Wi-Fi Channels & Bands Chart
The US Wi-Fi spectrum map: every band with its channels, which require DFS radar detection, how 6 GHz's AFC works, the channel widths each band supports, and the generation names. These are FCC and IEEE 802.11 facts — the stable tier — and the design lore rides in the notes.
Bands and channels (US)
| Band | Frequency | Channels (US) | DFS | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.4 GHz | 2.400–2.4835 GHz | 1–11 usable (US); only 1 / 6 / 11 non-overlapping | No | 40 MHz possible but not recommended — one wide channel eats the band |
| 5 GHz UNII-1 | 5.150–5.250 | 36, 40, 44, 48 | No | Full power since 2014 |
| 5 GHz UNII-2A | 5.250–5.350 | 52–64 | Yes | Radar detection required |
| 5 GHz UNII-2C | 5.470–5.725 | 100–144 (12 channels) | Yes | Weather/military radar band |
| 5 GHz UNII-3 | 5.725–5.850 | 149–165 | No | — |
| 5 GHz UNII-4 | 5.850–5.895 | 169, 173, 177 | No | Indoor low-power only; limited client support |
| 6 GHz (UNII-5–8) | 5.925–7.125 GHz | 59 × 20 MHz | No (AFC instead) | LPI indoors band-wide; standard power in UNII-5/7 with AFC |
Wi-Fi generations
| Generation | IEEE | Bands (GHz) |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi 4 | 802.11n | 2.4 + 5 |
| Wi-Fi 5 | 802.11ac | 5 |
| Wi-Fi 6 | 802.11ax | 2.4 + 5 |
| Wi-Fi 6E | 802.11ax | + 6 GHz |
| Wi-Fi 7 | 802.11be | 2.4 + 5 + 6 |
What this means for the cabling contractor
Every capability jump in this chart lands on the wired side: Wi-Fi 6E/7 APs ship multi-gig uplinks that want Cat6A (see the category chart) and draw PoE budgets worth checking against the PoE chart. How many APs — and therefore drops — a space needs is the AP density chart’s territory.
Common questions
Why do only channels 1, 6, and 11 matter on 2.4 GHz?
The 2.4 GHz channels are 5 MHz apart but each transmission is ~20 MHz wide, so adjacent channels overlap and interfere. Channels 1, 6, and 11 are the only US set with no mutual overlap — every serious deployment uses exactly those three and accepts that 2.4 GHz has three usable channels, period.
What are DFS channels?
The 5 GHz channels sharing spectrum with radar — 52–64 (UNII-2A) and 100–144 (UNII-2C). A DFS access point must listen for radar and vacate the channel when it detects any, which causes the brief dropouts users report near airports and weather radars. They are legal, useful capacity — 16 of the 25 classic 5 GHz channels — but latency-critical designs often avoid them.
What does 6 GHz Wi-Fi add?
1,200 MHz of new spectrum — 59 twenty-MHz channels versus 25 in classic 5 GHz — with no legacy devices in it. Indoors, low-power mode covers the whole band with no coordination; standard power (for bigger cells) requires AFC, a database check that protects licensed incumbents. The 320 MHz channels that make Wi-Fi 7 headlines only exist here.
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