Short answer: put every farm iPhone on one stable 5 GHz network from a router that states how many clients it supports, give the Mac a wired connection, and keep the phones on a network separate from guests and smart devices. Splitting phones across several Wi-Fi names does not give them different public IP addresses — only separate internet connections or proxies do that.
What Wi-Fi does in a phone farm
On an iPhone farm driven from a Mac, the control link is usually the USB cable, not Wi-Fi. Farmero, for example, drives each phone over USB and sends clips down the same cable. The phones still need the internet for everything the apps themselves do: loading feeds, uploading posts, refreshing sessions.
So Wi-Fi carries the heavy traffic — video in both directions — while the cable carries commands. A weak network does not stop the automation from tapping; it makes uploads slow and feeds stall, which looks like the app misbehaving.
What the router has to handle
Consumer routers differ a lot in how many devices they handle well. Rather than trust a marketing phrase, look for the client count the manufacturer states and leave headroom for everything else in the building.
A quick sizing exercise, with assumptions you should replace with your own:
| Input | Assumption | Your number |
|---|---|---|
| Farm iPhones | 10 | |
| Other devices on the same router | 15 | |
| Clip size | 50 MB | |
| Posts per phone per hour at peak | 2 | |
| Upload needed at peak | 10 × 2 × 50 MB = 1 GB per hour |
1 GB an hour is roughly 2.2 Mbps sustained, well within most broadband upload speeds — but warm-ups stream video all night, so download matters more than the upload math suggests. Check your plan's real upload and download at the busiest hour, not the advertised figure.
2.4 GHz or 5 GHz
| 2.4 GHz | 5 GHz | |
|---|---|---|
| Range and walls | Better | Shorter |
| Congestion | Crowded in apartments | Usually cleaner |
| Speed | Lower | Higher |
| Best for a rack in one room | Rarely | Yes |
A rack sits in one place, usually a few meters from the router, so range is not the problem — congestion is. Use 5 GHz for the phones. If the router merges both bands under one name, that is usually fine; if phones keep wandering to 2.4 GHz, give 5 GHz its own network name.
Other habits that help:
- Mac on Ethernet. It frees airtime and takes the Mac out of the Wi-Fi equation when you are troubleshooting.
- Access point near the rack. One mesh node or access point in the same room beats one router two floors away.
- Fixed channel if neighbors are noisy. Automatic channel selection can move the network at 3am.
One network or several?
People often assume that putting phones on different Wi-Fi names separates their accounts. It does not: every network behind the same router exits to the internet from the same public IP.
| Setup | What it changes | What it does not change |
|---|---|---|
| One farm network | Simple, easy to troubleshoot | All phones share one public IP |
| Several SSIDs on one router | Isolation between groups of devices | Still one public IP |
| Separate farm network from home devices | Keeps guests and smart devices off the farm's airtime | Still one public IP |
| One proxy per phone | Each phone gets its own exit IP | Behavior still matters more than IP |
| Separate internet lines or SIMs | Truly separate connections | Cost and admin per line |
A separate network for the farm is still worth doing, for stability and so a family member's download does not stall a post. If you want each phone to have its own address, that is a proxy question — see proxies per phone and SIM vs Wi-Fi.
Doing this with Farmero
Farmero does not need the phones on any particular network; it talks to them over the USB tunnel. Optional per-phone proxies live under Settings → Proxies and are checked before they are assigned. The rest of the physical setup is in the Mac setup guide and running several phones.
FAQ
How many phones can one router handle?
It depends on the router. Use the client count the manufacturer states, count every other device on it, and leave headroom. A dedicated access point near the rack is the simplest upgrade.
Should the phones use 2.4 or 5 GHz?
5 GHz in most cases. A rack is close to the access point, so the shorter range does not matter, and 5 GHz is usually less congested.
Does putting each phone on its own Wi-Fi name help?
Not for separating accounts. Every network on one router shares a public IP. Use proxies or separate connections if you need different addresses.
Does the Mac need Wi-Fi?
It needs internet access. Ethernet is the better choice for a Mac that runs a farm all day.