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Change Channel on TP-Link Wireless Router

How to Change Channel on TP-Link Wireless Router?

Change Channel on TP-Link Wireless Router

Interferences from nearby networks are quite a common issue in routers. It can cause your Wi-Fi performance to drop significantly. Apart from that, you might also face issues with your wireless network due to some other reasons. Changing the wireless channel can offer an effective solution in such situations. So, you might want to try that out to improve your TP-Link router’s Wi-Fi performance. Read to know how to change channel on TP-Link wireless router.

Steps to Change Your TP-Link Router’s Channel

You need to access the web management interface of your router to customise its network. Your TP-Link router allows you to make a wide range of configurations to its network through its interface. And that includes the channel and channel width, among many other settings.

Proceed with the following steps to change your TP-Link router network’s channel:

Log in to Your Router

Have you already accessed your router interface? If yes, proceed to the next step to find out how to change channel on TP-Link wireless router. Otherwise, you must prepare your router to access its interface.

Connect Your Computer to the Router

Turn on your router, if it is turned off and wait until its light turns stable. Then, connect it to your PC or Mac device with an ethernet cable. This is more viable than a wireless network as it offers a more stable connection. After connecting to the network, you must open your browser to access the router’s interface.

Open the Login Page on Your Browser

You can use the router’s default gateway to access the login page for its interface. Check the label at the bottom of the device if you are unsure about the default IP. Moreover, you can also go to the address http://tplinkwifi.net and log in to your TP-Link router.

Use Your Admin Credentials

Use your admin credentials to access your TP-Link router’s interface. You must remember that this is different from the SSID and Wi-Fi password. The admin credentials are used only to access the web management interface. And, many users might forget them due to that reason.

Have you forgotten your admin credentials? Then, you can reset your router and use the default credentials to log in. You can proceed to change the channel once you have accessed the interface.

Changing the Channel on the Old TP-Link Blue GUI

Does your TP-Link router have the old blue and white interface? Then, go to the Advanced tab and click on the Wireless 2.4 GHz option. This will open the Wireless settings for the 2.4 GHz bandwidth.

Bring up the channel options by clicking the option that is in use. You can choose between 11 channels as per your preferences. But, some of these channels might offer better performance than others.

Are you using a dual-band router? Then, click on Wireless 2.4 GHz and select the 5 GHz option that drops down. Change the Channel setting on it the aforementioned way. The 5 GHz offers you a larger number of channels to choose from. So, find and select the one that can enhance your Wi-Fi performance the most.

Changing the Channel on the New TP-Link Blue GUI

The process for changing the channel is pretty much the same in the new blue GUI. Go to the Advanced tab and open the Wireless section. You will find the Channel options among other settings there. In the case of a dual-band router, you can select the band from the top-right corner of this page.

Perform a reboot on your router once you have saved the changes. Also, consider changing the channel width as well before you do so.

Which Channel Width Should You Use on Your TP-Link Router?

The channel width is often an important factor in your router’s Wi-Fi performance. So, you might want to give it some attention while changing the channel. The channel width you must use mainly depends on your bandwidth. You need to select the right option based on that. Like the wireless channel, the channel width is set at Auto by default.

For the 2.4 GHz Band

The 2.4 GHz has a higher number of overlapping channels than the 5 GHz band. So, you must try to use the narrowest channel width, which is 20 MHz. This would make sure that there is minimal network interference to your Wi-Fi. As a result, you might notice a significant improvement in your Wi-Fi performance.

For the 5 GHz Band

The 5 GHz band of your TP-Link router has more number channels that do not overlap. As a result, it is less crowded between the two bands. So, you can use wider channel widths with the 5 GHz bandwidth on your router.

However, you must not select 40 MHz-only or 80 MHz-only channel width options. Otherwise, devices that do not support the selected channel width would fail to connect to your network. So, you must ensure that your router supports all channel widths.

How to choose the right Wireless Channel on Your TP-Link Router?

As mentioned before, you have many channels to choose from. So, which one should you use to get the best results? If you are wondering, the bandwidth is a crucial factor in that. Are you using the 2.4 GHz band? Then, channels 1, 6, and 11 are usually the best options as they do not overlap.

As for the 5GHz band, there are as many as 24 non-overlapping channels. You can find the best option by analysing the neighbouring Wi-Fi channels. And, you would need a Wi-Fi analyser tool for doing that.

Other Ways to Fix Wi-Fi Performance

Changing the channel might fix the frequent interferences you face on your TP-Link router network. But, you might need to do more often in such cases. After all, the Wi-Fi performance also depends on your network adapter drivers and the router firmware. You must keep them up-to-date to get the best performance from your router.