

Many people think channels 12 and 13 are banned in the USA, but they’re not. (Channel 14 is illegal, though, so stick around for that.) Channels 12 and 13 Are Low Power OnlyĬhannels 12 and 13 aren’t completely illegal in the USA, although they’re usually not offered as options. You can select any of these, and your router may automatically switch back and forth between them if it has a setting that tries to select an optimal channel with the least interference.

They could report a problem to the FCC, and the FCC could confiscate your broadcasting equipment and fine you.Īnyway, channels one through eleven are the standard 2.4 GHz Wi-FI channels, approved for use on the USA by the FCC. For example, if you build a transmitter and start transmitting on FM radio frequencies, that will interfere with other people’s receiving FM radio. The FCC is pretty serious about this stuff. Here’s a chart produced by the US government in 2016, showing just how complicated and detailed this allocation is. Different parts of the wireless spectrum are reserved for amateur radio, satellite, aircraft, maritime, military, AM radio, FM radio, and-yes-Wi-Fi. You can’t just start broadcasting on any radio frequency you like. In the USA, the Federal Communications Commission regulates the wireless spectrum. RELATED: Wi-Fi 6: What’s Different, and Why it Matters Channels 1 Through 11 Are Fine U.S. The Wi-Fi industry was particularly focused on 5 GHz Wi-Fi for a while, but Wi-Fi 6 now brings many improvements to 2.4 GHz, too. In fact, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi offers a better signal over long distances and through solid objects, so it still has its place. The newer 5 GHz Wi-Fi standard uses a larger number of channels to reduce interference further, but 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi is still in wide use. Channel 14 is the most tempting to people, as it would have even less interference-but it’s illegal to operate your router on this channel in the USA. You might even be able to activate them by changing your router settings, although you should not do so. While the USA restricts 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi to eleven channels, channels 12 through 14 are available elsewhere in the world. That’s why people often recommend choosing either channels one, six, or eleven. These channels overlap with each other, too. When several Wi-Fi networks are within range of each other, they can operate on different channels, so they aren’t “talking over” and interfering with each other.Ģ.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks can work on a small number of channels: Just channels one through eleven in the USA.

Wi-Fi networks can operate on several different channels to help reduce interference. Wi-Fi uses radio waves to communicate over short distances.
