How does channel planning affect your wifi?
A big part of establishing a strong wireless network is good channel planning. A channel is the route used by a network to send and receive data from an AP to a client device. In the US, there are 3 non-overlapping channels on the 2.4 GHz band and 25 non-overlapping channels on the 5 GHz band.
If proper channel planning practices are not followed, you run the risk of interference issues, specifically Co-Channel Interference (CCI) and Adjacent Channel Interference (ACI). Click here for more information on CCI and ACI and how to avoid them.
Below is a list of channel planning best-practices we recommend to avoid contention.
- Use channels 1, 6, and 11 on 2.4 GHz
- Use as wide a channel as possible without creating contention. This is usually 20 MHz wide.
- Turn off dynamic channel width settings.
- Use high-side secondary channels when possible. Meaning, use a channel that is higher on the list of available channels for your region.
- Use DFS channels when available if your client devices support them. See 802.11h for more information.
- Only use channel 144 on 5 GHz only in high-density areas unless you know all of your client devices support at least 802.11ac.