WiFi

Band Selection Traps

• 2.4GHz penetrates walls better but congested — neighbors' networks interfere
• 5GHz faster but shorter range — may not reach all rooms
• Same SSID for both bands can cause issues — device may stick to weak 5GHz instead of switching
• 6GHz (WiFi 6E) requires compatible devices — falls back to 5GHz if unsupported

Channel Interference

• 2.4GHz only has 3 non-overlapping channels (1, 6, 11) — using others causes interference with neighbors
• "Auto" channel selection often picks poorly — scan and set manually in congested areas
• 5GHz has more channels but DFS channels may pause for radar — causes brief disconnects near airports
• Microwave ovens interfere with 2.4GHz channel 11 — kitchen dead zones are real

Security Mistakes

• WPA2-Personal minimum — WEP and WPA crackable in minutes
• WPA3 preferred when all devices support — falls back silently if mixed
• WPS is a backdoor — disable it, PIN can be brute-forced regardless of password strength
• Hidden SSID doesn't improve security — devices broadcast it anyway when searching
• MAC filtering trivially bypassed — MACs visible in air, easy to spoof