How to Tell If a Computer Can Use 5 GHz Band

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Your wireless router must also be able to broadcast at 5 GHz.
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Improve your Wi-Fi experience by accessing the 5 GHz wireless band. The 5 GHz band is superior because it is less crowded and less prone to interference from Bluetooth devices and household appliances such as microwaves. Take advantage of the Command Prompt program on your Windows 8.1 computer to determine whether your wireless card is compatible with the 5-GHz Wi-Fi band.

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Step 1

Press the "Windows" key on your keyboard or click the "Start" button on your desktop to load the Start screen.

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Step 2

Enter "cmd" without quotation marks into the Search prompt and then click the "Command Prompt" icon on the search results under the Apps heading.

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Step 3

Enter the following command into the Command Prompt and press "Enter" to execute it when you're finished:

netsh wlan show drivers

You must enter the command exactly as shown before pressing "Enter" in order for the command to work properly. When the command executes, the Command Prompt analyzes your computer's Wi-Fi networking capabilities and displays a report.

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Step 4

Locate the line in the report labeled "Radio types supported." If the line lists "802.11a" or "802.11n," then your computer's wireless card supports the 5 GHz band.

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