Sometimes, your internet connection might be just fine, but you are still having problems — slowness, buffering, or dropping altogether. This can often indicate a problem with your Wi-Fi and not the internet service itself. Particularly in high-traffic areas such as apartment buildings, or homes with many devices, the 2.4 GHz band can be subject to interference.

The 5 GHz Wi-Fi band is much less likely to experience these issues. On the CBN CH8568 modems (our typical rental model), the default configuration has band steering enabled — this allows the modem to automatically choose the best band for your devices. This is normally fine, but sometimes you may wish to disable it so you can manually choose which band to connect to. These instructions will walk you through how to do this.

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Applies to: CBN CH8568 modem (the standard SimplyNet cable internet rental modem).

1

Connect to the Modem

In order to make these changes, you will need to be connected to the device by Wi-Fi or Ethernet. If you have a computer with an Ethernet port, connecting directly to the modem's LAN port is recommended.

2

Log in to the Modem's Settings

Once connected, open a web browser and navigate to: http://192.168.0.1/

  • Username: cusadmin
  • Password: The CM MAC address printed on the sticker on the side of your modem (unique to your device)

Contact customer service if you can't locate your MAC address.

3

Disable Band Steering

In the top menu, select Wireless. You will see a Wireless Band Steering option — change it from Enable to Disable, then click Apply Changes.

4

Rename the 5 GHz Band

Once your changes have saved, select Security from the left-hand menu. Under the 5 GHz Wi-Fi configuration, add -5G onto the end of your 5 GHz network name.

For example, if your network is currently CBN-380D2, rename it to CBN-380D2-5G. This way you'll see two networks when connecting to Wi-Fi and can choose between them. You can leave the password the same for both, or set different passwords.

Make sure to save your changes, then log out.

5

Reconnect Your Devices

Once you've made these changes, connect your various devices to either the 2.4 or 5 GHz network as needed. You should see improvements almost immediately.

  • 5 GHz — generally faster and less interference, but shorter range through walls
  • 2.4 GHz — better range for devices in distant rooms or through thick walls
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Feel free to contact us if you have trouble with these instructions, or if you're still experiencing issues after making these changes.