[en] Available channels on the 5 GHz Wireless network
[en] There is a feature when using 160 MHz
channel width in a 5 GHz Wi-Fi network: when the 160 MHz
channel width is enabled, there are only two continuous blocks of channels that you can actually use - these are channels 36
to 64
and 100
to 128
(e.g., available with the Switzerland country code). Since a large channel width implies that the device will occupy the whole block of channels, there is no point in auto-choosing the channel in the Wi-Fi router's network settings.
[en] If the router selects, for example, channel 149
, it cannot use a continuous channel block, and the router switches to 80-plus-80
mode by taking two blocks of channels from different parts of the spectrum. Not all clients can use this mode efficiently.
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[en] If you do not have a 160 MHz
device, you should better exclude the use of this width and set the value to 20/40/80
. If you need to use a 160 MHz
width, manually set the channel number to 36
, as this width implies that the client covers the whole 36-64
channel block.
[en] There is also a nuance in using channel 144
in the 5 GHz band: not all devices support it, so it is excluded from the router's auto channel selection.
[en] If the device cannot see the narrow channel 144
(20 MHz
), it will also not see the wider channel blocks (40 MHz
, 80 MHz
) that include this 144
channel.
[en] Channel 144
with 20 MHz
width was previously added to the official IEEE 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) standard specification. Support for a wide range of 132-144
channels (40 MHz
, 80 MHz
) was later added to the standard. But most outdated 802.11a and 802.11n clients do not support channel 144
. These clients will use 20 MHz
width for 132
, 136
, 140
channels (for 802.11n 5 GHz), and 40 MHz
width for 132 + 136
channels' block.
[en] Currently, many devices comply with the old FCC specifications and cannot work with the 144
channel. Channels 144
(20 MHz
), 143
(40 MHz
), and 138
(80 MHz
) frequently cannot be used.
[en] We also recommend that you read the 'Your mobile device can't see 5 GHz Wi-Fi network?' guide.