Wireless Network Connectivity Issues with New 802.11ac Router

Possible Causes for Difficulty Connecting Older Devices

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Question

A customer is reporting difficulty connecting some devices after replacing a wireless router with a new wireless 802.11ac router.

The SSID, encryption and password are the same as the previous router.

A technician goes on-site and notices the devices that are no longer connecting appear to be several years ago.

Which of the following is MOST likely the problem?

A.

the password needs to be re-entered. B.

there is a security type mismatch. C.

there is insufficient antenna power. D.

there is a frequency mismatch. E.

the channel has changed.

D.

Explanations

A customer is reporting difficulty connecting some devices after replacing a wireless router with a new wireless 802.11ac router.

The SSID, encryption and password are the same as the previous router.

A technician goes on-site and notices the devices that are no longer connecting appear to be several years ago.

Which of the following is MOST likely the problem?

A.

the password needs to be re-entered.

B.

there is a security type mismatch.

C.

there is insufficient antenna power.

D.

there is a frequency mismatch.

E.

the channel has changed.

D.

The most likely problem in this scenario is a frequency mismatch, which is option D.

When a wireless router is replaced with a new one, it is possible that the new router is configured to use a different wireless frequency band, such as 5 GHz instead of 2.4 GHz or vice versa. If the older devices that are no longer connecting were designed to work on the previous frequency band that the new router is not using, then they will not be able to connect to the new router.

Option A, which suggests that the password needs to be re-entered, is less likely to be the problem because the SSID, encryption, and password are the same as the previous router. If the password were incorrect, then none of the devices would be able to connect to the new router.

Option B, which suggests a security type mismatch, is also less likely to be the problem because the SSID and encryption settings are the same as the previous router. If there were a security type mismatch, then none of the devices would be able to connect to the new router.

Option C, which suggests insufficient antenna power, is unlikely to be the problem because this would affect all devices, not just the older ones.

Option E, which suggests that the channel has changed, is also unlikely to be the problem because the SSID is the same as the previous router, which means the channel should be the same as well. Additionally, if the channel were changed, then all devices would be affected, not just the older ones.

In summary, a frequency mismatch is the most likely problem because the new router may be using a different wireless frequency band than the old router, which can cause older devices to be unable to connect to the new router.