WiFi channels for a R7800 and the X4s extender running SmartConnect /Mesh

[cdysthe]

Hi,

I have set up my R7800 with a X4S extender in "Netgear Mesh" mode with Autoconnect and the extender on a fixed IP. It's been running great so I will keep this setup. I've been using channel 44 for 5 Ghz wifi when I ran the R7800 alone and had great 5 Ghz connections. However the X4S keeps telling me I should use channel 153-65 on the router instead and won't stop nagging me. So my question is which channels should I be using on the router and extender? There's minimal interference around here except for a couple of neighbors that show up now and then on channel 1 and 6.

 

[thiggins]

What do you mean the extender is "nagging" you? The extender has two 5 GHz radios, but supports backhaul (connection to base router) using either one. So it shouldn't make any difference which channel you use.

 

[cdysthe]

What do you mean the extender is "nagging" you? The extender has two 5 GHz radios, but supports backhaul (connection to base router) using either one. So it shouldn't make any difference which channel you use.

If I use channel 44 on the router there's a message showing in the extender's web-UI telling me to use channel 149-165 on the router for best performance. For me it seems more stable if I keep the router on channel 44 for 5 ghz. If I set the router to channel 149 the connection to the the extender gets lost a couple of times a day. If I keep the router 5 ghz on channel 44 and ignore the message on the extender the 5 ghz stays connected. So it seems to matter which channel I use for 5 ghz on the router.

 

[thiggins]

Ignore the message. Go with what works.

 

[Razor512]

If using the extender like the EX8000, for some reason, the 2 stream radio can only use the lower channels, thus if connecting to the r7800, it will only be able to create a backhaul using the 2 stream radio (PHY rate of 866.7Mbps (of which you will at best get around 500Mbps of).
a higher channel will allow a PHY rate of 1733 to be had, which can give a realworld throughput in the 900Mbps range under ideal conditions. though if you are in an area where the higher channels are congested, then it can be unreliable.

If you are not heavily reliant on the devices connected to the extender needing really fast access to your NAS, then the lower channels should not be an issue unless you are paying for a gigabit internet connection.

 

[e38BimmerFN]

Theres no hurt it trying what the EX recommends as well. You can always go back to channel 44.