Wirebook › Glossary › Wi-Fi channel
What is a Wi-Fi channel?
In one sentence: One lane of the radio band that a Wi-Fi network uses; nearby networks on lanes that overlap get in each other's way.
A little more
Wi-Fi sends data on radio waves, and each band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) is split into numbered channels, like lanes on a road. Your router picks one lane and every device on your network uses it, taking turns to talk.
On 2.4 GHz the lanes are so close together that they overlap: only channels 1, 6 and 11 stay clear of each other. Networks that share a lane politely take turns, but networks on overlapping lanes just sound like noise to each other and keep repeating themselves, which is one reason Wi-Fi in a busy block of flats can slow down in the evening. The 5 GHz band has many more lanes, so it is usually calmer.
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