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Asus wireless router: Can’t find 5GHz Wi-Fi network in computer but can find it in iPhone- Here is the solution

I recently upgraded my bellowed Asus router to the latest and greatest one to take advantage of higher internet speed that I was already paying for 😊. I like Asus routers and like to stay with Asus due to my familiarity, ease of setup (upload old setting file and you are up and running in no time), and it has always been reliable for me. I upgraded my whole setup- modem and router (Asus RT-AX86S).

I was already using 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi so I was not expecting any compatibility issues- that’s what I thought at least. After everything was up and running, I could only find 2.4GHz network in my PC and not 5ghz- weird. I knew my PC is capable as I have been using 5GHz for a long time. I was able to solve the issue after a lot of trouble. Details below:

Symptoms:

• Recently updated router from old router. Old settings were uploaded to router.
• Can see 5GHz network in phone
• Can not see 5GHz Wi-Fi network in laptop (laptop is compatible with 5GHz of course)
• All computer drivers are updated, and router is using latest firmware

If your symptoms do not match above, then you may have a different problem and need to find another solution.

Struggle:

I tried everything that I could. Played with all settings in the Asus Router. All of the online searches pointed me to either compatibility issues with PC, updating PC drivers, changing network bandwidth, network channel, and many other settings. No luck- I tried everything.

I then decided to check basics. Since it was clear that PC is not a problem, and neither is there any problem with router because my iPhone was able to see and connect to 5Ghz network! No idea how and why. No help. Nothing works.

Solution:

Finally, I found a solution. It’s hard to believe if this was really the issue but somehow it worked for me. Are you ready? Here it is:

• Make sure to remove or forget old network from your PC
• In the Asus Router settings, go to Wireless settings and select 5Ghz (if it’s not already selected)
• Go to Authentication method
• Change Authentication Method to WPA3-personal
  • This is the latest authentication method. I was using WPA2 and somehow changing the protocol to the latest one, forced something in the router
• Save and restart router
• Try finding 5GHz network in your computer and see if you can find it- mine show up at the bottom 😊 Whoho!
• Connect and enjoy!

My theory: I feel like changing the authentication method may have forced to change the channel or open new channels that made network visible to my laptop.

Do let me know how it goes for you. Enjoy!