at 12:16pm
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not having the 5ghz second channel shouldn't have a huge effect on the router's transmission distance.
a 5ghz channel is more for less interference and congestion you typically get with normal routers; yes 5ghz gives you better distance but only on the extremities of your range.
consider moving your router to a more open area or adjusting/buying a better antenna for it.
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Originally Posted by linkinparkfan007 View Post

Could be the adapter has weaker antennas than the other one.
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post #8 of 12
11/12/12 at 10:28pm
Thread Starter 
ok after using this for a few days, I know for sure that something is different. I know that it is designed to also connect to the 5ghz Channel, but shouldn't it be able to connect to the 2.4 one just as well as a 2.4ghz Only one?
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post #9 of 12
11/13/12 at 3:59am
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Dual Band does not mean Simultaneous connect. You can connect to either the 2.4 or 5.0 band depending on what you want to do. You will need another adapter if you want to connect to a 2nd band.

I actually tried that. Used my Asus dongle to connect to my 5.0 band and my Asus Motherboard Internal Wireless to connect to the 2.4 band. It worked just fine, but I had no way to control what use what band and if there was any benefit at all, aside from having 2 connections. *shrug*

- And yes a dual band adapter should connect to the 2.4 channel just fine.
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post #10 of 12
11/13/12 at 7:34am
Thread Starter 
I think you might have misunderstood what i wrote, sorry I realized that my wording wasn't exactly great. My question was, Shouldn't this dual band ADAPTER connect to a single band 2.4 ghz router just as well as a single band 2.4ghz Adapter?
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