Problems arise when multiple Wi-Fi channels are combined (channel bonding) to create wider channels for faster speeds. Misalignments between primary and secondary channels can cause interference, leading to poor performance.
Problems arise when one access point (AP) configures its secondary channel to overlap with the primary channel of another AP. This overlap leads to interference because the secondary channel doesn’t use the same robust detection mechanisms as the primary channel. As a result, the second AP may fail to detect transmissions from the first AP and inadvertently transmit at the same time, causing data collisions, interference, and degraded network performance. This issue is known as "primary/secondary overlapping basic service set (OBSS) interference."
Standards like Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 have introduced improvements to signal detection on secondary channels, but mismatched configurations can still occur, particularly if systems aren't set up properly. To avoid these problems, it's crucial to ensure that primary and secondary channels are consistently configured and do not overlap with those of neighboring access points. This is especially important as Wi-Fi evolves into the 6 GHz spectrum, where similar issues could arise if not carefully managed.