5g WiFi static channel keeps changing even though I have set a static channel?

[ANZAC]

I live in a block of flats and I can see from my app "WiFi Analyzer" that all 2.4G channels are very crowded except for channel 13. I can also see that on 5G, all channels upto and including channel 50 are very crowded too.

I manually set the 2.4G channel to 13 and it NEVER changes after I have done so.

I also manually set the 5G channel to either 60, 64 or above, (depending upon the neighbours choices of channels) and sometimes within minutes it changes back to a crowded channel (less than 50) by itself, and sometimes it takes days to change by itself, but it ALWAYS changes eventually, even though it is NOT set to "auto"? The router is NOT rebooting when this change occurs; only the 5G channel is changing?

The WiFi Analyzer app will show the change of 5G to the new channel but the EE web interface (@ 192http://192.168.1.1/index.htm) will NOT reflect this change, but will instead show that I am supposedly still on the static channel that I chose. (The drop in speeds and disconnections show that I am on the crowded lower channels too, which is what makes me check the WiFi Analyzer app in the first place)

I know it's old by I use the Brightbox2  because I can spilt the 2.4G & 5G and choose my own uncrowded channels (because auto channel select does NOT chose the least crowded channel) and it has worked for me this way without incident for years.

I know Vodafone were having similar issues and it turned out that Vodafone had server-side switches set to auto-change the channels for "channel optimization" reasons; they turned said switches off after customer complaints and the issue went away; is it possible that EE have set similar switches please?

Please can you suggest why the 5G channel keeps changing (but NOT the 2.4G channel) even though I have selected a static channel and not selected the "auto" channel?

[XRaySpeX]

Whatever channel the router says it's on is the channel that it is using, not what some  external sniffing app might think.

[ANZAC]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. But with all due respect, multiple WiFi apps suggest otherwise, as does the actual performance of the 5G WiFi when it comes into conflict with other routers on the same channel?

[bobpullen · Accepted solution]

Channels 52-64 are subject to DFS regulation in the UK. See here.

If something like weather/air traffic radar is detected in your envioronment, then your access point has a regulatory obligation to shift away from these channels, irrespective as to whether or not you've 'told' it to explicitly use them.

[ANZAC]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. That makes sense...

[EssexBoyEE]

I would agree pretty much with @bobpullen suggestion, on the Public 5Ghz WiFi Bands are Regulated around the Globe, and varry accordingly, it can also be Router Specific depending on the Routers Regions it was designed for.

You could try selecting some Channels above 100 and see if that helps, or look at any WiFi6 options that might be available. 

[bobpullen]

Worth noting that 5GHz Channels 100-144 are also subject to DFS, and this remains the case with Wi-Fi 6/AX. There is a slice of 5GHz spectrum above this that is exempt, but support is fairly limited.

A Wi-Fi 6E access point has an additional 6GHz band that can be used without the hassle of DFS, however 6GHz range is poor, and the connecting clients also needs to be 6E-capable in order to make use of it.