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Forum Discussion
coolwifi
Dec 09, 2025Luminary
RS500 - Auto 5 ghz channel setting picks up DFS channel?
My neighborhood is pretty crowded with 5 Ghz channels. The auto 5 Ghz channel selection setting picks up channel 100 which is a DFS channel. This channel also has lower transmit power than the non DF...
StephenB
Dec 10, 2025Guru - Experienced User
coolwifi wrote:My neighborhood is pretty crowded with 5 Ghz channels. The auto 5 Ghz channel selection setting picks up channel 100 which is a DFS channel.
FWIW, If there's enough congestion on the other channels, a DFS channel might be the best option.
Is this hypothetical, or was your RS500 actually choosing channel 100?
coolwifi wrote:Thanks for linking the ideas page.
Might be worth proposing this as allowing users to specify a list of channels they want to avoid. That would be broader than DFS avoidance, and could have some value in preventing interference with other nearby wifi.
There was a recent post from someone needing to avoid channel 11 because that sometimes interfered with their auto's backup camera. Locking the router to channel 1 or 6 works, but I think it would be better to just tell the router not to use channel 11.
coolwifi
Dec 10, 2025Luminary
The RS500 is choosing channel 100 in my case, literally every time if I change to auto channel setting. Although the DFS channel spectrum is clear, it has lower signal strength and doesn't give higher speeds downstairs (I have the router in the first floor). The 2.4 Ghz is terribly congested to be effectively usable by non IOT devices, so I always prefer the auto channel selection in this band, though the selected channel interferes with many other neighbors.
I was suggesting to avoid the DFS channel selection in auto mode since these channels are limited in transmit power, which undermines the strength of a whole home router.