What Is a Channel Overlap and Which WiFi Channel Analyzer Apps Can Detect It?
Wireless networks operate on five distinct frequency ranges: 2.4 GHz, 3.6 GHz, 4.9 GHz, 5 GHz, and 5.9 GHz. Each frequency range is divided into several channels to minimize interference and network congestion. In this regard, WiFi channels are like road lanes. Just like multilane roadways can carry greater volumes of traffic than two-lane roads, so do WiFi channels allow more users to enjoy maximum download and upload speeds at the same time.
In most countries, the 2.4 GHz frequency range, which is the most commonly used short-distance frequency range, is divided into 13 channels with 5 MHz of channel separation. In North America, the 2.4 GHz frequency range is divided only into 11 channels, but the WiFi channel width is the same as in the rest of the world.
Because each channel on the 2.4 GHz spectrum is 20 MHz wide and the channel separation is only 5 MHz, only three channels don’t overlap with any other channels: 1, 6, and 11. This is important because WiFi channel overlap is a common cause of interference and performance degradation.
Most WiFi channel analyzer and SSID scanner apps can detect which channel a WiFi network operates on and plot all nearby networks on a graph to make it obvious which channels are used the least. Some WiFi channel analyzer and WiFi channel scanner apps, however, are far more reliable than others, and some also come with unique features that make WiFi network optimization much easier.
