If you live in a crowded area, you might have noticed times when your WiFi suddenly slows down or drops off out of nowhere. These performance issues can happen when too many of your neighbors are connecting to the same WiFi channel, which can interfere with your WiFi signal. Here’s everything you need to know about WiFi channels and how to change channels on your router to speed up your WiFi network.
WiFi routers use radio waves to transmit data to all your connected devices. These radio waves are divided into different “WiFi spectrum bands,” which are then divided into “WiFi channels.” Basically, a WiFi channel represents the frequency your router uses to transmit data.
If you think of WiFi bands like highways, then WiFi channels would be like lanes on those highways. In order to achieve the best internet speeds, you want to connect to the fastest WiFi band and the least-crowded WiFi channel.
Before you change your WiFi channel, you should make sure you’re connected to the best WiFi band. There are currently three different WiFi bands available to choose from:
If you have a dual-band or tri-band router, you might be able to change your WiFi band simply by switching to a different WiFi network. Usually, you can just look for networks with names that end in “5G,” 6G,” or “6E” to get the fastest speeds. On the other hand, networks that end in “2G” are typically slower.
Read More: What is dual-band router?
After you connect to a WiFi band, you’ll want to change your WiFi channel. It’s important to do this because many routers will automatically connect to the same WiFi channel as other routers by default. So, if you don’t change it manually, your router might be using the same channel as all your neighbors, which could cause a traffic jam that will slow your WiFi down.
If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of changing your WiFi channel, HelloTech can help. We have thousands of technicians across the country who can come to your home and troubleshoot your WiFi issues in person.
To change your WiFi channel, type your router’s IP address into the address bar of a web browser and hit Enter on your keyboard. Then go to Wireless Settings, choose your WiFi band, and select the channel you want to use from the drop-down menu. Finally, click Save or Apply.
Now that you know how to change your WiFi channel, here’s a quick overview of the best ones to choose from.
There are a total of 11 WiFi channels you can connect to on the 2.4GHz band, but you should only connect to channels 1, 6, or 11. While all 11 channels are 22MHz wide, they are only separated by 5MHz from each other, so there are only three channels that don’t overlap.
Basically, the lanes on the 2.4GHz highway are too close to each other. So, if you choose any channel that isn’t 1, 6, or 11, you’ll be splitting between two lanes. This means your WiFi signal will experience interference from both sides, which can slow your network down significantly.
If you’re using the 5 GHz band, there are around 25 non-overlapping channels you can choose from. And the newest 6GHz band has around 60 non-overlapping channels. In addition, these newer bands also have wider channels to accommodate more users and higher-bandwidth activities.
In order to find the least crowded WiFi channel in your area, you will need to use a WiFi analyzer app. This free app will also show you which WiFi channel you should change to.
To find the best WiFi channel in your area, download the NetSpot app for Windows 10 or Mac. Then install the app and launch it. Next, select your WiFi network, click Details, and select your frequency band. Then you will be able to find which channels are the least crowded.
In the image above, the highlighted network is connected to channel 36 on the 5 GHz band. That channel is fairly crowded, so it might be a good idea to change the channel to the other end of the band’s spectrum.
Once you change your network to a less crowded WiFi channel, you should notice that your bar gets taller, meaning your network speed has increased.
With all WiFi analyzer apps, zero is the best number you can get for speed, but there are other factors to consider. For example, you might want to connect to a wider channel for high-bandwidth activities, even if it’s not the fastest channel. Also, even if a crowded channel gives you the best speed, you might experience less interference by switching to a less crowded channel.
If your WiFi signal is still weak, HelloTech can send a professional to your home as soon as today to fix it for you. Our technicians are certified to install new router or mesh WiFi system, fix your connectivity issues, and extend your current WiFi signal. We’ll even stick around after the job’s done to answer any of your questions.
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