Interactive: Wi-Fi Channel Planner

Choose a band and channel width — the chart shows which channels you'd collide with, and which are safe bets.

Tap a channel to see its footprint and recommended neighbours.

How to use it

  1. Choose your bandUse 2.4 GHz for old/IoT traffic and range; 5 GHz for everything else; 6 GHz only if you own Wi-Fi 6E/7 clients.
  2. Choose the width your router actually usesDefault is usually fine: 20 MHz on 2.4 (40 costs you all the non-overlap), 80 on 5 for Wi-Fi 5/6, 160 on 5 only if you're alone in the sky. On 6 GHz, 160 is comfortable if you have the clients.
  3. Look at the green onesGreen = a channel whose primary (and, at wide widths, the lowest usable block) doesn't collide with your choice. These are safe starting points.
  4. Cross-check against a scanThis planner models channel geometry — it can't see your neighbors. Walk the green channels with your router's own Wi-Fi scan (or a phone analyzer) and pick the greenest empty one.
Remember the physics ruleWidth buys you top-end speed but costs neighbors tolerance: a 160 MHz channel is a ferry the size of your whole hallway — one neighbor on any slice of it, and both of you degrade. Most homes live happily at 80 MHz in 5 GHz, and 20 MHz in 2.4 GHz. Don't chase the number on the box.

Verified sources & further reading

External links below were live-checked in September 2026. They back up the specific claims on this page; open them and judge for yourself.

  1. IEEE 802.11 — channel numbering plansieee802.org
  2. Wi-Fi 6E — the 6 GHz plan's originen.wikipedia.org
  3. DFS — 5 GHz radar channels and vacating rulesen.wikipedia.org
  4. FCC order opening 6 GHz to Wi-Fifcc.gov