Unable to play using 5GHz WiFi -- good signal

[Nazo-11655]

So a while back I got an “AC1200” USB 3.0 WiFi adapter that was reportedly fine for gaming. It uses the RealTek RTL8812BU chipset. In fact, I got two since I was building a computer for a friend. I tested it a fair bit on the other computer and it did just fine in Overwatch. I would swear I remember it also working just fine on my own system at that time. However, as of some time ago it has been quite impossible. What’s really strange is the 2.4GHz works. I was hoping maybe I’d get a bit less latency on the 5GHz and I wanted to at least try it, but it’s a bit strange. The game absolutely will not work when I use my 5GHz connection. It struggles even to log in in the first place and the rare times it does it exits very quickly. The really strange thing is, this is not a signal quality issue. It stays at a very steady full five bar signal (ironically the 2.4GHz would drop to four bars from time to time.)

I’ve also played a few other games ok with this. Though most of my others aren’t as picky I’m sure. It’s honestly more than just a little bit strange that something this game does somehow specifically fails if I’m using the 5GHz network versus the 2.4. It might be that latency wouldn’t be any better (mostly I just thought it would be worth a try) but I do want to keep it on the faster 5GHz network as I do actually use the bandwidth from time to time (transferring data through the network and etc) and switching back and forth is more than a bit troublesome.

It seems like it’s something this specific game does. I’d swear it happened after an update a while back (one that gave me a lot of other troubles too, so I kind of stopped playing for a while at the time anyway) but I’m not 100% sure. I’d like to resolve this if I could.

[Nicole-1893]

@Nazo-11655

What’s really strange is the 2.4GHz works. I was hoping maybe I’d get a bit less latency on the 5GHz and I wanted to at least try it, but it’s a bit strange. The game absolutely will not work when I use my 5GHz connection.

It could be that you’re on a channel of the 5ghz that is crowded in your neighborhood or building. It could also be that the 5ghz is malfuncitoning. I had this same router and also experienced the 5ghz die and then could only use 2.4ghz until it also died. After some research, I found many people used an older firmware to help solve their problem, so you might investigate that when you have a chance. I’m afraid there’s not much else I can offer since this isn’t an Overwatch client issue, but an issue with your home hardware.

[Ghostdose-1721]

@Nicole-1893

It could be that you’re on a channel of the 5ghz that is crowded in your neighborhood or building. It could also be that the 5ghz is malfuncitoning. I had this same router and also experienced the 5ghz die and then could only use 2.4ghz until it also died. After some research, I found many people used an older firmware to help solve their problem, so you might investigate that when you have a chance. I’m afraid there’s not much else I can offer since this isn’t an Overwatch client issue, but an issue with your home hardware.

@Nicole thank you so much for your response. I had a similar issue recently and i went thru an analysis of my local networks and their channels, changed my 5GHz network to a channel less populated in my area and that fixed my issue! Much obliged, was quite infuriating knowing that i previously had zero issues on 5GHz. <3 thank you so much!

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