Self Organizing Network

[MDFiOS]

I just enabled the SON option and now the only wireless network(s) I see is one that was formerly listed as my 2.4 network and my guest network. I no longer is networks listed as 2.4 or 5. How do I know if I'm actually connecting to the faster 5 ghz network?

Do I just "trust" I'm connecting to the fastest one?

[Edg1 · Accepted solution]

Yes the SON can be trusted. You will have to download a wifi analyzer tool. Download WIFIman from Ubiquiti Networks. When on WiFi list click on your Network. Look at wifi speed and if it says 866 mbps you are on 5GHz. If it says 144 you are on 2.4GHz.

Now the whole point of SON is to connect you to the better signal so if you are too far from router it will switch you to 2.4 GHz. 

[MDFiOS]

Good to know that SON is a trustworthy option. I did notice that my Pixel phone ID's the bandwidth if / when I check the WiFi connection

[TinaRock]

Wow. So Verizon rolls out this upgrade to the SON and then everybody has problems trying to implement it. Sounds half-baked to me.

I got the Verizon email and it says go to the Verizon app and then click on Internet. Everytime I go to the included link I get a different result.

I expected something from Verizon to have been tested thoroughly and all the bugs worked out before they rolled it out to regular users. This is ridiculous.

[TinaRock]

Verizon is not paying me to be a beta tester. They are supposed to have employees for that. I thoroughly resent this careless attitude toward a big rollout like this. People are randomly losing their Internet connection due to this buggy rollout. Come on Verizon. You are better than this.

[Edg1]

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@TinaRock wrote:

Verizon is not paying me to be a beta tester. They are supposed to have employees for that. I thoroughly resent this careless attitude toward a big rollout like this. People are randomly losing their Internet connection due to this buggy rollout. Come on Verizon. You are better than this.

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SON is not unique to Verizon and has been around for years. If it causes issues in your wifi network then login to your router and disable it. It’s not really that big of a deal. 

[lasagna]

Perhaps you don't understand how SON works.   This is a common capability present in most routers nowadays and is commonly called "bandwidth steering".  Basically, it means configuring both your 2.4ghz and 5ghz networks to use the same SSID and then using intelligence inside the router to help wireless clients choose the frequency which results in a better signal (and hopefully performance).

This is where the catch occurs ... it usually works well in reasonable small areas where the clients are not moving around.   

5ghz networks can very quickly degrade in terms of performance and are more easily affected by things like walls and floors.   This could mean that you get connected to a 5ghz network with a strong signal that ends up performing worse than a 2.4ghz network (or the opposite).

So, it's a bit of a gambit in terms of whether SON will work better for your specific network conditions or not.  Turning it off lets you choose between 5ghz and 2.4ghz provided you use different SSID's -- which allows you to determine which is actually giving you the best performance.   Turning it on tries to do that work for you and if you find it works out best most of the time, then it's a good thing for your situation -- but if not, then you're better staying without it.

Side note -- if gets even more interesting and confusing if you have multiple access points doing bandwidth steering across the same SSID's.  You can find that you have great performance in one room, walk out of the room with the device (where it might attach to a different access point), and then return to the first room and find your performannce is terrible.   All because you shifted between bands in the process. 

[TikiJim]

SON made my speeds worse. Horrible connectivity. Turned off. 

[PookiBearBottom]

unless you have the most basic system in a small apartment and most of your internet things are 2.4, then keep SON.  The problem with verizon SON is that it is NOT compatible with other SON.  So if you have some extenders, or access points, or have a lot of internet things they you would have to change their SSID, then you will have problems.

Easier just to not use it.  Not really sure what it gives you.  I just use my 5 as my main, and my 2.4 for older items (I understand some newer things use 2.4 for its benefits, but not many) that cant/shouldnt use 5.

[duanesutter]

I enabled SON on my Quantum router and now my iPhone 7 will only connect to the 2.4ghz, as per the Router webpage, and I'm sitting 2 feet away from it. I don't trust it. When I disabled the 2.4ghz, the SSID disappeared until the router decied it knew best and re-enabled it, which caused my phone to connect once again to the 2.4ghz. So, why?

I ended up disabing SON and voila, my phone and 2 other devices that weren't connecting with SON enabled are now connected to the 5ghz.