OpenWRT on Raspberry Pi 4B won't scan 5Ghz Networks

[Chewie]

@psherman

ning that the pi is a terrible option for a travel router. There are purpose built devices that will perform much better, be easier to configure (with more options, too) and are mechanically better fit for purpose. I’d recommend looking at a proper travel router.

Regarding the man issue, keep in mind that the pi can only operate on a single band at a time. It is either 2.4GHz XOR 5GHz. This means that if the radio is configured for 2.4, 5g will not be available at all. And vice versa.

I really don't travel often and it is not even that bad working on 2.4 GHz. I already had the pi and wasn't using it really so I thought this would be a cool little project before I go away for a vacation soon.

I don't mind having to toggle between 2.4 and 5 ... when needed but I am just not sure how to do that.

[psherman]

@Chewie

I really don't travel often

Try using your “travel” setup at a cafe or similar before you actually need it. You will see that the pi really isn’t good for this purpose. Aside from that, you’ll also begin to experience the specifics of what makes a travel router config easy or hard to work with in terms of your own needs.

@Chewie

it is not even that bad working on 2.4 GHz.

As mentioned earlier, it is not just the exclusive 2.4G vs 5G radio situation - the pi also cannot serve as sta (client) and AP modes simultaneously. This means that if you have a WiFi uplink, you will be able to connect only via Ethernet (to one device), unless you start equipping the pi with additional usb devices (not optimal for a whole host of additional reasons).

Further, the experience of scanning for and connecting to upstream networks will be severely limited by the pi’s radio capabilities (weak reception, single band, etc)

[Chewie]

@psherman

rlier, it is not just the exclusive 2.4G vs 5G radio situation - the pi also cannot serve as sta (client) and AP modes simultaneously. This means that if you have a WiFi uplink, you will be able to connect only via Ethernet (to one device), unless you start equipping the pi with additional usb devices (not optimal for a whole host of additional reasons).

Further, the experience of scanning for and connecting to upstream networks will be severely limited by the pi’s radio capabilities (weak reception, single band, etc)

I am just confused as other in this thread said their Pi is the exact same as mine and using the same version of OpenWRT and theirs just worked. I thought it might be my card but on every other OS it works.

I am ok with having only wi-fi to as sta and use eith to connect.

[Chewie]

I was really just hoping to know how to change it to 5G so I can try it out and see how it is. If it doesn't meet my needs I'll looking to getting something new when I have a bit of extra money.

Is anyone able to provide info as to why my wireless config shows 5g for band but will only scan 2.4 G Networks when trying to create a wan interface with it.

[psherman]

To change between 2.4G and 5G bands, change the band line below.

@Chewie

	config wifi-device 'radio0'
        	option type 'mac80211'
        	option path 'platform/soc/fe300000.mmcnr/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:0001/mmc1:0001:1'
        	option band '5g'
       	 	option channel '36 144'
        	option htmode 'VHT40'
        	option country 'CA'
        	option cell_density '0'

The option is 5g or 2g. You can do this via the command line/text files, or via LuCi web interface. But you must do this manually to set the operating mode of the radio and if you need to change it, edit accordingly.

[brada4]

@Chewie

option channel '36 144'

It has to be option channels

[Chewie]

@brada4

channels

I am really confused why in my config it has 5g for band already but it is connecting to a 2.4g network.

[brada4]

It can run only in one channel as connected as client.

[Chewie]

@brada4

connected

I don't mean to be rude but I understand that but I don't understand how I change it. When I first booted up and did a scan without connecting to any netwroks I only see my 2.4 ones. How to I switch it to see 5 on initial setup.

[pythonic]

@Chewie

the name I am trying to connect to is IoT (5 GHz)

Ignoring the scanning issue for the moment, can you connect to this SSID if you set the correct details manually? If so it means that your 5GHz radio is functional, if you can't your 5GHz radio is not functioning (in OpenWrt, given that it looks to be functioning in RaspberryPi OS)... in which case you want to inspect the boot log carefully for hints about what might be going wrong.

[Chewie]

After many many hours of trial and error I figured out the issue. In the end it was my home router and the 5 GHz channel was set to auto and was using channel 60. I forced the channel to 34 and instantly the 5G Networks showed up when I did a scan from Pi 4B running my OpenWRT.

[brada4]

Still a bit wrong to have no scan when config points to a disabled channel.