How to change your wireless router channel to optimize you signal!

[Nibiru2012]

I saw this on another forum and though it was so informative that I'm going to explain the process here
so that other members may reap the benefits of this procedure if they so desire

First you need to go to: http://www.metageek.net/support/downloads then download the free application called: inSSIDer

inSSIDer is an award-winning free Wi-Fi network scanner for Windows Vista and Windows XP.
Because NetStumbler doesn't work well with Vista and 64-bit XP, we built an open-source Wi-Fi network scanner
designed for the current generation of Windows operating systems. inSSIDer was discussed by Lifehacker and Tekzilla!

Version 1.2.8.0331 (March 31, 2010)
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Install inSSIDer application and then launch it. It will be in the "Programs" section at the Start Orb under the folder Meta Geeks.
Click the "Scan" button and let it run for about 30 seconds or so, maybe up to 2 minutes.

You'll see a screen that looks like the one below. My setup is the "linksys" router with the red graph lines.

See how several routers in my apartment complex and the nearby strip shopping center are ALL using the Channel 6 wireless radio broadcast signal?

This is shown in the upper-half of the window. This needs to be changed so my "linksys" router will be away from the congestion of radio Channel 6.

NOTE: Some routers use two radio bands, one for wireless G signal and the other for wireless N signal.

To do this first you go into your wireless router's setup window through your browser's address bar.
Most wireless routers use either the address: http://192.168.1.1/ or http://192.168.1.0/

You'll need to know the user name and password you input into the router when you set it up. Some people just leave it at the default settings, but that's not a good idea.

Then go to the section - Wireless Settings, in there you will see which Channel is being used by the router. There's usually a drop-down menu to change the Channel number.

I first changed my to Channel 8 and clicked the "Save" button on the router's browser. After about 30 seconds it saved and this is the result shown here:

Notice how my red signal graph has moved to the right and there is less congestion now.
The signal is centered on Channel 8 but will still overlap a little down to Channel 6 and up to Channel 10.

Well, me being slightly the tweaker I am, went and changed it this time to Channel 9 and here's the result:

Notice now how my signal has been freed up even more and that Channel 6 is not interfering as much as before.
My signal strength is about the same, just a little better than before.
However, not nearly as much "crosstalk" as before and should improve my downloads and their quality.

I hope this will help those who live in congested areas and would like to improve their wireless as much as possible.

Enjoy and check it out!

~Nibs
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Even though I got the idea for this post from another forum website I'm a member of, I have not plagiarized the poster's content in any manner.
This is all in my own words and such. The website links I copied from the actual website itself.

 

[davehc]

I live in the country. Looking at you graph, I can only say thank god I do not live in an apartment building or town! This was my result:


View attachment 1206



I did have interference from a nearby neighbour, at one stage. This showed up on the notification icon, of course. I changed channels a couple of times and hit the sweet spot. Now the icon is empty except for my own connection.
If I read the graph correctly, your router is obviously much more powerful than mine. I do not think you can lower the output, except by the purchase of another router? Mine is an old Linksys (wrt54G9), but I have foundthat if I deploy a Netgear of about the same vintage, I get a weaker signal.

 

[Nibiru2012]

davehc - actually your computer is getting the better signal. The lower the negative DB number the better the signal. -80 db is not as good as a -20 db signal.

Notice that both graphs are higher up on the scale versus where I am.

This Linksys router is just their baseline cheaper G band wireless. Only a single internal antenna too. I don't own the router the landlord does. But I'm going to get an N MIMO wireless router and then I'll be rockin'.

This is a pretty cool little application though, it certainly helped me out.

 

[davehc]

Ok. Thanks for the info. That makes me feel better. I must try the graph on the netgear and see wgat strengh it shows.