Poor range on Cisco AP air-ap1852e-b-k9

[Velvis]

Any ideas why I am getting particularly bad wifi range on these units? I have tried them in two different buildings (one an office and the other my house.)

I'd say once I get 40-50 feet away the signal drops considerably and not far after that can't hold a connection.
I am using it without a controller using the mobility express sw.

Using a consumer grade netgear nighthawk in the same location provides a much stronger and further distance.

What gives?

 

[Markverhyden]

Did you check the power settings for the beacon?

 

[Velvis]

No, but I did do a factory reset. I would assume out of the box it would be ok?

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[Markverhyden]

I have no idea what the default power setting is on those. The spec sheet lists available power settings but does not indicate the default.

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/produ...tasheet-c78-734256.html#Productspecifications

 

[Velvis]

I have no idea what the default power setting is on those. The spec sheet lists available power settings but does not indicate the default.

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/produ...tasheet-c78-734256.html#Productspecifications

It was set to automatic. Is there a downside to setting it to 8 (the highest setting?)

 

[Markverhyden]

If it was me I'd play around with it to see what happens, making sure to power cycle after each change. Have a vague recollection of reading somewhere that the numbers for power are actually something like dividers so to speak. 1 is full power, 2 is 1/2 of 1, 3 is 1/2 of 2 and so on.

 

[Sky-Knight]

It was set to automatic. Is there a downside to setting it to 8 (the highest setting?)

Yes...

If the signal is too strong, the clients won't roam properly. There's also the possibility of having a WAP that can reach the device, but the device doesn't have enough power to reach the WAP, which leads to annoying problems.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

How many do you have?
Have you done a site survey...to look for competing channels?

Often people will compare biz APs against a home model wireless router. The home model wireless routers are meant to be the only wireless AP in a home..so they have bigger antennas and always crank to max range. Which...isn't really ideal.

Biz grade APs..they're meant to install more than 1. And...installed after doing a site survey and choosing optimal placement, factoring in roaming, etc. The best way to blank offices/schools/etc with many APs is to have them on lower TX power, lower RSSI settings, and have them fairly close together. So..they typically aren't built to be max crazy high power and range...else...things wouldn't work well in the environment they're designed for.

What good is an AP that has a 600 foot range...when working with a tablet or laptop that has a 300 foot range? It's hard to carry a conversation with a person at that distance...when 1x has a megaphone and the other just uses their voice. Or...another analogy...playing a game of "toss the football" with a professional quarterback...do you want to play at HIS max throwing distance? Or your max throwing distance? WHich distance will allow the longest game of pass the football?

 

[Velvis]

I have two of them, but should out of the box performance be so poor?


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[Markverhyden]

The point is these commercial grade AP's are designed for hi density installations like you get on campuses, etc.

Don't have access to a Cisco but I looked at my Unifi AP Ac Pro. It has the power setting as automatic but the actual strength is 22dBm which is the maximum transmit speed. These do have some "brains" in them to automatically shape the signal based on what it is seeing, including other AP's. Do you have some other AP installed as well as this Cisco? Is the AP on the ISP modem broadcasting?

Yes, broadcast power is a key factor. But understanding the local spectrum is also important.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Yes, out of the box performance is "poor", because that product doesn't automatically do anything. It's expecting to be installed by a trained engineer, that knows WTF he wants. That's Cisco... which is also why I don't use Cisco anything, I don't have time for that BS. My clients aren't paying for that labor either.

In other words, the thing is working as intended. The question is, what do you have to do to make them work the way you want them? If it were me, I'd toss the things and get a pair of Unifi WAPs because they are more automatic, and I'll spend less on a pair of new AC Lites than I would on the time to fix these two Ciscos. BUT, if you want to learn, that's another matter.

 

[Velvis]

OK, so its not just me.. thank you. These were given to me and I was trying to use them for a local church. Any recommendations of resources to learn how to configure them?