Wireless Access

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?

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.

------------------------------
Any opinions expressed here are solely my own and not necessarily that of Hewlett Packard Enterprise or Aruba Networks.

HPE Design and Deploy Guides: https://community.arubanetworks.com/support/migrated-knowledge-base?attachments=&communitykey=dcc83c62-1a3a-4dd8-94dc-92968ea6fff1&pageindex=0&pagesize=12&search=&sort=most_recent&viewtype=card
------------------------------

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.

Hi,

I'm experiencing a similar issue. Our customer is currently using Fortinet's old Meru AP 1010i access points, which are about 12 years old. After replacing them with Aruba AP 515 units, we found that the signal from the Aruba access points is significantly weaker compared to the Fortinet ones.

I understand that in a controller-based environment, the controller manages all access points, even with a high Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). However, I'm struggling with this setup, and the customer is asking why the new access points perform worse than the old ones.

I need to understand the logical reasons behind this issue. If it's related to firmware, I'm willing to upgrade, but unfortunately, HPE Aruba hasn't provided a support bulletin that addresses potential firmware-related issues and resolutions.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Original Message:
Sent: Jun 05, 2023 03:44 AM
From: cordless
Subject: Weak WiFi Signal and Fluctuations on Aruba 505 and 515 APs with Controller

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.

I would use the "aruba utilities" app to determine what APs are broadcasting around you with an Android phone.  That will give you an idea.  You could have to increase the minimum transmit power to match the coverage.  AX/HE would require higher power to maintain higher rates, in general.

------------------------------
Any opinions expressed here are solely my own and not necessarily that of Hewlett Packard Enterprise or Aruba Networks.

HPE Design and Deploy Guides: https://community.arubanetworks.com/support/migrated-knowledge-base?attachments=&communitykey=dcc83c62-1a3a-4dd8-94dc-92968ea6fff1&pageindex=0&pagesize=12&search=&sort=most_recent&viewtype=card
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Nov 18, 2024 11:01 AM
From: Norman
Subject: Weak WiFi Signal and Fluctuations on Aruba 505 and 515 APs with Controller

Hi,

I'm experiencing a similar issue. Our customer is currently using Fortinet's old Meru AP 1010i access points, which are about 12 years old. After replacing them with Aruba AP 515 units, we found that the signal from the Aruba access points is significantly weaker compared to the Fortinet ones.

I understand that in a controller-based environment, the controller manages all access points, even with a high Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). However, I'm struggling with this setup, and the customer is asking why the new access points perform worse than the old ones.

I need to understand the logical reasons behind this issue. If it's related to firmware, I'm willing to upgrade, but unfortunately, HPE Aruba hasn't provided a support bulletin that addresses potential firmware-related issues and resolutions.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Original Message:
Sent: Jun 05, 2023 03:44 AM
From: cordless
Subject: Weak WiFi Signal and Fluctuations on Aruba 505 and 515 APs with Controller

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.