Wi-Fi channel to frequency converter
A Wi-Fi channel number is an index, not a frequency. Each band has its own starting point and adds 5 MHz per channel number: 2.4 GHz channel 6 is 2437 MHz, 5 GHz channel 36 is 5180 MHz, 6 GHz channel 37 is 6135 MHz. Pick the US or EU plan and this converter gives the center frequency, the occupied span and any DFS or PSC restriction.
Which regulator’s channel plan to show. Availability is a national rule, not a device setting.
The bonded width the radio actually transmits over, centered on the channel.
Every 20 MHz channel of the selected region is drawn as the same shape, ±10 MHz around its center frequency. At 2.4 GHz the numbers are 5 MHz apart, so the shapes overlap; at 5 and 6 GHz they are 20 MHz apart and sit side by side. Amber marks DFS channels, a dot marks a preferred scanning channel, and the green box is the selected channel with the width it is bonded to.
Showing the US (FCC) plan: 2.4 GHz channels 1–11, 5 GHz channels 36–165 plus the indoor-only U-NII-4 channels 169–177, and the whole 6 GHz band, channels 1–233 (5925–7125 MHz). Channel availability and power limits are national rules and change over time; check your regulator before deploying. The occupied span is the nominal width centered on the selected channel — a bonded block that uses this channel as its primary sits off to one side — and it is not a spectral mask.
How it works
- 01
Turn the channel number into a frequency
Each band has its own base: 2407 + 5·ch in 2.4 GHz, 5000 + 5·ch in 5 GHz, 5950 + 5·ch in 6 GHz, all in MHz. Channel 14 is the one exception, sitting at 2484 MHz, 12 MHz above channel 13 instead of the usual 5.
- 02
Mind the width, not just the center
A channel number names a center, and the signal spreads either side of it. A 20 MHz channel occupies ±10 MHz (legacy 802.11b DSSS occupies ±11 MHz); bonding to 40, 80, 160 or 320 MHz widens that proportionally, so one 320 MHz channel swallows a quarter of the entire 6 GHz band. A bonded block also gets its own center index: the 80 MHz channel built on 5 GHz channels 36, 40, 44 and 48 is centered at 5210 MHz and is called channel 42.
- 03
In 2.4 GHz, count what actually fits
Channel numbers sit 5 MHz apart while the signal is 20 MHz wide, so neighbouring numbers overlap heavily. The US plan has 11 numbers and fits three non-overlapping channels, 1, 6 and 11. Europe has 13 numbers and fits four, 1, 5, 9 and 13. Any other combination means interfering with your own network.
- 04
In 5 and 6 GHz, check DFS and PSC
Sixteen of the twenty-eight US 5 GHz channels sit in radar-shared spectrum and require DFS. In the EU plan it is fifteen of nineteen. The access point listens for 60 seconds before using such a channel and must vacate within 10 seconds if it detects radar. In 6 GHz, every sixteenth channel number is a preferred scanning channel, one per 80 MHz block: 15 of the 59 US channels, 6 of the 24 European ones. Clients probe those first, so an access point parked elsewhere is slower to find.
Formulas
- fc — center frequency, MHz
- ch — channel number, 1 to 11 (US) or 1 to 13 (EU)
- channel 14 is the exception: 2484 MHz, Japan only
- ch — channel number, in steps of 4
- US: 36 to 177 · EU: 36 to 140 (the allocation ends at 5725 MHz)
- ch — channel number, in steps of 4
- US: 1 to 233, 5925–7125 MHz · EU: 1 to 93, 5945–6425 MHz
Worked example
- US (FCC): channels 1–11 → 1 / 6 / 11, spaced 25 MHz
- EU (ETSI): channels 1–13 → 1 / 5 / 9 / 13, spaced 20 MHz
- 2412 + 10 = 2422 = 2432 − 10 → ch 1 and ch 5 just touch
- |2422 − 2412| = 10 MHz → ch 1 and ch 3 overlap heavily
- → legacy 802.11b is 22 MHz wide and needs 25 MHz spacing, which is where the 1 / 6 / 11 habit comes from
FAQ
- Why are there only three usable channels at 2.4 GHz?
- Three is the US answer, not the universal one. Channel numbers are 5 MHz apart while a signal is 20 MHz wide, so adjacent numbers sit almost on top of each other. The US plan offers channels 1 to 11, and exactly three non-overlapping 20 MHz channels fit into it: 1, 6 and 11. Europe allows 1 to 13, where four fit: 1, 5, 9 and 13. The 1/6/11 habit also reflects legacy 802.11b, whose DSSS signal is 22 MHz wide and needs 25 MHz spacing, which only the 1/6/11 set gives.
- What is DFS, and why does my Wi-Fi drop on those channels?
- DFS — dynamic frequency selection — applies to 5.250–5.350 GHz and 5.470–5.725 GHz in both the US and the EU, where Wi-Fi shares spectrum with weather and military radar. Before transmitting, an access point must monitor the channel for 60 seconds, and it must stop within 10 seconds of detecting a radar pulse and stay off that channel for 30 minutes. A false detection therefore looks exactly like the network vanishing.
- What are PSC channels in the 6 GHz band?
- Preferred scanning channels are channel 5, 21, 37 and every sixteenth channel number after that, one per 80 MHz block. That is 15 of the 59 channels the US allows, and 6 of the 24 Europe allows. Clients actively probe only these, so an access point on a non-PSC channel is discovered more slowly, usually through a neighbor report from another radio. Putting the primary 20 MHz channel on a PSC is the standard recommendation.
- Why does my access point offer fewer channels in Europe than in the US?
- Because the allocations differ. In 5 GHz the European WLAN allocation stops at 5725 MHz, so channels 149 to 177 are not WLAN channels there, and channel 144 already reaches to 5730 MHz. The US adds those, and since 2021 also U-NII-4 channels 169 to 177 for indoor use. In 6 GHz the US released the full 5925–7125 MHz, while Europe so far released 5945–6425 MHz, which is channels 1 to 93. At 2.4 GHz it runs the other way: Europe has channels 12 and 13, US hardware does not offer them.
- Can I use channel 14?
- In practice, no. Channel 14 at 2484 MHz is authorized only in Japan and only for 802.11b, the legacy DSSS mode. OFDM rates are not permitted on it. Everywhere else it is outside the license-exempt allocation, and consumer hardware sold outside Japan will not offer it.
Channel picked? Check how far your access point actually reaches — simulate 2.4, 5 or 6 GHz coverage over real terrain and buildings, free in your browser.
Simulate Wi-Fi range →Related guides
- Plan radio coverage (RF / ITM) — put the center frequency from here into the simulator and see how far the band carries
Sources & further reading
- List of WLAN channels — Wikipedia ↗ — channel numbers, center frequencies and per-country availability; the source for the US and EU sets used here
- IEEE 802.11 — Wikipedia ↗ — defines the channel starting frequencies and operating classes
- 47 CFR Part 15 (eCFR) — US unlicensed device rules ↗ — § 15.247 and § 15.407 set the US band edges, power limits and DFS requirement
- ETSI EN 301 893 — 5 GHz RLAN harmonised standard ↗ — the European 5 GHz band edges, DFS and TPC requirements