When you connect to your Wi-Fi router, you connect to either the 2.4GHz or the 5GHz band.
What Is a Wi-Fi Band?
What Is a Wi-Fi Router Channel?
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The majority of Wi-Fi routers broadcast on two bands: 2.4GHz and 5GHz.
These bands broadcast at different frequencies, similar to how your radio works.
Now, those are the Wi-Fi bands.
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Within each Wi-Fi band are a number of channels.
The number of channels available depends on the Wi-Fi band you’re using.
How Many Channels Does 2.4GHz Wi-Fi Have?
For example, Wi-Fichannels 12, 13, and 14 are bannedin the US.
The entire 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band is just 100MHz wide, running from 2.4GHz to 2.5GHz.
Each 2.4GHz Wi-Fi channel is 20MHz wide.
Your router may already use the optimal channel for your location.
You should note that switching Wi-Fi channels isn’t likely to deliver a miracle boost in Wi-Fi speed.
How Many Channels Does 5GHz Wi-Fi Have?
But that’s not all.
5GHz Wi-Fi channels aren’t limited to 20MHz the same way 2.4GHz Wi-Fi channels are.
But, wait for it, that’s still not all.
And yes, you’ve guessed it, two 80MHz channels can bond to become a single 160MHz channel.
You see, with each channel bond, interference also increases.
How Many Channels Does 6GHz Wi-Fi Have?
For a long time, 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi were the only bands available to consumers.
That changed in 2020 with thelaunch of Wi-Fi 6E, which became an entirely new Wi-Fi band.
In turn, that means the creation of 59 new 20MHz channels.
In short, 6GHz Wi-Fi effectively quadruples the space available to your Wi-Fi connection.
The addition of an entirely new Wi-Fi band will also ease congestion.
When using 5GHz or 6GHz Wi-Fi, it’s often better to let your router choose a channel automatically.
