Re: Dual wifi connections in Bookworm

Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:

On Sun, 24 Nov 2024 18:50:55 -0000 (UTC), bp wrote:
 

I've now got two wifi connections on my Pi5 running Bookworm. Following
the latest update a day or two ago both come up automatically on reboot
connecting to the same access point with the same frequency and channel.
 
Using both interfaces together seems to result in much worse performance
than either one alone, which I didn't expect at all.

 
If they are on the same frequency/channel, it’s no surprise they’re
interfering with each other. Can you set them on different, non-
overlapping frequencies/channels?

I wondered about that, but the initial settings were "automatic" and
the connection software didn't try to put them on different channels.
Presently the internal wifi remains "automatic" and the USB wifi is
set to channel 5. At this point I'll be interested mostly in whether
the setting is honored (tried it once before, still got channel 2).

There's still something funny about the two channels when used
separately. The internal wifi shows  ~5 ms pings to the access point
with no other traffic but seconds of delay when watching Youtube
videos. The external wifi alone shows ~2 ms delays when idle and
only about 4 ms when watching YouTube. The internal wifi bogs down
very badly under load, in a way that is new compared the initial
Bookworm installation.

On the plus side, at least the internal wifi can connect now. For
quite some time it didn't connect at all. I'm using the same hardware,
only software updates have been applied.

Thanks for writing,

bob prohaska