Question about 2.4Ghz vs 5Ghz wireless security ( 2 passwords? )

[DaveLembke]

Was over at my parents house and daughter was trying to connect her android tablet to their wireless using password that was correct. It wouldnt connect. They claimed that the 2.4Ghz wireless doesnt authenticate but that the 5Ghz does. They have a dual-band router that serves up both the 2.4 and 5Ghz. My daughters tablet only supports connecting to 2.4Ghz wireless network or older. So she was able to see the 2.4Ghz connection but unable to authenticate... Question I have is, do Dual-Band Routers really have 2 different passwords for each band or is their router messed up for the 2.4Ghz band? They claim that they havent been able to connect to the 2.4Ghz band. I didnt take the time to go and troubleshoot their router. I think it was set up by the cable company.

[EricA.]

Im fairly certain they can have 2 different passwords. Can you log into the router and change the settings?

[Geek-9pm]

It would help to know the make and model of the router.
Under special circumstances a router could be set up like that kinda.   

[camerongray]

At a technical level they definitely could have separate passwords but it's highly unlikely, I've never seen it done before (and can't think why you would want such a setup)

[DaveLembke]

At a technical level they definitely could have separate passwords but it's highly unlikely, I've never seen it done before (and can't think why you would want such a setup)

Total agreement with this. It will be a while before I go over to check out their wireless so unable to check it out and get back here in a timely manner, but figured I'd check on this because maybe newer dual-band routers have a feature I never heard of. To me it makes no sense to have 2 bands with different passwords since both would still be connected to the same network..

[Geek-9pm]

Some home routers have guest settings with afferent password.
With two names like this:
palmtree
palmtree_guest

The guest account has restrictions.
This is common for routers from Xfinity.

[DaveLembke]

They have internet through comcast xfinity so.. maybe this is the case.

[Geek-9pm]

Looking into my Comcast router, there is a place where you can find specific documentation from the PDF manual on-line.

Wireless access point
The wireless access point is the heart of your wireless network. The wireless access point:
 Connects different wireless clients.
 Secures the data sent over wireless connection.

The Gateway has two access points:
 A 5 GHz (3x3) IEEE 802.11ac access point that offers superior transfer rates, is less sensitive to interference and allows you to connect IEEE802.11a/n/ac wireless clients.
 A 2.4 GHz (3x3) IEEE 802.11n access point that allows you to connect IEEE802.11b/g/n wireless clients. Use this access point  for wireless clients that don’t support 5 GHz.
Wireless client

The wireless client allows you to connect a wireless client to a wireless access point. Both built-in and external (for example  via USB) wireless clients are available.
Check the documentation of your computer if you are not sure if your computer is equipped with a wireless client.
Configuring your wireless clients
For more information on how to establish a wireless connection to the Gateway, see:
...
“2.4.1 How to connect your wireless client via WPS” on page 20

“2.4.2 How to manually connect your wireless client” on page 22
If you want to connect your wireless client to the 5 GHz access point, make sure that your wireless client supports 5 GHz
connections   

So yes, they do have two ways to get into the router. I don't know how it works, I have never tried the upper band.