Choosing a wifi channel

In the latter, devices from overlapping channels are trying to talk over each other. You can avoid such interference by choosing to use a non-overlapping, uncrowded WiFi channel. Additionally, there are reasons to use one frequency band over the other; learn more about these reasons here! WiFi channels are each allotted a 20 MHz segment in the frequency band they're in, and can also be bonded together to form wider segments. The width of a WiFi channel dictates how much data can pass through and at what speed , where the wider channels are usually associated with more data transferred at faster speeds— at least, when they aren't impacted by interference.

Interference is more common in certain frequency bands and on certain WiFi channels than others. Depending on the likelihood of interference, there are recommended WiFi channel width settings for routers and access points , as described by Apple for achieving optimal WiFi performance with iOS devices.

However, the same recommendations apply to boosting WiFi performance with any connected device. Here's a summary:. It is typically advised to use the narrower 20 MHz WiFi channel width when in the 2. The Future of Wireless. 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. To change channels on a router, log in to the router configuration screen and look for a Channel or Wireless Channel setting. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Tell us why!

More from Lifewire. What Is How to Get Mbps on an Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for Lifewire. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. If you bought a WiFi router within the last couple of years, then you probably have a decent Most of them have a hardware inside that automatically selects the proper WiFi channel and adjusts the output power thus boosting throughput and cutting down the interference.

Using the 5GHz band and having decently thick walls as well as the general lacking of 5GHz devices usually means that there is a very little interference in your space.

In cases like this you may benefit from using the 40, 80, and MHz channels. Ideally, as everyone gradually upgrades their hardware and starts using 5GHz band, having to select the proper WiFi channel will become obsolete.

It is especially applicable to MIMO setups up to eight in Of course there will be custom cases like fine-tuning the channel selection for your router.

Eventually, even the 5GHz will fill up, but by the time it happens we should be able to figure higher WiFi channel frequencies out. Or maybe entirely new antenna designs will be created for the high-end demands of wireless networking world. Because support for the 2. In reality, both bands have their pros and cons that you should be aware of to know which one to use. In general, higher frequencies have a harder time penetrating solid objects, such as walls and trees, which is why the 5 GHz band is not great for broadcasting data across long ranges.

The good news is that modern Wi-Fi routers can readily use both the 2. Tri-band routers tend to be very expensive, but they are indispensable in highly congested areas, such as city centers. In this section, we provide step-by-step instructions on how you can do just that on every major platform. Windows provides a native way of finding the best WiFi channel, but it relies on a rather unintuitive command-line application, called netsh.

This application is included with all versions of Windows starting from Windows , and its main purpose is to allow local or remote configuration of network devices such as the interface. Needles to say, using netsh as a WiFi channel scanner for Windows is slow and cumbersome. Fortunately, more convenient WiFi channel scanner Windows apps do exist, and NetSpot is the one we recommend to all home users and professionals alike because of its intuitive user interface and impressive capabilities.

As you can see, NetSpot is much simpler to use than netsh, and it offers considerably more features that make troubleshooting WiFi issues a breeze. You should see a list of all WiFi networks available in your local area. To obtain the most accurate results, click the Scan Now button in the bottom-right corner to refresh the list. The left pane displays a convenient summary of the scan results, including the best WiFi channels. Alternatively, you can use a third-party WiFi analyzer app like NetSpot and make your life a bit easier while obtaining more comprehensive results.

NetSpot wireless channel scanner Mac app can also visualize WiFi channel distribution, allowing you to see at a glance which channels are used the most by selected WiFi networks. To visualize WiFi channel distribution with NetSpot, select each WiFi network you want to plot on a graph and click Details in the bottom-left corner of the main window.

Finally, switch to the Channels 2,4 GHz tab. You can just use a command-line utility called iwlist, whose purpose is to display useful information from a wireless network interface, such as the WiFi card in your laptop or the USB WiFi dongle connected to your desktop computer. There are several WiFi channel scanner apps for Android that helps find the best WiFi channel using a smartphone or tablet, but we recommend the Android version of NetSpot because you can download it for free directly from Google Play Store to see important WiFi parameters, including WiFi channels, in real-time.

NetSpot for Android is just as easy to use as its desktop counterpart, and it supports both 2. Launch the app. Switch to the Comparison tab and instantly see which channels in the 2. By swiping the graph from right to left, you can switch from the 2. Not many iPhone and iPad users know that AirPort Utility, whose purpose is to manage WiFi network and AirPort base stations, contains a fairly capable WiFi scanner that you can use to discover the best WiFi channel available in your area.

Perhaps the best example is NetSpot, which is available from the App Store and designed to work with the WiPry x dual-band spectrum analyzer 2. To change WiFi channel, you first need to enter its admin interface. This is usually done by entering a specific IP address in your web browser it should be printed on the bottom of your router , but some newer routers come with a companion smartphone app.

As you can see, learning how to change a WiFi channel on your router is easy, and the whole process takes just a few minutes. As explained in this article, channel overlapping leads to co-channel interference, which can dramatically degrade WiFi performance and cause annoying slowdowns and other issues. Without a WiFi analyzer like NetSpot, it can be very difficult and tedious to solve issues created by channel overlapping and determine which WiFi channel would be more suitable.

The good news is that co-channel interference can be easily eliminated by proper WiFi channel planning. NetSpot is very good at visualizing the networks to help you make the right decision. With NetSpot's visualization you will immediately see the cause of the wireless issues and how to eliminate them. You can get the recommendation on which channel to use and the best thing about it — you don't have to be a WiFi professional to choose the optimal channel for your network.

All you need to do is just open NetSpot app and click Discover. Click the "Channels 2. Contents What is a WiFi Channel? What is a WiFi Channel? Last updated on January 13, pm. Tagged: Router WiFi. Was this article helpful? Yes No. Need to chat with an expert? Can't find the answer you're looking for? Don't worry, we're here to help.