WiFi - 802.11ac or 802.11n; 2.4 or 5 GHz selection

My laptop had an Intel AC-8260 WiFi + Bluetooth & Gigabit Ethernet adaptor, which apparently can receive 802.11ac on one of two Bands 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. Possibly, it has reversionary capability to 802.11n.

In the Zorin 12 OS:

How do I know that The WiFi is actually using 802.11ac rather than perhaps using 802.11n?

Also, how do I select between 2.4 and 5 GHz operation?

Hi Finston,

Re ac or n:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/i ... ction.html

Re 2.4 over 5 GHz etc:

If you open a Terminal (right-click desktop anywhere and select 'open Terminal') enter:

Code:

sudo iwconfig

at least it will report what frequency it is working on:

" Mode:Managed Frequency:2.452 GHz Access Point: 58:1F:28:26:78:14
Bit Rate=54 Mb/s Tx-Power=20 dBm
Retry short limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:off
Power Management:off
Link Quality=58/70 Signal level=-52 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:2485 Invalid misc:1330 Missed beacon:0

enp3s0 no wireless extensions."

With regards to 2.4 and 5 GHz I read somewhere that 2.4 GHz whilst slower than 5 GHz is actually more solid in terms of distance and obstructions. Just had another search - I think you will find this article helpful in respect of the differences:

https://www.speedguide.net/faq/is-5ghz- ... -24ghz-340

As ever, thanks Swarf for a prompt reply - I will check both leads out.

" Mode:Managed Frequency:5.18 GHz Access Point: 5C:DC:96:6C:FE:6B
Bit Rate=325 Mb/s Tx-Power=22 dBm
Retry short limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:off
Power Management:on
Link Quality=59/70 Signal level=-51 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:1 Invalid misc:32 Missed beacon:0"

So 5.2 GHz - thanks Swarf - and a fast bitrate potential!

Tried it twice and the Tx power was 59 dBm the first time from memory - should it vary?

From the "sudo iwconfig" output:

wlp4s0 IEEE 802.11

So no real confirmation of 802.11ac or a reversionary 802.11n - which seems possible from http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/i ... ction.html

"It generally will tell you when you have a AC connection. Sometimes it will tell you the modulation type on the signal. The new one for 802.11ac is 256qam" What is it that will tell you?

and

"If you are on 5g you may have a issue with quality of signal. The devices will many times fall back if they cannot negotiate a higher speed connection."

As well as the ongoing am I using ac or n? - so far not resolved - what is power management on?

Would I get better performance with power management off? If so, how would I change the setting?

Hi, found an interesting article which gives me more info. I am limited to band one

Code:

https://superuser.com/questions/945517/how-to-determine-what-type-of-wifi-networks-are-supported-by-your-driver-on-linu

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