I just finished setting up my M9 Plus, and found this thread hoping to do the same thing so I can put our high bandwidth devices on the 5GHz band and our other devices on the 2.4GHz band. Just as you can do with pretty much any other router... Hoping this becomes a feature soon – if not I will be returning this ASAP.

TP-Link, please remedy this! Your users here are clearly unhappy with your software. 

@starmanj 

Folks I think we have the answer above. They are telling us they won't "break" their software by overriding their algorithm for assigning frequencies themselves. I suspect it's not even their software, might be from Atheros or whatever chipset they are using. TP-link is cheap, so we aren't going to get the full set of capabilities that a more expensive mesh solution might provide.

@starmanj 

Nonsense, they need to allow the user to specify a priority band for a device.  I need to keep the tablet on 5 GHz otherwise the game streaming sucks.  This is a major flaw with the Deco series if it is true they won't change this.

+1

Bought the x20 with three units just a week ago and thought I did my research. 
 

But this feature is a must. 
Most of my 30 or so connected clients I don't care for but ie the PS5... from wich I would like to stream in HD, no, it doesn't jump to 5GHz. The PS5 measures the network speed and decides the quality of the stream from that. 

So. Please fix this. 

@Spelpojken I have a Netgear Nighthawk Mesh wifi 6 system and bought a TP-Link hoping it would be an improvement in coverage and reliability.  Unfortunately, the intentional 2.4g preference in the software and the response this is buy-design is a deal-breaker for me too.  I will be returning the Deco to Costco. 

@starmanj I did have some success with this but it depends on the circumstances. I have a laptop in my office the floor above the main deco base with a sattelite extender deco in my office which my laptop was connecting to surfacing as 2.4ghz. I was able to click on my device via the app then under the "Linked Deco" (which shows the devices connected) deselect my Laptop which then routed to the main base below giving me 5ghz.

@starmanj so I have the same issue! I just want to add to this thread... hoping this will make tp-link notice it. We dont need different SSID for each band, what we need is an option to have a certain device prioritize the 5ghz band. the fancy routing and all that can be done in the background as it is now, just make sure the devices that have that option selected will try to connect to the 5ghz band always and everytime it is possible. please listen to your costumers tp-link... its the only thing missing and it is a pretty big and basic one! if this gets included, the deco m5 becomes the perfect router for me, checking all the boxes... so please think about it!

I have the same issue. I wish I had come across this thread before purchasing my M9 system. Clearly many folks want this feature but tp-link doesn't want to listen.

@shreeps 

I am having the same issue. But I solved it by enabling the guest network and only left the 2.4ghz on it so the old devices can connect. On my main ssid network I left only the 5ghz on. So all my devices that needs speed connects to 5ghz and the old ones connect to my _guest network. 

I hope I helped. 

@Tony clearly the band that Deco is selecting I. This case is NOT appropriate. I have the same issue and Deco is making incorrect assessments of what band should be used. 
 

We either need the ability to share devices between the guest network and the main network or select the band for each device in the advanced network settings on the Deco. 
 

Can't be difficult to code