Channel 5 wifi speed test

Now coming to the idea of channels, they are basically the width of the band at which a router releases the signals in the open space. The higher frequency a channel has, the wider is its bandwidth. You will also notice that an increase in channel frequency also leads to a massive improvement in the performance of the WiFi network. The reason the 5GHz channel is expressed as a whole number but the other one has the dot 4 is because the 5GHz channel covers a wide range of channels, from 5.

For the sake of simplicity, it has been shortened to 5GHz. On the other hand, the 2. Also, the channel is commonly designated as 5G and it became very commonly used after the The 5GHz band is also very commonly used in the later versions of Wi-Fi, such as 11n, 11ac and 11ax.

Every WiFi channel is allotted a segment of 20 MHz within its frequency band. The width of the channel actually dictates how much data can pass through it and at what speed the data will pass. Wider channels always have more data allowance and at faster speeds, given that they are not impeded by interference from other devices. Moreover, there are certain frequency bands that are more commonly affected by interference, and on the basis of this, there are certain WiFi channel width settings for routers as well as access points are recommended.

So, yes, the channel width is quite an important factor. The three differences between these two frequencies are range or coverage, bandwidth or speed, and interference. In short, yes, higher 5GHz channels will provide wider bandwidth and better communication. But since several higher 5GHz channels are limited to military and scientific usage, you are limited to the UNII-1 channels. Of these, the best channels are the higher ones, as they have wider bandwidth.

A faster WiFi connection is the modern-day equivalent of Oxygen. You need it to stay alive. But to reach the full potential of your wireless connection, you need to start paying attention to the data. The WiFi diagnostics are life-changing and simply being able to read a few numbers and understanding how they work can massively boost your internet speed.

This is especially helpful if you live in a congested area or share your Wi-Fi with other people. If you have a thick brick wall between you and your neighbor using the same channel 1 probably wouldn't hurt, but if there is a thin wall between you, try working on using different wireless channels.

As the table above illustrates, 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 This means that when channels 1, 6, and 11 are crowded, all channels between them are affected as well. In fact, it can result in the loss of signal strength as a result of the increased amount of interference.

As a rule of thumb, always stick with channels 1, 6, and 11 even if they are crowded. Of course, you can always experiment with other channels, but make sure to verify your signal strength and the performance of your network with NetSpot.

All Wi-Fi connections can be negatively affected by electromagnetic interference, also called radio-frequency interference , which happens for three main reasons:. In networks where devices take turns to talk, it takes time for each of them to wait for their turn. Therefore, the more devices the longer the wait time. Think back to when you were in elementary school and your teacher asked the whole class a question.

The chances are that multiple kids started shouting at once and nobody could hear anything properly. Adjacent-channel interference happens when clients on overlapping channels talk at the same time.

Wi-Fi channel selection is crucial in cases like this. Such channel-related interferences can be cut down or excluded by choosing the proper Wi-Fi channel for your network.

NetSpot can help you reveal which Wi-Fi channels are cluttered the most so you can avoid them and use other channels instead, preferably channels 1, 6, or 11 because these three channels are non-overlapping.

Fortunately, modern Wi-Fi routers are able to cope with adjacent-channel interference much better than older routers, many of which default to the same Wi-Fi channel. In addition to Wi-Fi routers, there are many other electronic devices that can interfere with the 2.

Some interfere with it because they use it to wirelessly transmit data, such as security cameras, Bluetooth devices, baby monitors, and smartphones, while others interfere with it because they emit a large amount of electromagnetic radiation , such as microwaves and other appliances.

A WiFi channel scanner like NetSpot helps you see through the network and choose the proper channel or reduce WiFi interference. Using NetSpot channel scanner will help you improve your 2. The 5 GHz It offers 23 non-overlapping 20MHz channels. Starting with If you bought a WiFi router within the last couple of years, then you probably have a decent Most of them have a hardware inside that automatically selects the proper WiFi channel and adjusts the output power thus boosting throughput and cutting down the interference.

Using the 5GHz band and having decently thick walls as well as the general lacking of 5GHz devices usually means that there is a very little interference in your space. In cases like this you may benefit from using the 40, 80, and MHz channels.

Ideally, as everyone gradually upgrades their hardware and starts using 5GHz band, having to select the proper WiFi channel will become obsolete. It is especially applicable to MIMO setups up to eight in Of course there will be custom cases like fine-tuning the channel selection for your router.

Eventually, even the 5GHz will fill up, but by the time it happens we should be able to figure higher WiFi channel frequencies out. Or maybe entirely new antenna designs will be created for the high-end demands of wireless networking world. Because support for the 2. In reality, both bands have their pros and cons that you should be aware of to know which one to use. In general, higher frequencies have a harder time penetrating solid objects, such as walls and trees, which is why the 5 GHz band is not great for broadcasting data across long ranges.

The good news is that modern Wi-Fi routers can readily use both the 2. Tri-band routers tend to be very expensive, but they are indispensable in highly congested areas, such as city centers. In this section, we provide step-by-step instructions on how you can do just that on every major platform.

Windows provides a native way of finding the best WiFi channel, but it relies on a rather unintuitive command-line application, called netsh. This application is included with all versions of Windows starting from Windows , and its main purpose is to allow local or remote configuration of network devices such as the interface. Needles to say, using netsh as a WiFi channel scanner for Windows is slow and cumbersome. Fortunately, more convenient WiFi channel scanner Windows apps do exist, and NetSpot is the one we recommend to all home users and professionals alike because of its intuitive user interface and impressive capabilities.

As you can see, NetSpot is much simpler to use than netsh, and it offers considerably more features that make troubleshooting WiFi issues a breeze. You should see a list of all WiFi networks available in your local area. To obtain the most accurate results, click the Scan Now button in the bottom-right corner to refresh the list.

The left pane displays a convenient summary of the scan results, including the best WiFi channels. It's important to differentiate between the speed of the Internet connection 'to your home' and the speed that reaches an individual device 'within your home' because they're two very different measurements. Internet speed tests, like this one or the test found at SpeedTest.

These test results are often lower than your plan speed due to various factors outside your Internet provider's control, including WiFi conditions and device capabilities. Good coverage means your device is getting a strong WiFi signal.

That strong signal will also deliver as much speed as your device can handle. The placement of your Gateway is the key to ensuring both coverage and speed for your devices. Your home WiFi connection is only as good as your Gateway modem or router , since all devices connect through it. We upgrade our smartphones regularly, but often neglect to upgrade the actual devices that connect us to the Internet. Other speed tests, especially tests offered by your Internet provider try to eliminate routing factors.

This can make your connection appear faster than it really is. Truthfully, do you want to know how fast your connection is within your providers network or do you want to know how fast it is to the locations where the websites you visit are being hosted?