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Weak WiFi Signal and Fluctuations on Aruba 505 and 515 APs with Controller

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  • 1.  Weak WiFi Signal and Fluctuations on Aruba 505 and 515 APs with Controller

    Posted Jun 02, 2023 01:10 PM

    I have installed 2 aruba controllers in redundency mode and connected several Aruba 505 and 515 access points to it, however the received signal and its coverage were way weaker than expected. In an open area and at a 5-6 meter distance from the access point we experienced about 10-15 dBm drops in signal strength even after increasing the EIRP on the access points to 28 dBm. I also changed the min and max EIRP in the ARM profiles, as well as turn off the 6 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

    I also experienced weird fluctuations in the signal observed on my phone, where it would go from 5 bars to 3 bars and back to 5 bars every 10-20 seconds, in an area where i only have one access point.

    Is there a way to increase the coverage and/or troubleshoot the signal fluctuations that i have not tried yet?



  • 2.  RE: Weak WiFi Signal and Fluctuations on Aruba 505 and 515 APs with Controller

    EMPLOYEE
    Posted Jun 02, 2023 03:45 PM

    Are those access points mounted or are they on a desk for testing?  Your client could be reporting on reflected signals, so I would mount the access point 3 meters in the air or more pointing downwards and then test again.



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  • 3.  RE: Weak WiFi Signal and Fluctuations on Aruba 505 and 515 APs with Controller

    EMPLOYEE
    Posted Jun 05, 2023 03:45 AM

    phone bars is not a valid tool to measure Wi-Fi Signal. I would recommend to use "Aruba Utilities" on Android Phones. No, this toll is not available for Apple Phone due to OS Restrictions.

    Or the use of Windows based Tolles which gives you real values and not a bar view.

    cjoseph pointed additional things out.
    Also important is the version of code you are using.
    BTW - 5xx APs aren´t 6GHz capable. Those are 802.11ax APs for 2.4 and 5GHz Spectrum. Any Changes to 6GHz have no impact. Turning 5GHz o is always recommended in your environment.
    Are those APs positions deployed after planning the environment by a Site Survey or a predictive Site Survey?

    Are they installed in a recommended way?

    505 & 515 should be ceeling mounted

    In many cases default values of ARM are good for most environments.