Wifi what channel to use

Which Wifi Channel should I use? [closed]

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Very confused. I’m using inSSiDer, WiFi Overview 360 and Wifi Analyzer apps to try to determine the best wifi channel to use. Assuming all channels are in use and there are about 20 different users in close proximity. Q1: Signal Strength If all channels are in equal use, do you select a channel where others that use it have the lowest signal strength? I’m guessing that a higher signal strength means that it’s from a router from your closest neighbour and you want to avoid that. Is that the case? Does lower signal strength mean the person using it is further away and therefore less likely to interfere with your signal? If 2 people are on channel 1 and have high signal strength and 2 people are on channel 11 and have low signal strength, do you choose channel 11? Assume 6 cannot be used. Q2: Signal Strength Weighted Against Number of People What is the impact of signal strength compared to number of people using channel? If 1 person is on channel 1 with very high signal strength and 2 people are on channel 11 with low signal strength, do you choose channel 11 over 1? Assume 6 cannot be used? Q3: Channel Overlap If, for example, I had 11 routers sitting on top of each other, each set to a different channel, I’m guessing channel 1 and 11 would be the least interferred. Is that right? People go on about the fact that only channel 1, 6 or 11 should be used (in US) as they don’t overlap but surely that statement is wrong. Yes, if only 3 people were using Wifi, the best channels to use would be 1, 6 and 11 as they don’t overlap but in practice, there are about 20 people using the channels in the same area. What do you do in that scenerio. Do you go for the shoulder channels if all channels are being used equally with equal strength? Q4: Auto Channel Select Do routers set to auto channel select only choose between 1, 6 and 11? How do they make the choice? Do they select by choosing channel with lowest other routers and do they factor in signal strengths. My router auto chooses channel 1 but my closest neighbour is on that channel. Is that correct. Q5: Baby Monitors and Wireless Phones What channels do 2.4 GHz baby monitors and wireless phones use? No useful info on the internet for them. Do inSSiDer, etc. pick them up? Q6: I have access to channel 13. All other things being equal, am I better to use this over channel 11 as it is further away from the other channels? Those questions have puzzled me for a number of years and Google is not helping!! Would really be grateful if someone could give sensible answers to one or all of them. Thanks, Mike.

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How to Choose the Best Wi-Fi Channels for Your Network

An MIT graduate who brings years of technical experience to articles on SEO, computers, and wireless networking.

Michael Heine is a CompTIA-certified writer, editor, and Network Engineer with 25+ years’ experience working in the television, defense, ISP, telecommunications, and education industries.

In This Article

What to Know

• Wi-Fi connections often perform equally well on all channels. If not, test each channel individually and choose the one that works best.
• Advanced: Use a Wi-Fi/network analyzer to test a local area for existing wireless signals and identify a channel based on results.
• To change channels on a router, log in to the router configuration screen and look for a Channel or Wireless Channel setting.

All Wi-Fi network equipment communicates over specific wireless channels designated by a number. Under normal conditions, you don’t need to worry about these settings, but if you want to change the Wi-Fi channel number to avoid interference, you can do it.

How to Choose the Best Wi-Fi Channel Number

In many environments, Wi-Fi connections perform equally well on any channel. Sometimes, the best choice is to leave the network set to defaults without any changes. Performance and reliability of connections vary across channels, however, depending on the sources of radio interference and the frequencies. No single channel number is inherently best relative to the others.

In the U.S., for example, some people prefer to set their 2.4 GHz networks to use the lowest possible (1) or highest possible channels (11) to avoid mid-range frequencies because some home Wi-Fi routers default to the middle channel 6. However, if neighboring networks do the same, interference and connectivity conflicts result.

In extreme cases, you may need to coordinate with your neighbors on the channels each uses to avoid mutual interference.

More technically inclined home admins run network analyzer software to test a local area for existing wireless signals and identify a safe channel based on the results. The WiFi Analyzer app for Android is a good example of such an application. It plots the results of signal sweeps on graphs and recommends appropriate channel settings at the push of a button.

Less technical people may test each wireless channel individually and choose one that seems to work best. Often, more than one channel works well.

Because the effects of signal interference vary over time, the best channel one day may turn out later not to be a good choice. Periodically monitor your environment to see if conditions have changed such that a Wi-Fi channel update makes sense.

There are 11 channels on the 2.4 GHz band, with channel 1 operating at a center frequency and channel 11 operating at a higher frequency. Popular 5 GHz channels include 36, 40, 44, and 48; each channel is separated by 5 MHz.

How to Change Wi-Fi Channel Numbers

To change channels on a home wireless router, log in to the router’s configuration screens and look for a setting called Channel or Wireless Channel. Most router screens provide a drop-down list of supported channel numbers.

Other devices on a local network auto-detect and adjust their channel numbers to match the router or wireless access point with no action needed. However, if certain devices fail to connect after changing the router’s channel, visit the software configuration utility for each of those devices and make matching channel number changes there. The same configuration screens can be checked at any time to verify the numbers in use.

2.4 GHz Wi-Fi Channel Numbers

Wi-Fi equipment in the U.S. and North America features 11 channels on the 2.4 GHz band:

• Channel 1 operates at a center frequency of 2.412 GHz.
• Channel 11 operates at 2.462 GHz.
• Other channels operate at frequencies in between, evenly spaced at 5 MHz (0.005 GHz) intervals.
• Wi-Fi gear in Europe and other parts of the world also supports channels 12 and 13 running at the next-higher frequency levels of 2.467 GHz and 2.472 GHz, respectively.

A few additional restrictions and allowances apply in certain countries. For example, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi technically supports 14 channels, although channel 14 is only available for old 802.11b equipment in Japan.

Because each 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi channel requires a signaling band roughly 22 MHz wide, radio frequencies of adjacent channels significantly overlap each other.

5 GHz Wi-Fi Channel Numbers

The 5 GHz band offers more channels than 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. To avoid problems with overlapping frequencies, 5 GHz equipment restricts available channels to certain numbers within a larger range. This approach is similar to how AM and FM radio stations within a local area keep separation between each other on the bands.

For example, popular 5 GHz wireless channels in many countries include 36, 40, 44, and 48, while other numbers in between are not supported. Channel 36 operates at 5.180 GHz with each channel offset by 5 MHz, so that Channel 40 operates at 5.200 GHz (20 MHz offset), and so on. The highest-frequency channel (165) operates on 5.825 GHz. Equipment in Japan supports a different set of Wi-Fi channels that run at lower frequencies (4.915 to 5.055 GHz) than the rest of the world.

Reasons to Change Wi-Fi Channel Numbers

Many home networks in the U.S. use routers that, by default, run on channel 6 on the 2.4 GHz band. Neighboring Wi-Fi home networks that run over the same channel generate radio interference that can cause network performance slowdowns. Reconfiguring a network to run on a different wireless channel helps minimize these disruptions.

Some Wi-Fi gear, particularly older devices, may not support automatic channel switching. Those devices can’t connect to the network unless their default channel matches the local network’s configuration.

To forget a Wi-Fi network on Mac, select the Wi-Fi icon in the top-right > Open Network Preferences > Wi-Fi > Advanced > choose Wi-Fi network > select minus (-) sign > OK. In macOS 13, select the Wi-Fi icon > Wi-Fi Settings > select three dots next to Wi-Fi network name > Forget This Network.

Open the Ring app > select three lines in upper-right > Devices > choose your Ring doorbell > Device Health > Change Wi-Fi Network.

To change the name of your Wi-Fi network, open your web browser of choice and log into your router. Find the Name or SSID field with the current Wi-Fi name, then enter a new name and Apply or Save changes.

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