Why can't the Droid 2 connect to 5 GHz WiFi networks?

Question

The Droid 2 can connect to 2.4 GHz wireless networks, such as 802.11b/g/n, but not 5.0 GHz networks such as 802.11a/n. Why is this? Is there any workaround to allow it to connect to both types of wireless-N WiFi networks?

_{Note, this is similar to a question that was recently deleted by its owner and I didn't get a chance to answer. Hopefully this will be useful to others in the future.}

Answer 1

The WL1271 WiFi chip in the Droid 2 does not support 5.0 GHz networks, so there's sadly no possibility of a workaround. Its "better cousin", the WL1273 chip, does support 5 GHz networks; unfortunately, Motorola went the cheap route. You can get more info on these chips at the Texas Instruments website.