WLANBluetoothKanäle

WLAN and Bluetooth channels refer to specific frequency ranges used for wireless communication. Both technologies operate in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) radio band. This shared spectrum can lead to interference if not managed properly.

WLAN, specifically Wi-Fi, uses different channels within this band to transmit data. In the 2.4 GHz spectrum, there are typically 11 to 14 channels, depending on the region. However, only channels 1, 6, and 11 are considered non-overlapping in North America, meaning they do not share any frequency space. Using overlapping channels can degrade performance and reliability. Wi-Fi routers can often be configured to select the least congested channel automatically or manually.

Bluetooth also utilizes the 2.4 GHz band. Unlike Wi-Fi's wider channels, Bluetooth uses a technique called frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS). This means Bluetooth devices rapidly switch between many narrow channels within the 2.4 GHz band, typically using 79 channels for Bluetooth Classic. This rapid switching helps to mitigate interference from other 2.4 GHz devices, including Wi-Fi. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) uses a subset of these channels, often 40 channels.

The proximity of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices operating in the same 2.4 GHz band can cause interference. This interference can manifest as slower Wi-Fi speeds, dropped connections, or unreliable Bluetooth performance. Careful channel selection for Wi-Fi and the inherent FHSS nature of Bluetooth help to coexist, but in crowded environments, some level of interference is often unavoidable. Newer Wi-Fi standards also operate in the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands, which have more channels and are less congested, offering better performance and reduced interference with Bluetooth.