I recently got an archer c6 as a cheap improvement over my isp provided router, but was slightly disappointed when i realised that it doesn't support any 5ghz channels other than 36, 40, 44, and 48. Now this seems like a particularly odd and arbitrary limitation given that even the isp provided combo unit could go up to channel 116(but was not very good at not restarting and resetting the channel settings every other day. It seems to be fine in modem mode though). The lower channels are extremely busy around here, reducing the throughput and signal range, whereas anything above channel 60 is literally empty.
I'm wondering if the OpenWrt build for this router would support manually choosing or automatically picking higher channels. I understand that there are some limitations around the higher channels, but they can be used with dfs checks or even some without any dfs checks in my region.
I'd like to know if there's support for higher channels before I flash the router.
I tried having a look through this forum for an answer, and the obligatory google searches of course, but I couldn't find an answer, apologies if this is a duplicate.
This is the first thing I looked for in the dashboard. Tp-Link seem to have different variants for different regions, and the EU variant doesn't seem to allow changing the region. That's why I'm wondering if the hardware is capable of it, and if OpenWrt has that functionality enabled.
Sure, that's not really what I'm looking to do though, I think you might've misunderstood.
As you can see in the image above, Tp-Link's firmware doesn't allow any 5Ghz channels other than these. I want to know if OpenWrt would allow the router to utilise other channels with this specific router.
there are 2 settings in openwrt.
the first is the country code. once you've set this setting, you can then choose the allowed channels for this country code :
I think that by installing openwrt on your router there is a big chance that you can access more channels, but I'm not 100% sure !
it would need to find someone who has already installed it on this router to get his feedback.
That's fine. At least in the UK, DFS isn't required to use channels 149, 153, 157, 161 and 165 (and maybe between 70-100ish I'm not sure though). I just need to get out of the lower channels. I didn't think to check before, but if the wifi chip in the router is the mt7613 (and according to a quick google search for the specs) the hardware should support higher channels(i think?). I'm tempted to just try flashing and seeing the available channels in openwrt myself.
Keep in mind the higher channels 149-165 are only allowed with low power settings of 25 mW.
The range will probably be limited.
Channels 70-100 are never allowed to be used in any country.
Are you sure, I'm trying to find a source for that metric and I came across this
Which suggests that you're allowed to use Band C without explicitly saying you need DFS or that there is a 25mW power limit. It says that you can go up to 200mW without dfs indoors without a license. And of course, that you need DFS for the upper portion of Band A. Am I missing something?
Regardless, If this doesn't end up working out for me, it's still in the return period.
Maybe you should read the document again?
Power is limited to 25 mW for indoor use without a license.
Using higher powers or outdoor use will require a license, which I am sure you don't have.
Channel 149-165 doesn't require DFS.
All implementations of OpenWrt I have seen will restrict the power limit to 25 mW.
Search this topic for "149" and "DFS". It appears that U-NII-2 and U-NII-3 channels are available if your country does not require DFS for these channel ranges. For example, a user from India reports using Channel 149 at 23 dBm.
The general consensus in the topic linked above appears to be stick with flashing 22.03.2 or experiment with the current snapshot version; however, to avoid trouble, do not flash 22.03.3, 22.03.4 or, considering how little changed in it compared to 22.03.4, 22.03.5. YMMV of course - that is just my interpretation from skimming the topic - I do not own this device.
it couldn't be worse than the TPLINK Firmware...