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5 GHz or 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi for games

A dual band router sends Wi-Fi on two bands at once. 2.4 GHz reaches farther and through more walls. 5 GHz covers a smaller area and shares the air with fewer devices. For a game, crowding shows up as spread and lost requests.

Updated

Run the ping test

Range against crowding

Microsoft's Wi-Fi guide puts the trade in plain terms. The 2.4 GHz band reaches farther and passes through walls better. The 5 GHz band is faster over a shorter range and copes less well with walls. 2.4 GHz is also the more crowded band, because microwaves, cordless phones and Bluetooth devices use it too.

Crowding comes from channels as well. TP-Link's support page counts 3 channels that do not overlap on 2.4 GHz against 23 on 5 GHz, so neighbors on 2.4 GHz share the same few channels. Apple advises a narrow 20 MHz channel on 2.4 GHz for that reason, near other Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices, and says interference is less of a concern on 5 GHz and 6 GHz.

2.4 GHzReaches farther,more crowded5 GHzShorter reach,less crowdedOther devices on the same band
The same router on two bands: 2.4 GHz reaches farther but shares the air with more devices; 5 GHz covers less ground with less crowding.
The two common Wi-Fi bands for a game
BandReachCrowdingPick it when
2.4 GHzFarther, through more wallsBusy: 3 channels that do not overlap, shared with microwaves, cordless phones and BluetoothYou play far from the router or behind several walls
5 GHzShorter, weaker through wallsQuieter: 23 channels that do not overlapYou play in the same room or one wall away

Which band you are on

  • On Windows: Settings, then Network and internet, then Wi-Fi, then the properties of your network. Microsoft lists the band under Network band (channel).
  • One network name for both bands: the router or the device picks the band. Google's Wi-Fi routers call this band steering, and it weighs signal strength and distance, so a device far from the router tends to land on 2.4 GHz.
  • A phone or a console: look in the device's own Wi-Fi details, or in the router's app or admin page, which may list each connected device with its band.

Apple and Microsoft disagree on network names. Apple recommends one name for all bands, so devices connect reliably. Microsoft suggests a separate name per band when you want to see and choose the band yourself. A separate 5 GHz name lets you keep the gaming device on 5 GHz, and that device then has no 2.4 GHz to fall back to when the signal gets weak.

Test both bands

  1. Sit where you play. Connect to 2.4 GHz and run the test. Note the spread and lost requests on the region you play on.
  2. Connect the same device to 5 GHz, by its own network name or by moving closer until the router moves you, and run the test again from the same spot.
  3. Compare the same region. The band that keeps the spread at 20 ms or less, with at most 1 of 10 requests lost, is the one to use. When 5 GHz is too weak where you play, the spread grows on it instead: then 2.4 GHz or a cable wins.

What the band cannot change

Both bands end at your router. Neither changes the distance from your home to the game server, so a region that reads Far from the servers on 2.4 GHz reads the same on 5 GHz. The guide on the route covers that case.

Questions about Wi-Fi bands

Is 5 GHz always better for gaming?
Only where its signal is strong. 5 GHz copes less well with walls, so in a far room 2.4 GHz can give the steadier result. Run the test on both bands from the spot where you play and keep the one with the smaller spread.
What about 6 GHz Wi-Fi?
Newer routers and devices can add a 6 GHz band. Apple notes that interference is less of a concern there, and Google notes that 2.4 GHz travels farther than 5 or 6 GHz. The same two-run test tells you which band is steadier where you play.
Should 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz have different network names?
Apple recommends one name for all bands; Microsoft suggests separate names when you want to choose. One name is simpler. Separate names let you hold a gaming device on 5 GHz, which helps only while that device stays within good 5 GHz range.

Sources