How to Find the Best Wi-Fi Channel on Windows, Mac and Linux

Automatically have the strongest connection possible

If you’re experiencing frequent connection drops or not getting the speeds you expect, your router may be using a congested Wi-Fi channel. A crowded channel doesn’t allow the Wi-Fi signals to move smoothly, and this causes issues with your connection.

Luckily, there are ways to find the best Wi-Fi channel in your area and get your router to use that channel. This way, your router uses the most efficient channel to pass the signals and improve your connection.

You can use various tools to find the best Wi-Fi channels on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. In this guide, we’ll focus on Wi-Fi 2.4GHz’s channel numbers 1, 6, and 11. This is because these channels don’t overlap with each other.

Find the Best Wi-Fi Channel on Windows 10

On Windows 10, you can use one of themany Wi-Fi scanner toolsto find the most efficient Wi-Fi channel in your area. These tools scan the networks around you and then let you analyze the reports. You can then find the least congested channel in these reports.

Here are two free apps you can use on Windows 10 to find the best Wi-Fi channel for your router.

WiFi Analyzer is a free app on the Microsoft Store that you can use to get information for the Wi-Fi networks around you. The app firstscans the nearby networksand then lets you view each network’s channel.

Using this data, you can figure out the least congested Wi-Fi channel in your area and then use that channel with your router.

WifiInfoView is another free app you can use to scan Wi-Fi networks around you and get their channel information.

Find the Best Wi-Fi Channel on macOS

macOS comes with a built-in Wi-Fi analyzer tool and you can use this to find the channel information for the nearby networks. This tool also directly tells you the best Wi-Fi channel to use so you don’t have to do any digging.

Find the Best Wi-Fi Channel on Linux

On Linux’s various distributions, including Ubuntu, you can run a command from Terminal to get a list of Wi-Fi channels that your nearby networks use.

To do this:

Change Your Wi-Fi Router’s Channel

Since each router offers a unique settings menu, there’s no exact set of instructions you can follow tochange the Wi-Fi channel on your router.

However, you can use the following generic steps to change your router’s Wi-Fi channel. The options in your specific router might not be the same as the steps below, but you’ll get the idea.

And your wireless router now uses the most efficient Wi-Fi channel!

If you notice a difference in your Wi-Fi speeds or there is no connection drop anymore, let us know in the comments below.

Mahesh has been obsessed with technology since he got his first gadget a decade or so ago. Over the last few years, he’s written a number of tech articles on various online publications including but not limited to MakeTechEasier and Android AppStorm.Read Mahesh’s Full Bio

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