I have the Sony TV KDL-50W660F, which is a 2018 model. This is a smart TV, and I am able to connect my wifi using 2.4Ghz.

Recently I upgraded my unifi to 100mbps, and the TM technican advised me to start using 5G wifi to get the higher 100mbps speed. Right enough, if I use the existing 2.4Ghz wifi, the speed is capped to 50mbps only. If I switch to my 5G wifi (on my laptop, phones, tablets etc), I get 100mbps.

The problem is, my Sony TV can only detect and connect to wifi on 2.4Ghz frequency. My wifi in 5G is not detected at all. So my TV is only getting 50mbps internet speed, even though i have 100mbps. I wanted the max speed of 100mbps to enjoy faster streaming of netflix and youtube. I mean, that's one of the reasons why I upgraded to 100mbps anyway.

Can your TV connect to wifi using 5G frequency? Does anyone know how to make a smart TV to detect and connect to wifi using 5G frequency?

Your TV model simply does not support 802.11n - 5GHz WIFI frequency.

Other Sony TV models can support 5G wifi? I wished I had considered wifi frequency as one of the factors when choosing a TV. It never occurred to me that a new 2018 Sony TV would not be able to connect to 5G wifi.

where you Access point of unifi u put? upstair? normall 5G wifi can cater short range only. if tv down stair sure signal cannot reach. Better use ethernet cable much stable

The higher models do support 5G WIFI.

Here's the thing , the bigger brands have been cutting off some features to reduce production cost on lower end models.

Sony was the first one to do it , they have cut off the support for 5GHZ on their entry level & smaller size TVs since last year .
Samsung is the second to follow .

I predict the other brands will also jump on the wagon next year.

Just get a streaming TV box that supports 5GHZ

This post has been edited by Convael: Aug 16 2018, 10:13 PM

My unifi I put upstairs. But I changed my router to Asus router, so signal should be stronger. So far no problem using 5Ghz wifi from downstairs (on phone and laptop).

Yeah, now I know, only after buying the TV. If I had known, I would have bought a different model TV that supports 5Ghz wifi.

I'm thinking of buying a router extender(?) (i dont know what that thing is called). Basically I put another router (Router-B) next to the TV. This router connects to 5Ghz wifi to my upstairs router (Router-A), and I connect my TV to this Router-B using cable. That way I can get 100mbps via the 5Ghz wifi, right? Is this possible? What is the thing called? router extender? router adapter? Is there such a thing that will allow this?

anyone know of any app based software to convert 5Ghz wifi to 2Ghz wifi?

interesting question.

yes, u can use another router as a repeater, connect LAN cable router "B" to the TV.
the problem here will be even on 5ghz, there will still be some losses.. that happens every time to go wireless, esp if distance is big.
i think it will work, but will cost u another AC router (better ones cost RM500 or more).

also... i had never had this need but theoretically, u can buy a ac 5 ghz wifi adaptor, plug it into your tv install the driver and it's good to go.
this works with a pc, but i can't be sure if it will work with a smart tv... never tried on TV.

to get firm answers, u need to ask IT/networking people, not TV people...
https://forum.lowyat.net/NetworksandBroadband

Out of curiosity why do u need more than 50Mbps to ur TV? Netflix 4k needs a stable 25Mbps. Amazon Video is similar. We don't get Vudu here but I believe their 4k stream will also not need more than 25Mbps for now. The only use case I see is to watch some YouTube 4k videos but they r typically demos.

I have bought a dual band wifi dongle, with the intention to plug it in my TV and use it to connect to 5Ghz wifi. But when I connect it, it doesnt work. It works on my old laptop, but need to install the driver for it first. I guess there is no way to install the wifi dongle's driver on the TV. Is there a way to install this?

My option now is to either buy a router (router-B) and connect using cable to the TV, or sell this TV and buy another TV with 5Ghz capability, or just live with 50Mbps cap for this TV.


I guess because unifi is shared broadband, the speed is not consistent and not always stable. At 50mbps, sometimes we get 40+mbps only. If 100mbps we get 70-80mbps. But I think the real reason is because I have 100mbps broadband, so I would want my TV to use this to the max. Faster always better.

My setup is similar like yours, unifi router is upstairs, and most of my networked entertainment is in my living room downstairs.

What I did was getting a gigabit powerline (https://www.lazada.com.my/products/tp-link-av1200-gigabit-passthrough-powerline-starter-kit-tl-pa8010pkit-i4784415-s5773352.html?spm=a2o4k.searchlist.list.6.52c677a6FKqBTt&search=1) and then buy a cheap 5 port gigabit switch and connect my tv, media center and avr to this switch. Streaming a full 4k movie from my NAS which is connected to the router upstairs is not a problem.

This is what I do as well and it works perfectly.

I foresee a similar issue as TS...

Wanted to stream 4K with 5G wifi (in future maybe the speed will required more than 25MBps)

my TV is SONY KD-55X7000F --> built-in Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n (don't have 802.11ac)
Roku Streaming Stick+ --> built-in 802.11ac (its one of their feature with WIFI Enhancer)
TP-Link AC1750 router --> 802.11ac


OK question is, if I HDMI-plug my ROKU S+ to my TV and connect to my router with TIME does it make my Netflix streaming under 802.11ac bandwidth now? kinda like bypass the Sony TV built-in WIFI?

Aint 5G Wifi only work in short distance? if you already placed the router so near to the tV might as well using Cat5e /6 cable

My TV is wall mounted and I want to eliminate all the cabling, if possible.

if u do that, the roku will be communicating with yr router, roku apps and ac wifi in use, should work.

that has nothing to do with the tv which will be just a slave display in that case.

the scenario is just like any android box u buy, connected to tv, working on wifi 5ghz.

Thanks for this suggestion. Now I am thinking, I can even bring my Hypp TV (which is currently upstairs) and put it in the living room down stairs, if I use this gigabit powerline device in your link.

powerline adapter will work best in same power phase area.

earlier u mentioning one is wireless access point, to receive 5ghz wifi then convert to regular lan cable

My 8500E is connected to 5G

Gigabit powerline is similar like WiFi. It transmit signal frequency over power line instead of over the air. IF the signal is bad, the speed still get degraded. It depends on how many joins the signal goes through other than the resistance and interference in AC power line, but it is still worth trying I guess.

Your TV support 802.11n which is about 450 Mbps, by which I would say around 225Mbps. Even if you connect through 2.4GHz under 54Mbps, it still enough to stream the UHD video which require 25Mbps (recommended). You are not going to stream 2 x UHD video simultaneously, right? Well, this 54Mbps bandwidth is your LAN (assuming not sharing with other users in the house). So, there ia no interference. Your broadband of 100Mbps is between your BTU and service providers. Just consider the other 50Mbps is for other users on the other WiFi router.