How to separate Xiaomi routers from 2.4G and 5G? Turning off dual-band integration only takes three steps; the vacuum cleaner's network lag is its fault

I bought my robot vacuum last year, and every time I reconfigure the network, I break out in a sweat: I tap add device in the app, bring my phone close to the robot, spin it for half a minute, and then type 'Network setup timeout, please try again.' Customer service told me to 'switch to 2.4G network and try again.' When I checked my phone's WLAN, I saw that the home only had a WiFi name—where would 2.4G come from? Later, I realized that Xiaomi routers default to dual-band integrated , combining 2.4G and 5G networks into one name for broadcasting. The router decides which band each device connects to—the new phone guesses pretty accurately, but the old chip device that only recognizes 2.4G is stuck at this step. This article will explain the complete operation of splitting the two bands and the pitfalls I encountered all at once.

first understand: what exactly does dual-frequency integration mean

routers are naturally equipped with two bands to transmit WiFi. 2.4G has low frequency and long wavelength, and it surrounds walls well. The router in the living room can still signal from the bedroom through two walls, but the downside is the narrow driveway, slow speed, and it's easy to crowd with neighbors' 2.4G networks; 5G (this is a band name, not a 5G mobile network, don't confuse it) The lane width makes it faster. I tested AX3000T it can reach 800 to 900 Mbps nearby, but a load-bearing wall can revert it to its original state. How to choose between the two frequency bands was previously detailed in my on choosing bands.

these two bands originally sent separate names, for example, one called wangjia and the other wangjia_5G, so you could choose which device to connect to. Xiaomi does this by default out of the box: dual-band activation, both bands share one name, the router automatically redirects you to 5G based on signal strength, and when 5G weakens, it quietly shifts back to 2.4G.

sounds clever, but the problem lies in two things. First, during the move, the device might unaware and walk from the living room to the bedroom with video calls, and switching frequency bands would cause a delay of one or two seconds, which was normal; Second, old devices don't know . Vacuum cleaners, cameras, smart sockets, and other devices that use cheap WiFi modules (many are ESP8266-level chips with only 2.4G capability) get confused when they see merged broadcast networks. They search the web page for a long time but can't find the connection, or connect but then drop. The network of my robot vacuum is a deadlock, and that's probably how it works.

before you start, first judge: Does your home really need to be demolished

Don't rush to turn it off. I'll first list all the devices at home on paper. You can follow this approach: phones, laptops, and tablets are all dual-band devices, and the router can select the frequency bands for them without error; Vacuum cleaners, smart light bulbs, old printers, and some cameras are the main players who only recognize 2.4G or don't recognize it well; And look at if anyone at home complains about "WiFi being fast and slow"—my wife occasionally lags while watching videos in the bedroom, and it's because her phone frequency has been shifted.

my criteria are three: if any one hits, it's worth debuking:

• smart devices repeatedly fail in network configuration, or devices that have been installed frequently disconnect;
• phones may inexplicably lag when moving between two rooms;
• you have old devices at home (old laptops, old printers) and can't find 5G networks, you want to arrange them separately.

conversely, if all your devices are from recent years and don't have smart furniture, and dual-frequency integration works fine, don't mess with it—taking it apart comes at a cost, and all the devices in the house need to be reconnected. I'll explain how to minimize the cost later. Also, to clarify, I wrote the background path of the Xiaomi router; If your home uses the China Telecom Tianyi Gateway WiFi, the backend is completely different. You need to read my other article for setting up Tianyi Gateway by band.

main route: 31.1 Background Three-Step Disable Dual-Band Integration

Connect your phone

to the router's WiFi (any frequency band works, since it's the same name now), enter 192.168.31.1 in the browser's address bar, and enter the management password to enter the backend. If you can't get in, don't panic yet. There's a 90% chance the password was mixed up or the address was entered as a search term. Refer to the 31.1 login portal troubleshooting I wrote before, and if you go through it in order, you can enter.

entering:

Step : Go down to the homepage and find 'WiFi Settings,' or go to 'Frequently Used Settings' at the top. On my AX3000T in firmware version 2.2.x, the path is 'Frequently Used Settings' → WiFi Settings.

Step 2 there's a switch on the page called "Dual-Band Integration" (some firmware versions write it as "Dual-Band Fusion"). By default, it is in blue mode enabled; click it once to turn it off.

step three, turn off the page, which immediately expands into two settings: the top is the 2.4G Wi-Fi name and password, and the bottom is the 5G Wi-Fi name and password. By default, the two names look the same, differing only by the "_5G" suffix. At this point, you can quickly change the name to a clear one and click save. The router will restart WiFi, and after a dozen seconds, the two networks will broadcast separately.

just these three steps, the whole process takes less than two minutes. Here's a small detail reminder: after saving this page, the router only restarts the wireless without dialing or other configurations. The optical modem and set-top box at home are unaffected, so you can operate with confidence.

the Mi Home app can also be changed, so even if you're away, you still have time

if the router is linked to Mi Home, you can do the same in the app: open Mi Home →, go to the router's device page, → "WiFi Settings," and you'll find the dual-band integration switch. When turned off, you'll be prompted to set the name and password for each band separately. Office workers think about this during the day, pull out their phones during lunch break and take it apart, and at night go straight into the serious link.

However, there are two points where the webpage backend is less user-friendly. First, old firmware versions of apps might not even have this switch, so if you search everywhere and can't find it, just stick to 31.1; second, sometimes it takes a minute or two for the app to take effect after making changes—don't just keep clicking it if there is no response. My habit is to use the web backend whenever possible—the path is visible and tangible, and it's easy to check if problems arise.

After

dismantling: four aftermath matters determine the lowest level of experience

opening is just the beginning; what really affects the experience is the next half hour. The first time I took it apart, I suffered from the order of the order. The whole family rushed to reconnect all my devices, and the vacuum got stuck again. Later, I figured out this sequence:

first item, clearly name it. 2.4G is called the main name (like wangjia), 5G uses wangjia_5G, all alphanumeric characters, don't exceed 20 characters, don't include Chinese characters or spaces—I've seen more than one time that old printers can't find Chinese names, and the naming rules are detailed in the about changing WiFi names in .

second item, first serve the hardest to please. first equip 2.4G devices like vacuum cleaners and cameras; each unit is one; they connect to the 2.4G primary name, so they won't move in the future. Why do smart devices insist on 2.4G? How to troubleshoot network distribution failures step by step? I have a complete solution in the from the network distribution failure.

the third item, manually select 5G for your phone or computer. these dual-band devices connect to the wangjia_5G and remember this network. After disassembling it, they occasionally revert to 2.4G. If you find the speed is off, you delete the 2.4G network record from the WiFi details—out of sight, out of mind.

fourth thing: don't treat 5G's poor wall penetration as a new problem. after opening it, you'll find that the bedroom has only two bars of 5G signal. This is a physical characteristic of 5G, not because the router is broken, nor is it a problem caused by disassembly. When the dual-band integration was first integrated, the router quietly helped you move back to 2.4G, but now the names are separated, so you can see the truth. If you really care about your bedroom speed, try adjusting the signal strength level first (I've written about the difference between three levels in my Wall Penetration Inspection article). If that doesn't work, then you should consider the sub-router.

By the way, after disassembling it, remember to mention the names of both networks in the family group, and have your family manually connect their phones to 5G again. Otherwise, the next day someone will ask, "Did you change your WiFi at home?"

Who

avoid trouble: Take it personally

give a concrete comparison at the end, and after reading, decide whether to take action:

my current fixed setup is: 2.4G main with more than a dozen smart devices, with tens of megawatts of bandwidth sufficient; phones, TVs, and laptops all running on 5G. Since the vacuum was separated, it hasn't lost a disconnection, and streaming videos in my wife's bedroom has gone smoothly. If I had any other insights, it was to mentally check the 5G signal in every room before disassembly—if 5G in a room really didn't work, just keep all the equipment in that room on 2.4G instead of making things difficult for them.