Did you just splurge on a high-speed internet connection only to find that the Wi-Fi speeds seem abysmally slow or do you see frequent disconnects on devices that are connected to the network? There are a variety of reasons why this could be happening but one of the most common ones must do with Wi-Fi channels.
The way your router works is by taking your Wi-Fi connection and assigning a unique channel to it, depending on your router, these are normally auto selected, meaning your router jumps from channel to channel frequently hopping on to the one it thinks is the least crowded. Unfortunately, any other routers in your immediate vicinity are also doing the same thing meaning often, your neighbor might just end up using the same channel as your router.
Luckily, there is an easy fix for it. Before fixing the problem, you must identify the channel your router is currently on, depending on your system there are a few ways you can do this.
On a Mac/iOS
On a Mac, hold down the option key and click the Wi-Fi icon on the Menu bar. Select Wireless diagnostics. Ignore the setup wizard that opens, instead, click on Window and select Scan. In the Window that opens, press Scan Now at the bottom. In the left side of the window pane, Mac will recommend free channels depending on your frequency, write these down.
On an iPhone/iPad, head to the app store and download the AirPort Utility App. Head to settings, find AirPort Utility and enable Wi-Fi Scanner. Now Scan networks around you and make a note of the channels with the most number of networks on them.
