marciot writes "I live in a condominium where I get interference from my neighbors' WiFi. I understand that 1, 6 and 11 are the only non-overlapping WiFi channels, but how does this translate into real-life best practices? When you must overlap, is there a 'good' way to do it? With nine access points, for example, is it better to have three APs each on 1, 6 and 11, so that each completely overlaps with only two others? Or is it best to distribute those APs across nine channels such that they only partially overlap others (but potentially overlap more APs in total)? Do use patterns affect interference? For example, is it best to overlap a channel with multiple APs that rarely transfers data, or to share a channel with one person who downloads torrents 24/7? Does maximum data rate affect interference or robustness to interference? I found out by accident that setting my access point to '802.11b only' mode appeared to give me a vastly more reliable connection that leaving it in 'mixed 802.11b/g.' Is this a fluke? Or does transmitting at 10 Mbps when everyone else is using 54 Mbps (for their 3 Mbps DSL pipes!) give you a true advantage?"
