Wireless Access

Hi guys,

I'm wondering which data an iPhone is taking into account for deciding wheather the wifi status icon is showing 3, 2 or 1 bar?
If it is only the signal strenght, what are the ranges measured in dbm?
I was googling around but couldn't find any valuable information regarding this. This information would be helpful to understand users complaining about "I have only 1 wifi bar shown on my iphone".

Thanks for your feedback :)

Not sure about the iPhone, but the industry standard is to use RSSI, which in itself is a somewhat fussy and unreliable metric. What I found was 3 bars = GOOD, 2 = OK, 1 = Poor. If users are complaining about the number of bars, it's most likely they are not close enough to the AP or connected to a distant AP. Even if you compare between client devices. Different type of devices, but even within the same brand and type like iPhone 11, at the same location, you should not be surprised to see +- 10 dBm of received signal strength. I think someone in the WLAN Pro community once did some testing on comparing multiple identical devices and across devices. Can't find the link at the moment.

Would love to hear if someone has more experience, or saved that link of client device comparison somewhere.

------------------------------
Herman Robers
------------------------
If you have urgent issues, always contact your Aruba partner, distributor, or Aruba TAC Support. Check https://www.arubanetworks.com/support-services/contact-support/ for how to contact Aruba TAC. Any opinions expressed here are solely my own and not necessarily that of Hewlett Packard Enterprise or Aruba Networks.

In case your problem is solved, please invest the time to post a follow-up with the information on how you solved it. Others can benefit from that.
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Jun 08, 2021 05:01 AM
From: Fabian Xx
Subject: Meaning of iPhone Wifi status icon

Hi guys,

I'm wondering which data an iPhone is taking into account for deciding wheather the wifi status icon is showing 3, 2 or 1 bar?
If it is only the signal strenght, what are the ranges measured in dbm?
I was googling around but couldn't find any valuable information regarding this. This information would be helpful to understand users complaining about "I have only 1 wifi bar shown on my iphone".

Thanks for your feedback :)

Is this what your talking about. Great community collaboration on dB offsets for popular devices: https://rssicompared.com/offsets/ekahau

------------------------------
Dustin Burns
Senior Mobility and Access Engineer @WEI

ACCX 1271| ACMX 509| ACSP | ACDA | MVP Guru 2021
If my post was useful accept solution and/or give kudos
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Jun 10, 2021 06:17 AM
From: Herman Robers
Subject: Meaning of iPhone Wifi status icon

Not sure about the iPhone, but the industry standard is to use RSSI, which in itself is a somewhat fussy and unreliable metric. What I found was 3 bars = GOOD, 2 = OK, 1 = Poor. If users are complaining about the number of bars, it's most likely they are not close enough to the AP or connected to a distant AP. Even if you compare between client devices. Different type of devices, but even within the same brand and type like iPhone 11, at the same location, you should not be surprised to see +- 10 dBm of received signal strength. I think someone in the WLAN Pro community once did some testing on comparing multiple identical devices and across devices. Can't find the link at the moment.

Would love to hear if someone has more experience, or saved that link of client device comparison somewhere.

------------------------------
Herman Robers
------------------------
If you have urgent issues, always contact your Aruba partner, distributor, or Aruba TAC Support. Check https://www.arubanetworks.com/support-services/contact-support/ for how to contact Aruba TAC. Any opinions expressed here are solely my own and not necessarily that of Hewlett Packard Enterprise or Aruba Networks.

In case your problem is solved, please invest the time to post a follow-up with the information on how you solved it. Others can benefit from that.

Original Message:
Sent: Jun 08, 2021 05:01 AM
From: Fabian Xx
Subject: Meaning of iPhone Wifi status icon

Hi guys,

I'm wondering which data an iPhone is taking into account for deciding wheather the wifi status icon is showing 3, 2 or 1 bar?
If it is only the signal strenght, what are the ranges measured in dbm?
I was googling around but couldn't find any valuable information regarding this. This information would be helpful to understand users complaining about "I have only 1 wifi bar shown on my iphone".

Thanks for your feedback :)

Dustin, that looks like the site I remembered. I see names known for the WLAN Pro community. Thanks for posting.

------------------------------
Herman Robers
------------------------
If you have urgent issues, always contact your Aruba partner, distributor, or Aruba TAC Support. Check https://www.arubanetworks.com/support-services/contact-support/ for how to contact Aruba TAC. Any opinions expressed here are solely my own and not necessarily that of Hewlett Packard Enterprise or Aruba Networks.

In case your problem is solved, please invest the time to post a follow-up with the information on how you solved it. Others can benefit from that.
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Jun 10, 2021 06:30 AM
From: Dustin Burns
Subject: Meaning of iPhone Wifi status icon

Is this what your talking about. Great community collaboration on dB offsets for popular devices: https://rssicompared.com/offsets/ekahau

------------------------------
Dustin Burns
Senior Mobility and Access Engineer @WEI

ACCX 1271| ACMX 509| ACSP | ACDA | MVP Guru 2021
If my post was useful accept solution and/or give kudos

Original Message:
Sent: Jun 10, 2021 06:17 AM
From: Herman Robers
Subject: Meaning of iPhone Wifi status icon

Not sure about the iPhone, but the industry standard is to use RSSI, which in itself is a somewhat fussy and unreliable metric. What I found was 3 bars = GOOD, 2 = OK, 1 = Poor. If users are complaining about the number of bars, it's most likely they are not close enough to the AP or connected to a distant AP. Even if you compare between client devices. Different type of devices, but even within the same brand and type like iPhone 11, at the same location, you should not be surprised to see +- 10 dBm of received signal strength. I think someone in the WLAN Pro community once did some testing on comparing multiple identical devices and across devices. Can't find the link at the moment.

Would love to hear if someone has more experience, or saved that link of client device comparison somewhere.

------------------------------
Herman Robers
------------------------
If you have urgent issues, always contact your Aruba partner, distributor, or Aruba TAC Support. Check https://www.arubanetworks.com/support-services/contact-support/ for how to contact Aruba TAC. Any opinions expressed here are solely my own and not necessarily that of Hewlett Packard Enterprise or Aruba Networks.

In case your problem is solved, please invest the time to post a follow-up with the information on how you solved it. Others can benefit from that.

Original Message:
Sent: Jun 08, 2021 05:01 AM
From: Fabian Xx
Subject: Meaning of iPhone Wifi status icon

Hi guys,

I'm wondering which data an iPhone is taking into account for deciding wheather the wifi status icon is showing 3, 2 or 1 bar?
If it is only the signal strenght, what are the ranges measured in dbm?
I was googling around but couldn't find any valuable information regarding this. This information would be helpful to understand users complaining about "I have only 1 wifi bar shown on my iphone".

Thanks for your feedback :)

Thanks guys, that helps already a lot.
Original Message:
Sent: Jun 10, 2021 07:02 AM
From: Herman Robers
Subject: Meaning of iPhone Wifi status icon

Dustin, that looks like the site I remembered. I see names known for the WLAN Pro community. Thanks for posting.

------------------------------
Herman Robers
------------------------
If you have urgent issues, always contact your Aruba partner, distributor, or Aruba TAC Support. Check https://www.arubanetworks.com/support-services/contact-support/ for how to contact Aruba TAC. Any opinions expressed here are solely my own and not necessarily that of Hewlett Packard Enterprise or Aruba Networks.

In case your problem is solved, please invest the time to post a follow-up with the information on how you solved it. Others can benefit from that.

Original Message:
Sent: Jun 10, 2021 06:30 AM
From: Dustin Burns
Subject: Meaning of iPhone Wifi status icon

Is this what your talking about. Great community collaboration on dB offsets for popular devices: https://rssicompared.com/offsets/ekahau

------------------------------
Dustin Burns
Senior Mobility and Access Engineer @WEI

ACCX 1271| ACMX 509| ACSP | ACDA | MVP Guru 2021
If my post was useful accept solution and/or give kudos

Original Message:
Sent: Jun 10, 2021 06:17 AM
From: Herman Robers
Subject: Meaning of iPhone Wifi status icon

Not sure about the iPhone, but the industry standard is to use RSSI, which in itself is a somewhat fussy and unreliable metric. What I found was 3 bars = GOOD, 2 = OK, 1 = Poor. If users are complaining about the number of bars, it's most likely they are not close enough to the AP or connected to a distant AP. Even if you compare between client devices. Different type of devices, but even within the same brand and type like iPhone 11, at the same location, you should not be surprised to see +- 10 dBm of received signal strength. I think someone in the WLAN Pro community once did some testing on comparing multiple identical devices and across devices. Can't find the link at the moment.

Would love to hear if someone has more experience, or saved that link of client device comparison somewhere.

------------------------------
Herman Robers
------------------------
If you have urgent issues, always contact your Aruba partner, distributor, or Aruba TAC Support. Check https://www.arubanetworks.com/support-services/contact-support/ for how to contact Aruba TAC. Any opinions expressed here are solely my own and not necessarily that of Hewlett Packard Enterprise or Aruba Networks.

In case your problem is solved, please invest the time to post a follow-up with the information on how you solved it. Others can benefit from that.

Original Message:
Sent: Jun 08, 2021 05:01 AM
From: Fabian Xx
Subject: Meaning of iPhone Wifi status icon

Hi guys,

I'm wondering which data an iPhone is taking into account for deciding wheather the wifi status icon is showing 3, 2 or 1 bar?
If it is only the signal strenght, what are the ranges measured in dbm?
I was googling around but couldn't find any valuable information regarding this. This information would be helpful to understand users complaining about "I have only 1 wifi bar shown on my iphone".

Thanks for your feedback :)