You wanna tip?
Here's a tip:
Place your APs where your CLIENTS are!
You see any clients above the air ducts?
I didn't think so.
@HeyEddie I found you another one. Yep that's a 3600 up there. :-) pic.twitter.com/Uazj2BrYx7
— Yannick Heymans (@yannickheymans) November 12, 2015
You see any clients above the air ducts?
I didn't think so.
@HeyEddie you need to add this one pic.twitter.com/b0KH3LdekH
— Orthos (@wirelesssguru) November 13, 2015
So, I says, "Doctah", I says, "my arm hurts when I bend it like this." So, the Doc, he says to me, "Don't bend your arm like that".
- Some vaudeville comedian
@HeyEddie BadFi example. Poor little AP all up in that metal! pic.twitter.com/COVWF9mUsK
— Wilfred Todd Smith (@WiFiTodd) December 8, 2015
SERIOUSLY? Am I crazy to think it's pretty obvious that metal and radio waves don't mix?!
From the unexpected attenuators file… pic.twitter.com/2t9kZbRGZP
— Scott McDermott (@scottm32768) August 20, 2015
So, here's a good example of why you should at least do a spot check to see if anything's changed in your environment. Like, I don't know, teachers mounting ROUND METAL THINGIES from the ceiling?!
Also, AP mounted DIRECTLY on metal. :-(
Ok, I'm calling it - mounting near, on, or around METAL is the #1 stupid thing on BAD-FI.
Bad AP placement @gruairportsp .. Since it's HD environment, patch antennas should be used. @BadAtWiFi @HeyEddie pic.twitter.com/z3368mI38A
— Gustavo Mastroianni (@gugamastroianni) June 13, 2015
Wi-Fi @ MIT pic.twitter.com/aR1Q3dEc1X
— Jason Hintersteiner (@EmperorWiFi) June 11, 2015
"Just when I thought I was out... THEY PULL ME BACK IN!!!!"
- Michael Corleone
At least the antennas are correctly positioned. But, AP mounted directly on concrete, METAL cable tray directly in from of AP, antennas right next to concrete overhang. Geez, you'd think someone at MIT could figure this out.
@heyeddie Antennas? Who needs antennas? pic.twitter.com/KotkNqCT22
— David Sullivan (@hllnS) June 3, 2015
@HeyEddie this is my fav AP, there are 6 like it...what was the engineer thinking! #badwifi pic.twitter.com/nvpBRmDpXl
— Alan Blake (@papageordy) May 19, 2015
Hey, I'm connected! Now I'm not. I'm connected again!
Disconnected. Connected!
What's? going. on?
iBwave, a developer of wireless analysis and design tools, sponsored this webinar with Andrew von Nagy (@RevolutionWiFi). Andrew breaks down several myths regarding 802.11ac.
Andrew will answer these and other questions in the video.
WARNING: Watching this video and using these tools may keep you from BAD-FI. So, watch at your BAD-Fis peril!
@rowelldionicio I use Belkin F4U039 and GearTies to hook on pic.twitter.com/GN4c6Ht1Gj
— Brian Long (@blong1) January 14, 2016
Home WiFi validation. New setup and no velcro. Three Ekahau NICs worked well into one USB 3.0 port. Ready to go! pic.twitter.com/ZrWauLp9xL
— Gustavo Mastroianni (@gugamastroianni) November 25, 2015
So glad I don't have to put velcro on my "Precious". It works, but it's not pretty. And some say I'm a Fancy Boy! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
TIP: Use a Survey Desk when doing a survey. Your BACK will love you for it. 👌
REMEMBER, a good survey keeps the BAD-FI away.
Cisco makes these amazing foot-warmers! So good for a cold winter morning. pic.twitter.com/RgYWCtcfl7
— Nick Looper (@CablingOptional) January 12, 2016
via @Globeron
Thanks for the heads up, Ron. See you at WLPC!
@KeithRParsons pic.twitter.com/YzJX6VQsRu
— Wilfred Todd Smith (@WiFiTodd) December 22, 2015
Sadly, this is very common. In the following replies to this Tweet, Todd correctly recommends that his customer suspend the AP below all the metal obstructions.
Typically, when we do that we use a piece of all-thread, cut to size, attached to a 4-gang box to mount the AP from. Here's a good example from Jennifer Huber's blog.
There are a few issues here:
This all adds up to a poor user experience on the ground. Where the signal is degraded, blocked, and attenuated.
For an idea of how metal affects RF signal I refer you to this excerpt from the CWDP (Certified Wireless Design Professional) Study Guide:
“Examine an antenna, and you will find that it is made of metal parts and dielectrics. The metal parts of the antenna do not even have to be touching each other. It should be clear that bringing metal or dielectrics close to an antenna can have a dramatic effect on performance.”
Excerpt From: Shawn M. Jackman, Matt Swartz, Marcus Burton & Thomas W. Head. “CWDP Certified Wireless Design Professional Official Study Guide.” iBooks.
(Click the link to read the rest of the chapter and view the excellent graphic)
So, be aware of where your APs are placed, and what surrounds them. Give the RF some time to propagate before it comes back and slaps that AP upside the head.
:-)
@HeyEddie Another day, another iPhone full of #Bad-Fi. This one's being held at gunpoint by some nasty cabling. pic.twitter.com/BkhS9aE0Cn
— Joshua Williams (@802dotMe) December 11, 2015
@HeyEddie 191 APs, and only 2 gig links to the core. I think that qualifies as #badfi pic.twitter.com/XjvempuN0H
— Robert Boardman (@Robb_404) December 1, 2015
I don’t see what the big deal is with placing APs in the ceiling… what could possibly go wrong! ;) –> pic.twitter.com/V3qjRyWFYZ
— Scott Stapleton (@scottpstapleton) May 18, 2015
Um... I think those should be further apart. pic.twitter.com/Yvc6BimJfl
— Jake Snyder (@jsnyder81) March 6, 2015
And even when on different channels - being too close - can cause interference - ADJACENT Channel Interference.
Put some space between your APs, bruh! (How much, you ask? 2 meters should do.)
#sigh pic.twitter.com/kZLqpFvO6o
— Scott McDermott (@scottm32768) January 9, 2015
Yay, 40MHz Xfinity, in 2.4GHz, FTW. :-(
Don’t do this. 40MHz is for 5GHz only. Unless, you know, you live in a cave, or a farm, or it’s the Zombie Apocolypse and there are no other WLANs around. THEN you can use it.
Share your strangest #WiFi placement. Here is @ArubaNetworks #Wifi on a door handle. pic.twitter.com/sscqJ7f55v
— Josh Needle (@allterrainwifi) October 28, 2014
“What is this, ‘Pee Oh Eee’, you speak of?” — via @kfabina on the Twitters.
when PoE switches are just not needed. Go school Wi-Fi pic.twitter.com/PkSD0I6MUi
— Kristijan Fabina (@kfabina) June 17, 2015
This WiFi is screwed up.
While on a site survey we came across this datacom closet. Looks like a new two post rack for every new 24 port switch. Then we noticed this AP placement–Held down by a package of drywall anchor screws to make sure it doesn’t float away.
via @802dotme