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I work in a large corporation with a complicated wireless network that includes 2.4GHz and 5GHz access points of varying speeds. All Access points use the same SSID and passwords. I connect with a wireless card that includes software that lets me see the various access points, what channel they are on, and whether they are 2.4GHz or 5GHz -- but my co workers do not have that luxury, they see a single SSID on the default Windows network connections screen. When any of us connect, we don't get the fastest connection, or even the 5GHz connection -- we get speeds in the 14MBps range. Again, because I have software for my wireless adapter I can log out of the iffy connection, pick a different channel and get 270MBps. From time to time, though, I check and discover I've been switched to a different channel. That's a lot of background -- here are the actual questions:

1) Is there a way to force the computer to join to the fastest available connection? I'm guessing it is defaulting to closest access point.

2) is there a way to prevent the system from downgrading the connection?

3) Are there tools that would allow co-workers to see all available channels and choose among them?

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  1. If you go to the wireless driver configuration and under the "Advanced" tab you can find several settings: Exibit A

Can Somebody Explain About Wi-Fi Device Manager Settings And Power Settings In Windows 7?

Most likely many of your settings are set to "Auto". Auto is the most compatible solution since it will adjust to the environment your are in, 2.4GHz or 5GHz, etc.. You will want to find the setting and switch it from "Auto" to just the 5GHz option under "Band Preference" in the link/example above. This will mean your wireless will not work at that friend's house that just has 2.4GHz anymore, and you will have to manually switch it back every time. So it is a trade off if you don't have consistency everywhere you go. This would "force" the wireless card to use the 5GHz connection.

  1. See Answer 1. or have your wireless admin switch the router to only 5GHz setting and you won't need to do a thing. Don't worry about those 2.4GHz coworkers. That's not your problem.

  2. Yes, and they might get fired or arrested for using them without permission from the proper authority. With that being said:

http://www.howtogeek.com/197268/how-to-find-the-best-wi-fi-channel-for-your-router-on-any-operating-system/

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