What is the best way to select the best WiFi channel?

Local routers are using 1, 6 and 11. Is it better to go between those or on the least congested of those?

Will using 3/4 and 8/9 mean more interference because you're overlapping more devices?

I've tried to apply logic to this and never gotten anywhere. I think partly because you can't show other sources of interference and routers which are too far out of range to detect but close enough to interfere and stuff like that.

I just go through the channels and test til I get a decent one :(

This - actually, I spent weeks faffing and the went 5.0GhZ on everything I could.

I'm edging towards that.

I've got the virgin media superhub (2?) and the 2.4GHz wifi keeps on dying which is really pissing me off. Thankfully I have a 2nd AP at the other side of the house which means I don't lose wifi when it drops out.

I didn't want to spend the money but I might just go 5GHz on all laptops and turn off 2.4GHz on the superhub.

There is a android app called WiFi analyzer which will show you the strength of each channel's signal.

Yeah, I've been using that.

Just unsure whether going for an in between channel rather than the common ones is the best idea.

Probably easier to just go 5GHz

Most modern routers autosense too, meaning you change your channel and the fucking neighbours all reorg themselves too.

Ant, as if happens it was a Superhub I had before and it was fucking shite. The BT one isn't much of an improvement either, but I'm too tight to buy one.

So I bought a new WiFi card for my laptop that supports 5 GHz and AC (for future), it was an Intel AC 7260. Turns out the drivers and fucking shit and it took ages to dig out some drivers that would make it actually functional.

Anyway I managed to mess about enough and get the 2.4 GHz WiFi working super quick on both my router and access point but the 5 GHz band is far too slow (but works great on my Nexus 5).

My current issue seems to be the Virgin Superhub WiFi being too unreliable, needing to disable/enable to WiFi or reboot to get things consistent.

The new neighbours have also go Virgin and popped another Router on a channel I was using :@

So I'm looking at buying a new router and just stick the Superhub in Modem mode. Makes sense to get an AC router now I think.

<rant>
Why the fuck are manufacturers making routers/access points with AC WiFi and only 100 mbps ethernet ports? WHY?

What's the use in having all that super quick magic WiFi when the bottleneck is the bloody wired part?
</rant>

Does your superhub have gigabit ports? Mine does.

Still, use the thing in modem mode and get something like this.

Yeah, all gigabit. The wired part works great, when the WiFi on the Superhub is playing up my 2nd AP still works with no issues.

Looks good but far more than what I'm willing to pay!

Also want something that will run DD-WRT or OpenWRT. I think I've found something that will do the job hopefully.

My new router should arrive today and I'm working out where to put it.

I'll need to put the Virgin router in modem mode and connect the new router to that.

I think this won't work but people with some actual networking knowledge should give a definitive answer.

I'm pretty sure in modem mode the IPs between the modem and new router are in a different range to the LAN IPs. Can I have all these connected on the same LAN with dumb switches? (to be able to put the new router in a better position for WiFi - centre of the house rather than front)

So...

I assume it needs to be this with the VMHub directly connected to the router.
 

VMHub----Router----LANswitch----Devices

But can it be this? Or will there be IP issues?
 

VMHub-----LANswitch-----Devices
Router----|

 

If the Virgin Help page is correct you should be able to do the latter as long as you:

1. Remove the VMHub's modem-mode IP (192.168.1.100) from the DHCP pool of your router. If you can't remove it, reserve it to the VMHub's MAC address.
    
2. Change the gateway address in the Router's DHCP settings to 192.168.1.100.

First one will be required to stop the VMHub's IP address being allocated to the DHCP client and the second will inform the DHCP clients to use 192.168.1.100 as their Internet gateway.

Of course, this is all dependent on whether your new router allows you to specify the gateway for DHCP. Quite a few don't, instead assuming that it should be the router's IP address.

Thanks Matt.

Well Yodel didn't leave the router at a neighbour so I won't be doing that tonight.