Telus Wifi Customers and 2.4GHz vs. 5GHz Network Band

  • 10 May 2022
  • 7 replies
  • 1731 views

Hopefully other Telus Wifi users will find this post helpful and maybe share my pain. Telus upgraded my router to the white Arcadyan router that looks like a trashcan. The router’s performance is good, but Sonos is unstable, especially when trying to Airplay content to the speakers. I understood that Sonos speakers use the 2.4GHz to play media content, but they also use the 5GHz band for operational tasks (inter-speaker communications). When logged into my router’s management GUI I can see the speakers are connected to my Wifi network. However, what I didn’t realize, and thankfully what a Sonos support call confirmed, was that the speakers were locked to the 5GHz network. When I reconnected my speakers to the new Telus network they initially connected to the network on the 5GHz band. The Arcadyan router broadcasts the same network name for both frequency bands, and it decides which device is assigned to which network band (2.4 or 5GHz). You can turn off specific bands in the admin interface (Wi-Fi > General Setting), and then reboot the speaker so it joins the 2.4GHz network, but that didn’t solve the issue. The router wants to push the speakers to 5GHz, but in order to ensure they work consistently they need to be on the 2.4GHz band. I have assigned static LAN IP addresses (Network > LAN > LAN DHCP) but that option doesn’t let you set the frequency band associated with the IP. So, the only fix seems to be to connect one speaker to your home network via ethernet and then it should let the other speakers know to connect to the 2.4GHz band. Alternatively, you could setup another network that is strictly connected to the Sonos speakers or use a Sonos Boost. Any other suggestions?


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7 replies

I typically split into MyWiFi_2 and MyWiFi_5. In my case coverage is good for both bands. Clients that can benefit from faster speeds are set to use MyWiFi_5. 

Userlevel 7
Badge +23

Some routers do a bad job of passing data between 2.4 and 5GHz radios, and sounds like you have one.

ISP routers often fall into this low-quality category. Is there no way you can replace the ISP router with a properly functional one?

Sonos requires a fully working local network, which you do not have.

Connecting one or more SONOS units to your wired network, using BOOST if necessary, will allow SONOS to build it’s own private, stable mesh network.

I am having problem with Sonos since Telus switched to Pure Fibre Arcadyan hub in July 2022. While my internet experience has improved, my Sonos performance has plummeted. It just doesn’t respond to iPhone and desktop Sonos apps. When I turned it off and turned it on, the error on the iPhone shows as “can’t find and lets fix it” and desktop [imac] error shows “can't find Sonos”. The way it works is restarting iMac and iPhone, turning off/on the hub. This routine just doesn’t make any sense. I spent almost 1.5 hour with Telus technician over the phone to resolve the unstable Sonos issue; and another hour with Sonos technician. Both pointed their finger at each other obviously…nothing solved. I just found out from a friend who has exactly the same Sono One is having the exact problem - Telus pure fibre hub. This unresolved issue just burnt my desire to upgrade Sonos and thinking of trashing it to the dumpster. Does anyone know if Sonos is actually helping with this issue?  

Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Since the problem is most likely cuased by the behaviour of the Telus router (poor handling of communication between the 2,4 and 5Ghz bands) the solution is either wiring one of your Sonos devces directly to your router or using an Boost, thereby taking Sonos off your wifi. See @buzz ’s comment.

Does anyone have an actual solution to get Sono’s to work on the new Telus wi-fi hub?

Nope, still same problem after spending hours with Sonos tech and Telus. What I do is turn wifi on and off on my desktop when the error says cannot find my desktop server. Sonos and Telus pointing fingers at each other. I stop considering upgrading my Sonos.