What does a WiFi site survey tell us?

Location, location, location. Where you put access points makes all the difference in patchy or reliable coverage in a building. With a WiFi site survey, you can see which areas of the structure need a little extra help with connection and which areas may have too much.

See this heat map as an example of identifying gaps in signal strength. The orange parts are areas of improvement that can be solved with additional access points or position adjustments, depending on your current deployment.

Hardware placement is vital when ensuring both a strong and reliable connection through the square footage of a business. Placing access points in sub-optimal locations or at the wrong height can lead to weak signals. Imagine placing access points so high in a warehouse that you can’t get a connection on the floor. Pretty useless, right?

Additionally, having too many devices producing wireless signals in one area can also cause interference – think 5 o’clock traffic on the interstate. To ensure a strong WiFi signal, it is crucial to consider the layout of the warehouse. This will help to prevent lag, increase productivity and keep your team connected.

The next part to consider is the actual physical environment the access points are working in. Is it a warehouse with floor-to-ceiling product shelving or a small office building? 

A WiFi site survey provides specific information about factors like equipment, furniture, walls, floors, ceilings, and other obstructions, which can interfere with wireless signals. Knowing the exact layout of these items can help you adjust the placement of access points to avoid any interference. A WiFi site survey provides specific information on RF factors such as neighboring wireless networks; and wireless interferers such as microwaves, Bluetooth, cordless phones, wireless cameras, etc.

Side note, do people still use cordless phones?

The environmental factors of a warehouse, such as temperature and humidity, can also affect the signal if you don’t have the right access point for your needs. It’s important to measure these conditions to ensure access points are positioned optimally and are tough enough to last.

A WiFi site survey can tell you about your current wireless data rates and throughput based on how it was configured. Then, you can turn to the configuration and down to the connected network switches. The data gathered from a WiFi site survey allows you to see whether your current router and access points are performing optimally so you can make changes accordingly.

A WiFi site survey will also tell you what kind of network capacity is available in your building. This helps you know if additional bandwidth needs to be added or if your current infrastructure is sufficient.

Finding out which channels are being used and how many devices are connected to the network can help you decide if your current network can handle the load or if extra access points are needed. Engineers will work with you to understand current device capabilities to ensure the proper wireless settings are in place. 

If your business is growing faster than your wireless network can keep up with, you will notice a need to reevaluate your network. More phones and computers will need a signal, and in turn, more employees will come to you if they can’t get a proper connection.

By understanding all of these components, WiFi experts can figure out exactly what is the expected/desired bandwidth/throughput, how many users will be on the wireless network, what devices are connected, what applications are used, and more.

To summarize, a wireless site survey informs one about 5 critical areas:

1. Insight into a structure’s RF environment and wireless network capacity
2. Identify problem areas in your network infrastructure 
3. Identify sub-optimal locations for access points
4. Identify physical environmental interference such as equipment, furniture, walls, floors, neighboring wireless networks microwaves, Bluetooth, cordless phones, wireless cameras, and more.
5. Information about network capacity, such as the number and type of devices connected to the network, their locations, and the types of applications they are running

With all of this in mind, you can see that knowledge is power. Knowing these details about your physical environment, network capacity, and current infrastructure can help enhance performance and save on costs over time. 

You can also start from scratch if you’re planning an office move. A WiFi site survey can help you determine what kind of network setup is required for your new space. 

Conducting a WiFi site survey is essential for businesses looking to ensure seamless connectivity and maximum productivity. You can identify potential interference, pinpoint weak signal areas, and help optimize the layout of access points to ensure the best possible performance. Not only does this benefit your employees by cutting lag time and buffering issues, but it also helps reduce costs associated with a poor network.