Previously used only wired connections, in this case the users did not suffer from problem of interference in the channels since these do not existsomething that does happen today in the and which for some time ago have been offered directly by the operators.
And it is that while Ethernet connections are used for data exchange, wireless networks are used to multiple connections simultaneouslythis is how this type of network can have up to 13 channels, however, not all of them They are suitable in all cases.
Because there are so many available channels increases the chances of interference between different networks. That is why one of the most common solutions in this type of case is change channel. In this way, here we are going to teach you a little more about what WiFi channels are and how they directly influence the network.
What is a WiFi channel and what are they for in my local network?
All this is directly related to the IEEE 802.11 standardwhich is in charge of regulate all WiFi networks and also specified the three frequency ranges available for equipment that wants to emit this type of signal as it is 2.4GHz, 3.6GHz, and 5GHz. These are numbers that perhaps you have already seen on several occasions and which are currently used by various devices.
Although it is important to mention that nowadays most of the devices work with the frequency of 2.4 GHz. Each one of these frequency ranges has a number of channelsthat is how the 2.4 GHz band this subdivided into 14 channelsalthough each geographical area has your own channel numbers, that is how in Europe we work with a total of 13 channelsMeanwhile in North America 11 channels are handled.
Each of these channels is usually separated by 5 MHz, but the reality is that each of them should have a distance between 22MHz channelwhich generates create an overlap between each of them.
As you can see in the picture shown above channel 1 overlaps with channels 2,3,4 and 5this makes the teams that give your signal in one of those channels can generate interference. The same goes for how you can see with channels 6,7,8,9 and 10. That is where the method of change the channel to improve the signal.
And it is that the most logical thing to do when the wireless signal does not work at all wellit is switch from the current channel to another that it is being used less, thus avoiding create some kind of interference with other networks that could congest their operation.
Therefore, Wi-Fi channels are those who will tell you what frequency range you are and it will also allow you to change the channel every time you present a very slow or unstable connection. Since this could be due to there is signal interference.
Why are WiFi channels important and how do they influence signal quality?
Wireless networks can be affected by different types of interference, one of which is directly related to the use of the channel. This will depend on how many electronic devices are using the same channel for network communication.
On many occasions it is not necessary that all the users are using the same channel for the signal quality to be affected, but it can also be due to the adjacent channels that are causing an overlap in the frequency.
This means that the channel is the one who dictates the quality of the frequency that the user will receive, the less used it is, the better the signal will work. This means that if there are many wireless connections around your home or workplace, it is likely that several channels are saturated and others with more space.
This means that if you manage to switch to a channel that is lonelier and less congested, surely the speed of your connection will improve a lot, providing you with a better Internet service. This means that the frequency channels are extremely important for the operation of the network and the quality of the signal. However, you may be wondering: how can you tell which channel your router is on? To do this, follow the section that we will explain below.
Steps to know which channel my router is using from the computer or mobile
Being able to know which channel the router is using at home is very important, as this will let you know if your connection problem is due to interference caused by congested channels.
Accordingly, here we are going to teach you how to carry out this process from your Windows computer or from your smartphone, To do this, follow each of the methods that we will teach you below in detail:
From the computer
Being able to know that frequency channel is using the router at home It’s very important. In case you have a computer with Windows Vista or Windows 7 or higher you will be able to carry out the steps that we will explain below:
- The first thing will be to open the console “Commands”, for this you must select “Start” and you write “CMD” in “”.
- When the window appears “Command Prompt” On the screen you must write the following command: netsh wlan show all and press the “Enter” key.
- In the next window you will be able to see which channel your WiFi network is on and in turn you can check its signalin this case it can be seen that It is located on channel 8 and with a signal of 87%, which means that this channel has almost no interference and is working correctly.
If you are one of the users who like to see more graphics and things in more detail, then you can make use of some of the programs that exist today on the Internet and that help users to know in what frequency channel are found. One of the most popular and reliable programs currently is “InSsider”, here you can find a very complete analysis with graphics so you can better understand everything that happens.
InSsider will make you a list of all wireless networks that they meet at reach of your computerwhere It will teach you the power of each one of them and his channel, as well as what are the channels where interference is being created. This is one free app that you can start using now.
From the phone
If you want to know which WiFi channel your router is using at home from your smartphone, you can do it through a mobile app. There are currently many applications available for the Android operating system that will allow you to carry out this type of activity.
However, in this case we want to recommend WiFi Analyzer, an app that will offer you 100% reliable results where it will show you the signal quality of your network, the channels you have available, your current channel and how widely used they are.
In this case you will be able to see all this information through a graph where you will be shown the channel that is using your signal and with which of them they overlap. In this way you can see how good or not your frequency is and in such a case of being very congested the same app will allow you to change the channel.
What should I take into account when choosing the ideal channel for my router’s signal?
All routers allow the user to choose the channel where you want the internet signal is transmittedalthough some of these teams of medium and high range They have a system that analyzes the electromagnetic spectrum allowing them automatically configure the best channel to transmit the signal.
In order to get a good signal on the router and so have one excellent coverage and network performance It is important that the network is in a channel with little interference.
This means that the more alone this channel is the better the network speed. interference or congestion Wi-Fi channels It is a very common problem in those communities where there are many wireless signalsas well as in buildings where most of the inhabitants have their own networks.
When there is a problem of network congestion Most likely, your service has problems with: Low speed, an unstable signal, loss of signal, constant disconnections, connection problems, among others. By existing 13 channels available in the case of Europethere will always be those who are more congested and those who are lonelier.
To choose the correct channel for the network connectionit is important to select the one that be more alone, the more alone the channel is, the better the coverage will be. Therefore, you can start using some tools that will help you change the channel and thus look for the one that is found less congested so you can start enjoying a stable connection and maximum speed.
Steps to configure my WiFi channels and avoid cuts and interference
Taking into account that dDepending on the WiFi channel where the network is located, it will work, it is important to know what are the steps to follow in order to configure these channels and thus make sure that the network is always found in the one that is loneliest. This will allow signal outages and interference in its operation to be avoided.
That is why here we are going to teach you how to perform this procedure from your computer and smartphone, To do this, follow each of the steps that we will explain below:
From the computer
If you want to configure the WiFi channel from your computer, here we are going to show you some of the tools that you can use to carry out this process from your Windows, Linux or Mac computer, to do this follow each of these steps:
windows
If you have a computer with a Windows operating system and you want to configure the connection channels in order to avoid interference in the coverage, then you can choose to use the program inssiderwhich we already mentioned before, or simply make use of another application called Xirrus WiFi Inspector with which you can also get excellent results.
Another tool to choose and that will allow you aAnalyze which channels are most congested is NirSoft WiFi InfoView, which will also allow you to change the channel. And finally you can use Acrylic Wi-Fia free program that will also allow you to make all the necessary configurations so that you can enjoy an excellent Internet connection without interference or congestion.
In this case, you simply have to download some of these programs to your Windows computer, once downloaded and executed you simply have to access it and in the main menu you must select the “Analyze” option, there you will be able to see which channels are most used and which ones. no, and thus be able to choose the one that is loneliest so that you can improve the speed of your connection.
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