In recent years, wireless networks have come a long way. Despite this, maintaining a more or less sustained and stable speed with the WiFi connection continues to be a problem, in many cases still annoying, in many homes and situations.
Obviously, in this problem different things can come into play, from the way in which our wireless router is configured to the place and area that we have chosen to place it, to the possible existence of nearby interferences, if we live in a separate house or in a building with more neighbors, and how far away are the devices that we connect to it.
Luckily, there are always different options that offer us the possibility of correcting slow transfer speeds , which includes, for example, improving the position of the router and / or modifying some aspects of its configuration with the intention of not only improving the signal , but increase its power.
In the event that on some occasion we have accessed the internal configuration of our wireless router, it is very likely that we have seen the word “channel” . Indeed, most routers have a channel configuration with the option of “automatic”.
However, if you are usually curious, even if you do not have computer experience, it is also likely that you have reviewed that list of dozens of channels, and that you have even wondered what they are, what they are for, and what is even more important: Which of the channels could become faster than the others?
Although it is true that some channels are much faster , this does not necessarily mean that we have to change them yet. On the contrary, it is convenient to know what a WiFi channel is, what it is for and how we could change it when necessary.
What exactly is a WiFi channel?
Today, most wireless routers transmit data using the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands. Each of these bands is divided into channels, which are used for the purpose of sending and receiving data to through the WiFi network.
We could think of them as if they were two roads, and the WiFi channels as existing lanes on those roads. Thus, if we want to choose the fastest lanes (channel), on any of the roads (frequency band), it is convenient to choose those that have less traffic.
In case we are using the 2.4 GHz band, most experts agree that channels 1, 6 and 11 are usually the best options , since they do not tend to overlap each other. Whereas, if we use the 5 GHz band, originally there are 24 non-overlapping channels, from which we can precisely choose.
How to change the WiFi channel
When changing the WiFi channel of our wireless router, it is necessary to log in to the configuration panel of our router , using the web browser that we usually use to read our favorite web pages. Next, we explain the steps that we should follow:
We will start by opening our web browser and in the address barrier we will proceed to write the IP address of our router . Once this is done, we enter the username and password (it is very possible that we will find this information on the label that the manufacturer usually includes at the bottom of the router).
Then click on Wireless Configuration or on Wireless (note that the exact name and location of this section will depend on the router), and select the frequency band for which we want to change the channel; remember, 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz.
Now, we click on the Channels or Channels drop-down menu, which is probably marked with the “Auto” option. And we choose the WiFi channel that interests us the most . To finish, click Save or Apply .
The question is, which channel should we use? For example, if we want maximum performance, with minimal interference, channels 1, 6 and 11 within the 2.4 GHz frequency band are usually the best options.
However, there are also different tools that can positively help us when it comes to discovering which WiFi channels might be the most appropriate. A good example is the NetSpot application, compatible with both Windows and macOS, and totally free.
