Month: July 2017

If at all possible, use the 5 GHz rather than the 2.4 GHz band. The 2.4 GHz band has the advantages that inexpensive or old Android phones cannot receive 5 GHz and that the 2.4 GHz band penetrates walls better and has slightly more range. But 2.4 GHz has numerous deficiencies. First, there are only three non-overlapping 2.4 GHz bands, which contribute to the band being crowded. On top of that, there are numerous other devices using the same band, including wireless phones and microphones, garage door openers, and microwave ovens. Only other Wi-Fi signals will show up if you use a basic Wi-Fi scanner, but all of these devices interfere. Bottom line, 2.4 GHz has way more “pops and clicks” than you will hear on the 5 GHz band. On 5 GHz use a 20 MHz wide channel. Going wider to 40 MHz or even 80 MHz will not make the system faster or increase capacity. What it will do is give more opportunity for other transmitters to interfere. Essentially, a wider bandwidth is just a bigger target. Advanced Wi-Fi access points have the ability to jump from channel frequency to channel frequency so as to try to find a quiet channel. This is perhaps OK for the first hour or so of operation, but if it doesn’t settle down, it will be a problem. Every time the...