WiFi Channel Scanners - How do I interpret?

[username0475]

When I am looking @ a WiFi Channel scanner results -desiring 1-6-11 channel openess - how can I tell which channel is the least congested, if it's something like this:

 

[L&LD]

The higher the 'bubble' the least likely it will be a good channel to use. Assuming it is not your SSID, of course.

If! The number of other bubbles underneath are the same quantity and height.

What you are trying to find is the weakest (lowest bubble) with the least number of bubble underneath it.

The best way to do this is simply ignoring these type of utilities with their pretty graphs and simply connect to each channel (1, 6, or 11) and test thoroughly in your actual network environment. That is what will happen in the end anyway.

See the Blue bubble centered around Channel 3 and the White and lower Grey around Channel 8?

These routers are causing havoc for all the other WiFi users around them.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

One has to remember when looking at those wifi graphs you may choose the best channel to be on at that time. Of course what I see here is those neighboring routers often switch channels regularly. So what might be good one day could be the worse the next. Unfortunate but true.

 

[degrub]

Switch to 5GHz if you can.

 

[L&LD]

One has to remember when looking at those wifi graphs you may choose the best channel to be on at that time. Of course what I see here is those neighboring routers often switch channels regularly. So what might be good one day could be the worse the next. Unfortunate but true.

The problem with those graphs is that they don't show actual channel utilization, nor can they predict the changes made to the local WiFi environment when/if we make a decision and put our own router into that 'map'.

Just like simply observing a test-case can change what we (think) we see, the inter-relationships between multiple WiFi points interspersed between 3 primary control channels (for the 2.4GHz band we're seeing here as an example) is not always obvious or linear (or logical) in a live network environment.

I stopped using these and similar utilities because what affects a WiFi network is not just how many other WiFi networks are shown close to the client device(s), but rather what the Router also picks up (too). Logic may dictate that these would show similar 'maps', but logic doesn't take into consideration what curves the real world throws at it.

With the handful of channels in the 2.4GHz band and even the seemingly more abundant choices, we have in the 5GHz band the best results will almost always be found by simply choosing one of the main control channels, testing for a few hours or a few days and then doing the same for the remaining channels.

Use your network normally in the meantime and keep good notes!

At the end of testing all channels for a given band, you'll know with a very high degree of accuracy which is actually the best control channel to use for your network.

The notes should not be for just the highest peak speeds achieved or the longest range obtained. How responsive client devices are is another aspect that makes even a nominally slower network feel much faster in actual use.

Keep in mind that WiFi is not a 'done' science. It is an experiment that continues day by day.