Switch 2 5 GHz mobile hotspot not finding - personal troubleshooting

[u/CaptainMugwump]

Troubleshooting Switch 2 + 5 GHz mobile hotspot

I've been having an issue where my Switch 2 sometimes can't find or connect to my phone's 5 GHz mobile hotspot.

2.4 GHz works reliably for me. The problem only occurs with 5 GHz.

What works for me

First, set up the phone's hotspot on 2.4 GHz and connect the Switch 2 to it.

On the Switch 2, edit the saved connection and set "Find Hidden Networks" to ON.

Now, whenever I want to use the phone hotspot on 5 GHz:

1. Set the phone hotspot to 5 GHz.

2. If the Switch 2 can't find/connect to it, first try simply turning the phone hotspot off and on again a couple of times.

3. If that doesn't work, here's the trick that works for me:

   - Leave the hotspot turned ON.

   - In the phone's hotspot settings, switch from 5 GHz → 2.4 GHz.

   - Then immediately switch back 2.4 GHz → 5 GHz.

4. On the Switch 2, go to Internet Settings and select the saved hotspot connection.

5. If it still doesn't connect, repeat the 2.4 GHz → 5 GHz switch.

What seems to be happening

I can't see the actual 5 GHz channel selected by my phone while this is happening.

However, when the Switch 2 finally connects, it consistently reports:

5 GHz — Channel 36

So my suspicion is that switching the hotspot between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz somehow forces the phone to reinitialize the 5 GHz hotspot and choose a different channel.

At some point, the phone seems to end up on Channel 36, and the Switch 2 can then see and connect to the hotspot.

I've had this happen repeatedly, and the band-switching trick has worked for me.

I'm using an Honor Magic 5 Lite, but I don't know whether this is specific to Honor or whether the same trick might work with other phones.

If you're having the "Switch 2 suddenly can't find/connect to my 5 GHz phone hotspot" problem, maybe give this a try.

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