RAX54v2 Locked to Canada

VRixxo wrote:

I live in a area with high interference and was doing latency sensitive task so decided to use 160MHz and DFS.

Not sure this is a smart choice, especially considering we don't face a Wi-Fi 7 system supporting  notching (formally known as preamble puncturing) is a feature that keeps your network stable when another signal or device interferes with part of your Wi-Fi channel. Instead of dropping the whole channel to a slower speed, the router simply "notches out" or skips the dead spot and uses the remaining clean bandwidth

I see what you were trying to do there—chasing that maximum throughput to crush latency—but you might have accidentally set yourself up for a bumpy ride.

In a high-interference environment, switching to 160 MHz and DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection) is actually a bit like trying to drive a wide-load semi-truck through a crowded city centre to get somewhere faster. It sounds powerful on paper, but reality has a way of slowing you down.

Here is why that combination is likely hurting your latency, and what you should do instead.

The 160 MHz Problem: More Channel, More Problems

To get a 160 MHz channel, your router has to bind a massive chunk of the wireless spectrum together.

• The Noise Magnet: A wider channel acts like a wider net. It catches more data, but it also catches vastly more background noise and interference. In a high-interference area, this drops your Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR).
• Packet Loss & Retries: When interference hits any part of that 160 MHz band, data gets corrupted. Your devices then have to re-transmit those packets. In latency-sensitive tasks (like gaming or video calls), re-transmissions = lag spikes.

The DFS Problem: The Sudden Eviction

DFS channels share space with military, weather, and airport radar systems. By law, routers must yield to these radars.

• The Radar Silent Treatment: If your router detects even a whisper of a radar signal, it must instantly drop the channel.
• The 1-to-10 Minute Blackout: Your router then has to move to a new channel and scan it for 1 to 10 minutes before letting your devices reconnect. If you are mid-match or mid-meeting, you will completely drop connection.

The Counter-Intuitive Fix for Low Latency

If low, stable latency is your ultimate goal in a crowded area, narrower and quieter is always better than wider and louder. Try these adjustments:

1. Drop down to 40 MHz or 80 MHz

• Why: You cut the interference net in half (or quarters). Your connection becomes dramatically more robust against ambient noise, resulting in fewer dropped packets and fewer sudden ping spikes. You still get plenty of speed for any latency-sensitive task.

2. Ditch DFS for Non-DFS Channels

• Why: Stick to the standard UNII-1 (Channels 36–48) or UNII-3 (Channels 149–161) bands for the US/Canada/Australia (not for ETSI regulatory, where these channels are reserved for SRD). They don't require radar monitoring, meaning your router will never abruptly clear the channel and leave you hanging.

3. The Ultimate Latency Cure: Ethernet or 6 GHz

• Ethernet: If it is at all physically possible, run a Cat6 cable. It completely bypasses the airwave traffic jam.
• Wi-Fi 6E / Wi-Fi 7 (6 GHz): If you have newer devices that support the 6 GHz band, move to it. The 6 GHz spectrum is massive, requires no DFS in most residential setups, and is currently wide open compared to the congested 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

How has the stability been since you made the switch? Are you noticing total dropouts, or just choppy ping spikes?