blackadder999
asked on
Wireless signal issue
Hi
I am having a problem with the wireless in our office, I sit in a different office to the Access Point so there is one wall between me and the device. The signal I get is Very Good.
However, there are users in a open plan office about 20m from the access point and they get a low signal at best; generally they can't connect at all. I can only assume there is something causing interference in that area. I have looked and we have a light sensor and an alarm sensor in that area. There is also an old, wall mounted wireless AP but it is powered off (don't know what it was used for as was before my time).
Can anyone suggest what might be causing the issue or any way I can test for interference?
Thanks for your help.
I am having a problem with the wireless in our office, I sit in a different office to the Access Point so there is one wall between me and the device. The signal I get is Very Good.
However, there are users in a open plan office about 20m from the access point and they get a low signal at best; generally they can't connect at all. I can only assume there is something causing interference in that area. I have looked and we have a light sensor and an alarm sensor in that area. There is also an old, wall mounted wireless AP but it is powered off (don't know what it was used for as was before my time).
Can anyone suggest what might be causing the issue or any way I can test for interference?
Thanks for your help.
ASKER
It's all laptop users. I tried a walk around with a laptop and it was only about 10m form the AP when the signal started dropping. There are no arches with girders or anything like that. Like I said, the only thing I can see are these wall mounted boxes....
Problems not just a low signal but that most the time they can't get a signal at all.
Problems not just a low signal but that most the time they can't get a signal at all.
could you not just cable another wireless access point closer to them at all? maybe a pain but could be worth it.
Have you tried a different access point in case the one you have is old/faulty or just not very good at sending out a stong enough signal?
What hardware is the access point?
Have you tried a different access point in case the one you have is old/faulty or just not very good at sending out a stong enough signal?
What hardware is the access point?
ASKER
It's a Cisco Aironet 1130. I have suggested installing an additional access point but the managers aren't prepared to part with the money when it should work ok.
Just looking at the cisco seems pretty good and should do the job really. Can you use a web browser and check the settings on it at all? What channel is the wireless on, can you put it on its own channel so there is minimal interference? I think it is channels 1,6 and 11 are the best to choose from.
Can the existing AP be moved, or would that impact reception in another direction (like your office)?
ASKER
I can't access the AP but I could get someone to do ir remotely and check the channel. I was looking at moving the AP and seeing if the problem moved to be. Not such a big problem as I have a cabled connection anyway. May affect users in our hotdesk area though who generally use wireless.
What wireless do the laptops have? Are they all about the same age. We've seen stuff like a bad batch of radios in a particular model/batch.
Any cordless phones in the area? Even on the floor above or below? They could be creating a "bubble" of interference.
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Are there arches between the AP and their desks? Girders in the arches might be interfering.
Try taking a laptop with good signal at the AP and work your way to the low signal area. Stop at about 5 m intervals, disconnect and reconnect. Test the connection speed at each stop.
Low signal strength isn't necessarily a killer. That's why testing app speed is important. Even a low strength signal can be a "good" connection. Are they actually seeing performance problems, or just "low signal?"