How to Find the Best Wi-Fi Channel

If you live in an apartment complex, or anywhere else with a lot of wireless networks, you've probably noticed more than just the passive-aggressive network IDs that your neighbors use — you've probably had problems with your wireless connections dropping out, or just not being as fast as you'd like. This often has to do with the Wi-Fi channels in your area.

What is a Wi-Fi Channel?

Your Wi-Fi router is conceptually similar to the radio you have in your car. Just like a radio, Wi-Fi routers transmit and receive at certain frequencies. If you tune in to the right frequency on a radio, you'll hear music. If you don't, you'll hear static, or nothing at all. Consumer routers have three major frequencies they operate on: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz.

However, not every single bit is actually transmitted at any of those frequencies. Instead, there are actually a range of frequencies used, and those different frequencies are named channels. For example, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi has 14 different channels:

Note that Wi-Fi channels overlap with nearby channels. Channels 1, 6, and 11 are the most frequently used for 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, and these three are the only ones that don't overlap with each other. 5GHz has about 130 channels available between 5GHz and 5.8GHz, and 6GHz Wi-Fi has more than 200 available between 5.9GHz and 7.1GHz. The extra breathing room in 5GHz and 6GHz Wi-Fi means there are more channels with no overlap, which tends to lead to better performance. So, how does all of this affect how fast and reliable your Wi-Fi network is?

Why Does My Wi-Fi Channel Matter?

At the end of the day, Wi-Fi is a wireless signal, just like the radio you have in your car, and it is subject to similar problems.

You've probably had the experience of "dialing in" a radio station before — you can kinda hear the music at 95, but it sounds wrong, disorted. You tune up to 95.1 and bam. You're getting clear music. Other times, you may have been between cities and noticed that you're hearing two overlapping songs on the same frequency!

Wi-Fi routers are a little bit like that. When multiple routers are trying to "talk" on the same channel, the information transmitted becomes jumbled, much like when two radio stations broadcast different music on the same channel. However, because Wi-Fi transmits so much data digitally, you don't really get amusing mashups like you do with overlapping radio stations — you get garbled nonsense. Of course, routers and wireless devices are smart enough to detect that there is a problem, and there are a number of ways they compensate for it. It is their attempts to compensate that often result in poor performance.

If your wireless router is on the same Wi-Fi channel as a lot of your neighbors, you'll experience a lot of interference with their networks — so it's best to choose a different channel with fewer people on it. When you do, you'll reduce that interference and improve your WI-Fi signal.

The first step, though, is finding out which channel is least congested in your area. These tools will help you identify which nearby networks are using which channels.

Windows: NirSoft WifiInfoView

There a number of programs you can use on Windows to track down what channels are being used around you, but we like Nirsoft's WifiInfoView. It can be run directly from the executable without installing it, it is lightweight, and NirSoft is a reputable company that has been making Windows utility programs since the Windows Millenium Edition (ME) era.

WifiInfoView's simple interface presents everything you need to know in one screen. Launch the tool, locate the Channel header, and click it to sort by Wi-Fi channel. Here, we can see that channel 6 looks a bit cluttered — we might want to switch to channel 1 instead.

Mac: Wireless Diagnostics

Believe it or not, macOS actually has this feature integrated. To access it, hold the Option key and click the Wi-Fi icon on the menu bar at the top of your screen. Select "Open Wireless Diagnostics."

Ignore the wizard that appears. Instead, click the Window menu and select "Utilities".

Select the Wi-Fi Scan tab and click Scan Now. The "Best 2.4 GHz Channels" and "Best 5 GHz" Channels" fields will recommend the ideal Wi-Fi channels you should be using on your router.

How Do You Change Your Wi-Fi Channel?

Once you've found the least congested channel, changing the channel your router uses should be simple. First, log into your router's web interface in your web browser. Click over to the Wi-Fi settings page, locate the "Wi-Fi Channel" option, and choose your new Wi-Fi channel. This option may be on some sort of "Advanced Settings" page, too.

If there are too many other nearby networks interfering with your signal, try getting a router that supports 5 GHz (like a "Dual Band" router). 5 GHz Wi-Fi channels are farther apart and won't interfere with each other as much.