Tri band vs. Dual band mesh – Which offers the widest coverage?
Choosing whether to purchase a dual or tri-band is a common dilemma faced by during router purchase. Your type of devices will determine which one to go with as most dual band routers are as fast as the tri-band routers.
When purchasing a router one of the questions you will be confounded with is whether to a purchase a dual or tri-band router. The key difference between the two is that the dual band will run on two bands – 2.4GHz and 5Ghz while the tri-band will have one 2.4GHz and two 5Ghz frequency. Many of the router manufacturers will market their maximum theoretical speeds. You will find specs like 3200 for a tri-band and 1,750Mps for a dual band. You have to be careful when interpreting this speeds as they are just theoretical and not the actual router speeds.
Table of Contents
What are the differences between Tri band and Dual band mesh?
Type |
Tri band |
Dual band |
Bands |
One 2.4GHz and two 5GHz |
One 2.4GHz and one 5GHz |
Speeds |
450Mbps for 2.4GHz and 1,300GHz for 5GHz |
600Mbps for 2.4GHz band and 1,300GHz for 5Ghz |
Active/connected clients |
Less active clients |
More connected clients |
Usage |
Supports heavy Wi-Fi usage |
Moderate usage |
Broadband speed |
Very fast |
Average |
Tri band vs. Dual band mesh – How do they differ?
Broadcast signal
The first key difference between the two is how they broadcast their signals. The dual band will broadcast through a 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency while the tri-band will do this on one 2.4GHz band and two 5GHz band. The bands run concurrently and the router automatically switches one to the faster band. however, note that there some older devices that may not be compatible with the 5GHz band.
A dual band router will make sense for you, if what you are after is compatibility. There those instances where you find yourself with older and newer devices. In this instance, you can have the older device connected to the 2.4GHz band and the newer devices on the 5Ghz frequency. When it comes to the tri-band router you have two or more 5GHz bands. Instead of your Wi-Fi network suffering from congestion due to the use of the bands, the router will split your Wi-Fi theoretical speeds among the shared devices. This allows you to stream your 4K videos on one channel and also play online games on another channel without the speeds been interfered with.
Speeds
While it seems obvious that when considering speed one should go for the tri-band router instead of the dual-band router, you have to put into consideration that the manufacturers theoretical speeds may not be what you experience in reality. For the tri-band router, you will often see a maximum speed of 3,200 Mbps and 2,167Mbps for the dual-band router. The provided speeds for the dual-band router is often advertised as 450MBps for the 2.4GHz and 1,300Mbps for the 5Ghz band. For the tri-band it is 600Mbps for the 2.4GHz band and 1,300Mbps for the 5GHz band. You should note that the kind of device that you use will play a vital role in this. In some instances, if you are using just two or three devices you may not notice any change in speeds should you upgrade from a dual band router to a tri-band router.
Tri band vs. Dual band mesh – A Comparison Overview
Tri band – Overview
The tri-band as the name suggests offers you one 2.4GHz frequency and two 5GHz bands. During purchase you will notice that most of the tri-band are recorded to have maximum theoretical speeds of up to 3Gbps. You should be careful at this as the manufacturer is simply starting the output which may vary a lot from what is actually on the ground.
When it comes to speed you can expect to get speeds of up to 600Mbps for the 2.4GHz band and around 1,300 for the 5GHz. Since you have two 5GHz bands you can enjoy high connectivity for most of your devices without slowing down your network. The tri-band are more expensive than the dual bands.
When it comes to labeling you will notice that your tri-band routers often come with numbers on the front. You will get something like ac3200. In this scenario, you get speeds of 600Mbps on the 2.4GHz then have your two 5GHz bands giving you 1,300. This totals to 3200Mbps. Many people will misinterpret this to mean that you can have a device running on a total theoretical speed of 3,200Mbps. The actual maximum speed will actually be 1,300Mbps.
Pros
- Offers more bandwidth
- Allows connection of more devices to the network
- You can relegate specific devices to the faster bands
- The interfile transfers among devices is very high
Cons
They tend to be very expensive
TP Link Deco M9
- Whole home coverage – cover up to 4, 500 sq. Ft. With seamless, high-performance Wi-Fi and eliminate...
- Faster tri-band speed for more devices
The Deco M9 is a tri-band with one 2.4GHz band and two 5Ghz bands. It operates on the 802.11ac circuitry which makes it really fast. The router will use one of its dedicated 5GHz frequency for backhaul. The router will support a total bandwidth of 1,733Mbps and 433Mbps spatial stream. It’s 2.4GHz is slower and only offers 400Mbps. Whenever your network becomes congested the router will get up to 50% of the bandwidth from its 2.4GHz band and another 50% from the 5GHz band. This will give you a combined backhaul capacity of up to 1,500Mbps. The router is pretty easy to setup due to its mobile app. It does have clear instructions on how to setup the router. Since the unit does come with multiple nodes you can allocate them names. At close range it scores up to 547Mbps and at 33 feet it will score 449Mbps. The unit is great for people living in areas with multiple walls. The Deco M9 is compatible with many home smart devices. It will work with your smart bulbs and security systems. You can control almost anything in your network through the mobile app. You can also use it to setup smart triggers for things like smart locks or security systems.
Dual band mesh – Overview
The key difference between dual and tri-band routers is that the dual band just use two bands – 2.4GHz and 5GHz. The router will switch a device to one of the bands depending on its needs. In some instances, you will encounter some old devices that are not compatible with the 5GHz band.
When it comes to the overall speeds, the dual-band will deliver collective speeds of up to 2,167Mbps. This can be broken down to 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 1,300Mbps band. However, note that it is not possible for most devices to utilize most of the speeds described.
The 2.4GHz while offering less speeds than the 5GHz band, has the advantage of penetrating through walls due to its lower frequency. It also has the downside of been interfered with by other devices like Bluetooth devices or microwave ovens. If you have a dual band router in your home, you can use the 2.4GHz for light browsing like social media surfing, checking mails and website browsing while using the 5GHz for 4K video streaming, and playing some high intensive video games/
To relieve the load on both bands the router has the capacity of allocating frequency to specific devices.
Pros
- Offers decent speeds and range for home use
- Affordable
- Offers some latest router technologies like beamforming and MU-MIMO
Cons
The 2.4GHz band is often not that strong and subject to interference
Netgear XRM570 Nighthawk Pro Gaming
- Nighthawk Pro Gaming - dramatically reduces lag by prioritizing online gaming to bypass network...
- Mesh Wi-Fi - tri-band mesh extender extends Wi-Fi everywhere in the home to stream and game at top...
If you are serious about gaming and are in search of a suitable mesh router then the Nighthawk tops the list. The unit uses some of the latest 802.11ac circuitry and mesh technology. The range is good and this helps in eliminating dead zones. It also comes with malware protection to keep your router safe.
A 1.7GHz dual core processor that is supported by 512MB of RAM and 256 of flash memory powers the Nighthawk. The router mesh is capable of delivering 866Mbps for its two 5GHz band while delivering 400Mbps for the 2.4GHz band. The router comes with internal antennas and it is capable of covering a range of 5,000 square feet. You can manage the router through a mobile app for iOS and Android. You will also find some cool features like Network monitor, Geo-filter, Hybrid VPN, and Quality of Service (QoS).
Conclusion: So, which is better: Tri-band or dual band mesh?
When you have a dual band you will have the router running on either the 2.4GHz or 5GHz band. If you have slower devices they will automatically connect to the more compatible 2.4GHz. While this is recommendable, most modern devices can connect to the 5GHz band. The tri-bandis most suitable when you have multiple devices as you can connect them to the more powerful 5GHz band without them slowing down your connections.
FAQ
What is the maximum supported speed for dual band routers?
The speed quoted on the router is the theoretical speed and you may probably not hit such speeds during operation. It is for this reason that you will need to run your router through various speed tests. Most of the dual band routers have a maximum theoretical speed of 2,167Mbps.
Will connection of more devices to my tri-band network slow speeds?
The tri-band is very efficient due to the addition of two 5Ghz bands. Most of the tri-band routers have a maximum theoretical speed of up to 3Gbps. This means it will not slow down if you add more devices. The file transfers from one device to another are also faster and better than in the dual bands.
