Couple of questions. 1) are you trying to set up these PLAY:1s with the S1, or S2 controller? And 2) why are you even worried about 2.4Ghz vs 5Ghz at this point? Seems like you’re borrowing trouble before it’s needed. Set up the system using the Pixel and the normal process (which shouldn’t care at all about 2.4/5G, unless you’re already aware of a router issue). For now, leave the names of the two channels the same. 

Helllo Bruce, thanks for the response. To back up the timeline, I initially just attempted to set up the S2 controller using the Pixel with the default connection. Sonos would not connect to the internet after adding my speaker, it just threw an error message. That led me to google, where I found posts indicating that you need to use 2.4G to connect to the Sonos Speakers but the pixel was using the 5G connection.  That led me to splitting into 2.4G and 5G and trying again, which lead me to my post.

I also went back to my old router and I could connect (just to check nothing else was wrong). I am replacing the old router, as it randomly drops the wireless connection, requiring a router reboot.

Terry

First, I think the data you’re taking in splitting the channels is erroneous. It does sound like there’s a network issue with the old router, as a guess simple duplicate IP address concerns, certainly nothing that would end up in a new router. But dropping in a new router should be relatively easy, especially if you follow the the new router - installation instructions FAQ. Or even just set up the new router with the same SSID and password, in which case there would be no reason to touch the Sonos at all. 

Have you called Sonos Support directly to discuss it?

When you speak directly to the phone folks, they have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and network.