Remember that for every 3 dB of loss, the received signal is half strength. Also, keep in mind that the effective range for –67 dBm of clients will be less distance than for clients receiving a –70 dBm signal. Voice-grade Wi-Fi requires a –67 dBm or stronger signal. When designing for high data rate connectivity, a –70 dBm or stronger signal is required. A quality received signal for the client is needed to provide high data rate connectivity and a good user experience. In other words, coverage design should be based on the perspective of the Wi-Fi clients. Truth be told, the effective range of an AP should really be from the perspective of the client devices. A common mistake is to design Wi-Fi coverage based solely on an access point’s capabilities. The primary coverage goals for any enterprise Wi-Fi network are to provide high data rate connectivity for connected clients and to provide for seamless roaming. The point is that the range of AP depends entirely on the environment in which it is deployed. That same signal will only lose one-half the original power after passing through drywall material. A 2.4 GHz signal will be 1/16 the original power after propagating through a concrete wall. Brick and concrete walls will absorb a signal significantly, whereas drywall will absorb a signal to a lesser degree. As an RF signal passes through walls, materials will absorb some amount of an RF signal to varying degrees. These numbers are always misleading because they do not take into consideration the attenuation of walls in an indoor environment. In reality, a radio frequency (RF) signal will travel forever in free space, but the signal is constantly losing strength due to the laws of physics.Įvery now and then, you may see an AP data sheet with “maximum distance” capabilities and marketing claims of “up to 183 meters (600 feet) in the 2.4 GHz band. To be honest, this is a question that I have always refused to give an exact answer to because there are too many variables: the attenuation of walls, free space path loss, AP transmit power, and Wi-Fi clients' receive sensitivity capabilities. There is an age-old question that I have been asked for over twenty years when discussing Wi-Fi, “What is the coverage range of an AP?” The same question is often asked in many other ways, such as “How far will the AP signal travel” or “How far can a client connect to the AP?”
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