5G Home internet keeps dropping!

Hey everyone, I do actually have a remedy that will go a long way to solving some of these issues around constant disconnects. Not saying it will work for everyone but it worked for us where we were constantly getting dropped from video business meetings.

Out of the box the 5688W comes with the 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz network selection as automatic. Don't know about the other router models but assuming the same. This basically means that any devices you connect to the network will automatically connect to the 5Ghz network (faster but lesser range) unless the 5Ghz is out of range in which case they will connect to the 2.4Ghz (slower but greater range). This can actually cause an issue with functionality of some 2.4Ghz only IoT devices (e.g. my craftsman garage door opener) as they will automatically try to connect a network that doesn't support them creating a whole new set of problems. Additionally networks can become 'bogged down' if too many devices are connected to them. Every single smart light bulb or plug etc. counts as a connected device. I was >50 devices.

If you log into the TMO app and select the Network tab you will see default network shows as Frequency Band = Automatic (recommended). To remedy the situation take the default network and under Frequency Band select the dropdown and change this network to either 5Ghz or 2.4Ghz (doesn't matter which) and name it accordingly. Then click the pink (I used to work for TMO and they hate their magenta being referred to as pink 😊) + icon in the bottom right hand corner which will allow you to add a second network. If you chose the default network to be 2.4Ghz ensure this new one is 5Ghz and vice versa remembering to make sure you name it accordingly.

Now you will have to completely separated and easily selectable networks. One 2.4Ghz and one 5Ghz. Every connected device in your house will lose connectivity at this point and will need to be reconnected. Now comes the painful part. You need to redo the setup process for everything. Smart TV's, Fire TV's, Plugs, Bulbs, AC, Oven, Fridge, Irrigation, Security Cameras, Tablets literally everything. When going through this process ensure that you connect them all to the 2.4Ghz network. Anything where connectivity is not critical, sideline them all onto this new network.

This should leave your 5Ghz network completely empty and reserved for anything that is time critical. For my Wife and I this is purely our work laptops and cellphones as we both spend most of our days on zoom/teams/conference calls etc. We went through  weeks of constantly having to restart the router and it would always happen right in the middle of a critical work call. Since I went through this process a few weeks ago we haven't seen a single drop for work calls.

Hope this works for you