Router which channel

Sebastian Anthony wrote the original version of this article. It has since been updated with new information. This site may earn affiliate commissions from the links on this page. Terms of use. Get ready for lots of antennas. This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links.

Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Because 2. Meanwhile, the higher 5 GHz WiFi frequency supports much faster speeds, allowing you to upload and download files faster for better performance.

Now as we've already touched upon, WiFi channels are the smaller bands within each WiFi frequency band. There are 11 WiFi channels in the 2. With that being said, it's important to note that some of these channels cause more WiF interference than others because they overlap. Each channel on the 2. The channel centers are separated by 5 MHz, and the entire spectrum is only MHz wide. This means the 11 channels have to squeeze into the MHz available, and in the end, overlap.

The example MetaGeek uses here is what is called Adjacent-Channel interference— where neighboring WiFi channels overlap with one another. Other forms of interference also include Co-Channel— where numerous client devices are competing with one another on the same channel— and Non-WiFi— where other common household devices, like microwaves, compete for signal on one of the WiFi frequency bands 2.

With these WiFi frequency band and WiFi channel aspects in mind, you can now find the best WiFi channel for your router. Change the channel to any of the non-default channels, ideally as far away from the defaults as possible - channels 3, 4, 8 and 9 are all good options to get away from the crowding on the 2. If interference from other networks is causing your problem, trial and error will quickly reveal success or failure.

With over channels to choose from on a 5-GHz router, getting away from interference is generally pretty simple -- picking almost any channel other than the defaults will get you away from the crowd. If you prefer a more scientific approach, download the free inSSIDer utility see Resources , which allows you to see not only the names and strengths of the wireless networks around you, but which channel they are using as well.

Then simply pick the channel that is most clear of interference. Andy Warycka has been writing professionally since His work has appeared on sites such as SheKnows.

Within these WiFi frequency bands, we have smaller bands which are referred to as WiFi channels. A WiFi channel is the medium through which our wireless networks can send and receive data.

For routers made in the U. MetaGeek has a great explanation as to why we should avoid using certain channels, which I'll summarize below:. The reason that certain channels aren't the best choice to use is because they have interference. There are a couple different ways this interference is caused: Co-Channel interference results when there are numerous devices all competing for time to talk on the same channel. Adjacent-Channel interference occurs when devices from overlapping channels are trying to talk over each other.

Channels that have interference from other devices are considered to be 'crowded'. The time it takes to transmit data is increased and you are left waiting for your Internet request to be made. The channels with the most interference are those that overlap with each other.

To further explain channel overlapping, let's look at the 2. Considering the 2.