wifi channels - what exactly do they do?

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › wifi channels - what exactly do they do?

riahon

946 posts

Ultimate Geek

#74597 3-Jan-2011 07:26

Hello

For a short time I am using a thomson wireless router. Prior to this I was using a dynalink and before that an asus.

I have a few wireless products, PS3, 3 laptops, tivo, iphone4. I had been having the odd problem with remote app from my iphone to control itunes on my macbook. It wasn't a huge issue and thought it was just a buggy app. During my holiday break I decided to research this and found a reference to changing the channel on my modem. I picked a random number 12 (was set on 6) and immediately the app started working, brilliant! until........ it stopped a few days later. No problem, I went back in and changed the channel again, it worked.

Now - my tivo has also being intermittently playing up as well as I have the Home Networking Package. Again that reflected the same problem as sometimes the tivo would be able to network to my computers and other times it wouldn't. I again went in and changed the channel and bingo! it worked straight away, until...... it stopped the next day. No problem, I went back in and changed the channel again, it worked.

Deja vu

I will be getting a Belkin router soon so this might become irrelevant if the issue is the modem but can anyone enlighten me as to why the repeated changing of the modem channel has caused the above to occur? I have only been using channels 6 (default) and 12 (just a random number I selected). Am I suppose to experiment with the other channels to find one that will be more stable with all my wifi connections.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79314 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#423608 3-Jan-2011 07:38

Have a look at this blog post: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/inquisitor/2996

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#423609 3-Jan-2011 07:40

The problem with WiFi these days is that lots of people use it. Depending on your environment it might be possible to see only your own router, or in a crowded city environemtn you might posibly see 50+ networks.

Because there are only a limited number of channels reuse of channels is high and multiple networks on the same frequency has the potentnail to cause a significant reduction in signal and connection quality.

riahon

946 posts

Ultimate Geek

#423612 3-Jan-2011 08:10

Thanks for link freitasm

sbiddle: so because I can see about 4 thomson modems then in my scenario I can assume they too would have the channel default as 6. If that is the case then by changing it to 12 should lessen 'congestion' that can be had at 6. However in my scenario I had previously changed it to 12 and initially it fixed the problem but then it when the problem re-occurred I changed it back to 6 and the problem was fixed again. I am more focussing on the fact I changed it from 6 to 12 to fix the problem and then from 12 to 6 to re-fix the problem.

Just this minute I have again had to change the channel from 6 to 12 so my iphone remote app would connect to itunes.

Is it like Auckland traffic - sometimes route A is going to be quicker, other times route B

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#423614 3-Jan-2011 08:23

Why do you keep choosing channel 6 and 12? Have you not tried any other channels?

riahon

946 posts

Ultimate Geek

#423618 3-Jan-2011 08:31

I chose those 2 based on the link posted by freitasm. I had actually seen that link before when I was doing my initial research so choosing those 2 channels was to avoid overlap. I had suggested in my first post whether I should experiment with others but I am more interested to find out what would cause it to work one day after a change and not work the next. If congestion at one channel (6) was the reason for my issue then changing it to 12 should have fixed it permanently, but this has not proven to be the case.

I will experiment with other channels today to see whether they become more stable.

AndrewTD

292 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#423626 3-Jan-2011 09:13

Hi,

I find using a wifi analyser app helpful in choosing which channel to use. It shows what channels are currently in use around you. You might want to check at several different times of day etc - just to see what variation you find.
I have an app on my android phone that I use, but you can also get them on iPhone - you could try this one: http://www.appstorehq.com/wifianalyzer-iphone-91994/app

kind regards Andrew TD

webwat

2036 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#423857 4-Jan-2011 02:10

Just seeing other users on the same channel doesnt mean they are heavy users though, a heavy user mightuse other channel at certain times of day. Also just because of overlep doesnt mean you can't choose the other channels (and 802.11n uses more than 1 channel anyway), so you can experiment with them if performance is a problem.

If you have problems with it stopping all together, its more likely to be non-wifi transmitters like a cordless phone or microwave oven, so again experiment with different channels.

Time to find a new industry!