Android phone: can't see Spitz 5GHz wifi network

davidmaxwaterman · 2019-08-26T16:56:58.159Z

I have set up my Spitz with both a 2.4GHz and 5GHz wifi, and I can use both with other devices (eg my laptop) without any problem, but I can’t see the 5GHz network on my Pixel 2 - it only shows the 2.4GHz network, and that works fine.
I can, however, use a 5GHz wifi network on another router, so I know it’s not a problem with my Pixel 2 specifically.

Any ideas what might be wrong?

robotluo · 2019-08-27T03:41:51.135Z

You can try switching Spitz’s 5G channel

davidmaxwaterman · 2019-08-27T09:13:03.992Z

OK, so, yeah, it works on the 2 digit channels, but none of the 3 digit channels work.
Is this a quirk of Android?

I see other people with the same problem:

forums.androidcentral.com

GS5... 5Ghz Wifi issue with higher channels. - Android Forums at...

So, got my new S5 home and tried to connect it to the same 5Ghz wifi network my note 3, GS4, X, iPad Mini W/Ret, iPad Air, iPhone 5S are connected too... and the S5 couldn't see the 5GHZ SSID. It appears the problem is around the router's wifi...

I’ve been using the app ‘Wifi Analyzer’ to measure/etc and it seems to suggest I switch the channel to 149, 153, 157, or 161…‘better channels’, is says. I guess because no one else is using those. Perhaps there’s a good reason

robotluo · 2019-08-28T03:34:50.680Z

In different countries and regions, due to military and meteorological needs, some channels will be limited

davidmaxwaterman · 2019-08-28T10:29:30.313Z

Hrm, that’s interesting. How does it know where I am? GPS? What if I turn it off?
If I go to a different country with my device(s), does it then change which channels are available?

It all sounds very impractical.

Perhaps because my phone (Pixel 2) is American? I wonder if it was purchased in the USA…(it was supplied by my company, so I’m not sure).

robotluo · 2019-08-28T10:33:42.244Z

It is not GPS, it is distinguished by country code, we have not made a distinction between different countries, if you must, you can try to modify on luci

davidmaxwaterman · 2019-08-28T15:31:21.269Z

What is ‘country code’? Is that stored somewhere on the phone?

I guess it doesn’t matter…I’m just curious. I can only presume it is a restriction on phones from the US.

unlo · 2019-08-29T21:20:53.480Z

i would imagine a cfg somewhere contains the country code

nopro404 · 2019-08-30T15:02:37.666Z

I think on current android the region setting is picked up by the issuing sim card inserted in it.

https://android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/base/+/ed4f28b492da3ff140bbaabbbda798a08c40ea5b%5E!/

davidmaxwaterman · 2019-08-30T16:24:44.244Z

Interesting. Maybe I’ll get something different if I take the sim out. I’m going to China tomorrow so that might give me a different result too. I’d be good to get one of those unused channels

nopro404 · 2019-08-31T05:04:52.738Z

With no sim it could well configure itself as the most restrictive settings valid everywhere. At most it may give you the settings for the region the device was originally set to be sold in.

This may help.

en.wikipedia.org

List of WLAN channels

Wireless LAN (WLAN) channels are frequently accessed using IEEE 802.11 protocols, and equipment that does so is sold mostly under the trademark Wi-Fi. Other equipment also accesses the same channels, such as Bluetooth. The radio frequency (RF) spectrum is vital for wireless communications infrastructure. The 802.11 standard provides several distinct radio frequency bands for use in Wi-Fi communications: 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 3.6 GHz, 4.9 GHz, 5 GHz, 5.9 GHz, 6 GHz and 60 GHz. Each range is divided ...

I don’t believe Spitz is DFS certified so any channel listed as DFS will not be usable.