ZTE MC888A limited to 32 devices

[Monnty]

Hi, just took out a new 3 broadband contract and found that my device list exceeds 32. Between lights and home assistants phones etc I need closer to 40 devices, 

The locked internal settings are 32 but all the specs indicate 64 devices can connect at a time. Anyone know how to go about using the rest of the capability of this router please? 

[Monnty]

Ahh, that would make sense actually. If I can lock the likes of my phones and laptop to 5g them we are on a winner... 

Also makes sense why 37 devices do connect and seem to work most of the time.. Thank you 

[PeteG]

Hello, Monnty. 

Oh, that's strange. I'm not sure if the limit is something that can be changed. You might have reached the limit of connected devices within each of the bands. The 2.4ghz band can have a maximum of 32, and the 5ghz band also 32. Most smart home devices, like lights and sockets are 2.4ghz only, so they might be trying to connect to a band that's full.

You might have success if you split the bands, forcing 5Ghz devices to connect to the 5Ghz mode, and reserving the 2.4ghz band for devices that only support 2.4ghz. 

Pete.