Wi-fi Channel; which one is the best?

[Tolkem]

Hi everyone! Hope you're all having a nice life!
In your experience, what's the best Wi-Fi channel to use? Which one offers the best connection? I know it all depends on your surroundings, but I've also read that channels 1, 6 and 11 should be used as they seem to be the most preformants, however, I'm still unsure as to why is that. For example, my Wi-Fi(bgn mode) is set to use channel 2, I made it so after some reading and using iwlist command to get what channels are the least crowded around, but it seems that some other channels may overlap themselves each other for instance, I recently installed LinSSID to monitor which channels are using others in the neighborhood, and right now I see that the closest ones(6)use 6, 8, 9, 11, 1 and 5, and according to the link above about overlapping channels:

... channels 1, 6, or 11 are non-overlapping ... channels 2, 3, 4, and 5 overlap with both the channel 1 and 6, while the channels 7, 8, 9, and 10 overlap with both the channel 6 and 11. This means that when channels 1, 6, and 11 are crowded, all channels between them are affected as well.

Since my Wi-Fi is using channel 2, and two other are using 1 and 6, does that mean I should change it? In the same article they say:

As a rule of thumb, always stick with channels 1, 6, and 11 even if they are crowded.

Also, in linssid

Is that good, bad, what does that mean? It looks like mine is doing ok and there's no overlapping, but then I'm not an expert on these things. Thanks in advance for your answers.

 

[dos2unix]

Ummm.. best for what?

2.4GHZ has more range. 5GHZ has more speed.

If you do an "iw list" you will see the frequencies and band's your chipset supports.
You will also see some channels that say "no IR" after them.
(This is usually in two sections, a 2.4 and a 5)
This means that channel can't be used as a hotspot. It cannot initiate radiation.
That channel can be used as a client, but not a wifi server.

So what is the best channel depends on what you are trying to do.

 

[KGIII]

There's also some variation in channel offerings that depend on where you live. I don't have an answer (as it's not something I have to worry about), but I do have a nifty link, if you're curious.

Wi-Fi Channels, Frequency Bands & Bandwidth » Electronics Notes

Wi-Fi bands and channels exist on a variety of frequency bands, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz being the most widely used, but other bands are available in some countries at 934 MHz, 3.6 GHz, & 6 GHz.

www.electronics-notes.com

As you can see from the link, the channels available will depend on the regulations for your area. You may get answers that don't relate to your location.

I've heard of people modifying/buying hardware from elsewhere and using those prohibited channels, but the FCC (in the US) is going to frown on that if you're caught.

 

[Tolkem]

2.4GHZ has more range. 5GHZ has more speed.

Those are frequencies/bands, not channels, channels travel through frequencies; 2.4ghz has 14, and 5ghz has 23 and that's why it is faster; less crowded channels. My router only supports 2.4ghz, so no 5ghz. Thanks for your reply.

As you can see from the link, the channels available will depend on the regulations for your area. You may get answers that don't relate to your location.

This is not what I'm asking. My question has nothing to do with regulations or laws whatsoever. Thanks for your reply.

I'm asking this:
From the 14 channels available in a 2.4 GhZ band/frequency, which one is the best to use/set in a router in a local/resident/home Wi-Fi network? From your own experience, what is your advice? Thank you.

 

[KGIII]

My question has nothing to do with regulations or laws whatsoever.

Your question doesn't - but the answers might. Channels will have different results based on which channels are available, which will vary per location. They'll have different levels of interference for example.

That said, a quick check says my router is on channel 6 and the wife's is on 11. As memory serves, they were both on 6 when new and I changed one. I get similar throughput and strength from either, but that's possibly due to having repeaters set up - and I have zero interference from neighbors.

 

[Tolkem]

Your question doesn't - but the answers might

Still don't answer my question.

a quick check says my router is on channel 6 and the wife's is on 11

This is somewhat "closer" to an answer. However, did you check this link ?

Channels will have different results based on which channels are available, which will vary per location

Sorry but no, in a 2.4GhZ band there will always be 14 channels, and all of them will be available, the thing's some might be crowder than others, and you always want to use the less crowded ones as they offer better performance, and this has nothing to with location.

 

[KGIII]

I think you may have broken your link?

 

[Tolkem]

I think you may have broken your link?

Ah, yeah, don't know what happened, here it is https://www.netspotapp.com/wifi-channel-scanner.html

 

[KGIII]

After reading that, I would try the main three (1, 6, and 11) and test each a couple of times to see if there's even a difference.

I recently came across a great bandwidth testing site that is even opensource.

LibreSpeed - Speed Test

Free and Open Source Speedtest. No Flash, No Java, No Websocket, No Bullshit.

librespeed.org

 

[Tolkem]

After reading that, I would try the main three (1, 6, and 11) and test each a couple of times to see if there's even a difference.

I recently came across a great bandwidth testing site that is even opensource.

LibreSpeed - Speed Test

Free and Open Source Speedtest. No Flash, No Java, No Websocket, No Bullshit.

librespeed.org

Thanks for the link. Yeah, that's what I thought to do too. I was hoping, though, that maybe someone here could know something more about overlapping channels and give some advice.

 

[dos2unix]

Those are frequencies/bands, not channels, channels travel through frequencies; 2.4ghz has 14, and 5ghz has 23 and that's why it is faster; less crowded channels. My router only supports 2.4ghz, so no 5ghz. Thanks for your reply.

Yes, but certain channels are in those bands. Those channels will be subject to the atttributes of the bands they are in.