SON

Rodmonster

Okay. I just upgraded to the new Verizon router, the extender , and SON. Whenever I go literally from 1 room to the next It will drop from 300mbp down to 1 or 2. It seems that it is trying to connect from the other point two floors away. If I disconnect from WiFi and reconnect it will pick back up to the fast speed. This is a major pain. If I turn off SON.. .does that mean I will see four possible connections? The primary router in the basement with 2.4 and 5 and then the extender on the second floor with 2.4 and 5? And then I can choose which one I want to stay connected to?

smith6612

Disabling SON disables a few features. For example:

• 802.11r Fast Roaming (allows supported devices to switch quickly between your access points)
• Band Steering (Forces capable devices to 5Ghz Wi-Fi if they try to join the 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi all the time, and pushes less active or weaker signal devices to 2.4Ghz)
• No longer ties together your 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz, and 6Ghz Wi-Fi networks by name.

If you disable SON, it will allow you to specify the 5Ghz or 2.4Ghz network explicitly for the devices. You'll see two SSIDs (names) rather than four, as the extender will follow the configuration of the primary router. One for your 5Ghz Wi-Fi, one for your 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi. A third SSID can appear if you have a CR1000A and are using 6Ghz.

A solution without disabling SON may be to decrease the transmit power on your downstairs router and extender, to encourage better roaming/selection behavior. You may be able to set the 2.4Ghz to 50% or 75% power so the 5Ghz signal appears proportionally stronger. The behavior will depend on the device at the end of the day, though. For example, Apple devices select 5Ghz when the signal is -65dB or better, but will drop to 2.4Ghz to save power or will be more likely to switch if the 5Ghz signal drops below -65dB.