{
  "id": 15950145,
  "title": "Your router avoids the best 5GHz channels by default, and turning on DFS gave my Wi-Fi room to breathe",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/your-router-avoids-the-best-5ghz-channels-by-default-and-turning-on",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-21T21:00:19.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "XDA Developers",
    "slug": "xda-developers",
    "url": "https://www.xda-developers.com/router-avoids-best-5ghz-channels-turning-on-dfs-gave-wi-fi-room-breathe/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Most consumer routers are set to avoid certain 5GHz channels by default to prevent interference with military frequencies or weather radar and to avoid regulatory fines. According to XDA Developers, this restriction often limits users to a crowded four-channel pool of lower non-DFS channels. Enabling dynamic frequency selection (DFS) can unlock additional channels, providing more room for Wi-Fi networks to operate without interference.\n\nSeparately, TP-Link has signed a letter of intent to assemble routers in the United States through a partnership with Key Tronic. Tom's Hardware reports this move is an effort to appeal to the Trump administration's focus on American manufacturing and to address pressure from the U.S. government regarding the company's historical Chinese roots. This follows a late 2024 request from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party for the Department of Commerce to investigate TP-Link, amid claims that the company's products were used on U.S. military bases and that user data was being sent to China.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Tom's Hardware",
        "title": "Save $60 on this TP-Link wireless router with ultra-fast Wi-Fi 7 support, now $189.98",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/save-60-on-this-tp-link-wireless-router-with-ultra-fast-wi-fi-7",
        "published": "2026-10-20T10:29:58.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "XDA Developers",
        "title": "I let my router auto-pick my Wi-Fi channel for a month, and it chose badly almost every time",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/i-let-my-router-auto-pick-my-wi-fi-channel-for-a-month-and-it-chose",
        "published": "2026-10-21T12:00:19.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}