Wifi Interference Susceptibility End Channels the Best?

[DaveMcLain]

Today I was helping a friend set up a simple network at his apartment using an old Netgear WGR614 router feeding one wired computer and also acting as a wireless AP. I did a site survey and chose to use channel 1 because it seemed to be the least occupied. Everything works great and the wireless coverage is more than adequate in his apartment. While I was looking at the site survey on Inssider I was thinking, is it best or better to choose one of the end channels in the band either 1 or 11 vs 6? Since the end ones only have channels on one side or the other and not both are they better about interference from other channels?

 

[JoeJoe]

I read that the lower channels are most affected by the signals from microwaves, I don't know if that is true though.

There is a gap between the width of the channels 1 and 6 and 11, so any is fine, pick no other.

 

[thiggins]

I follow your logic, Dave. But the best channel to use is the one with the least traffic on it and farthest away from highly used channels.

 

[stevech]

consumers aren't given the tools to see which channel(s) have heavy traffic and when (channel utilization, %). The mere existence of lots of SSIDs means little.

Often, channel 1 is a good choice as few routers default to this one.
Microwave oven interference is, per my measurements, a non-issue for all but a dangerously leaky oven, and it has to be near the WiFi user device or W-router. It is beyond the top of the WiFi band (highest channel). Reduced throughput is the symptom.

More likely is interference from too many neighbors streaming video via WiFi instead of a wired connection. But even so, Netflix is not a high bandwidth stream on WiFi. True HD 1080 is, but most people learn quickly that 1080 HD and WiFi are a bad pair.

 

[tipstir]

Channel 11 or 1 are the best. I find most around me are on 11 also. Their range is limited though. Streaming 1080p with 5.1 Dolby Digital with the right network and WiFi 802.11n works. Even with Vudu HDX don't have issue. Still the demands form the AP is greater though to pull that off without choking. Meraki MR12 can't seem to handle that unless you get their MR24 but not much more into that though. Anyway ESR600H seems to handle the workload on WiFi side here better. I don't use Auto Channel I set it manual push to 11.