Avoiding Wireless Connectivity Issues

​When the wireless connection at your office is lost or down, much more goes offline than just the connection itself. One of the most immediate and negative results of wireless connectivity is a loss of productivity from your team. No work is accomplished, communications tools and other resources are virtually unusable, and everyone simply sits around until IT has it fixed.

That is, unless the company invests in regular wireless site surveys, which can reveal the root of the problem and proactively mitigate downtime due to lost WiFi connections. Most of the time, these site surveys show common problems that cause enterprise wireless connectivity issues that companies may not have previously considered.

Often, companies think that if they’re having wireless connectivity problems, adding more wireless access points will resolve the issues. This is usually not the case. An on-site survey could be the difference between overspending on labor and materials and saving 25 to 50 percent by troubleshooting the issue correctly the first time. 

If you’re facing wireless connectivity issues, here are a few under-the-radar causes to consider before throwing money at additional equipment.

Point of Placement

Likely the most common cause of wireless connectivity issues stems from not doing a proper placement survey. Insufficient virtual site surveys, educated guesses, and simple lack of expertise can lead to too many access points being installed. That causes a co-channel interference issue and can be a significant waste of time and money.

Power Struggle

Ever have five bars yet still have a slow connection? The access-point-to-client-power mismatch is probably the culprit.

When installing a wireless network, it’s critical to know how much power is used to broadcast that signal. Mobile clients — a handheld that’s connected to wireless, for example — can only transmit at certain power levels. If the wireless network is transmitting too much power, then it cannot hear the mobile client and therefore can’t receive the data that the wireless client is trying to send to it.

Device Capabilities

Another issue is not understanding the capabilities that the connected mobile devices have, as not every wireless client is able to use the same wireless channels or even wireless frequencies.

For example, if a wireless network is set up to run several dozen channels on 5GHz and the mobile client itself can’t see 18 of these channels, that will create performance issues. The company would think they had set up a sound wireless network, but their devices would continue to drop the signal.  

Call the Pros

Partnering with experts in wireless connectivity and enterprise mobility to perform site surveys, identify connectivity issues, and recommend solutions can save an incredible amount of time, money, and productivity.

TRG is one of the few companies that has expertise in both wireless and mobile computers. We offer complete installation services as well, and can recommend solutions, implement them on-site, and make sure they’re working properly prior to departure. We are experts with every make and model and are manufacturer-agnostic. To discuss your specific issues and schedule a site-survey, contact TRG.

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About TRG

TRG is a global managed solutions provider focused on mobility, point of sale and payments. With facilities across the United States, Canada and Europe, we provide the most comprehensive suite of lifecycle management services – from warehouse to boardroom and deployment to retirement. Our mission is to Make Technology Simple, helping customers accelerate projects, drive application success, improve employee/customer experience and maximize ROI. We’re relentless in our drive to find innovative, effective ways to enhance customer operations and challenge conventional thinking along the way. Learn more about why The Difference Is Us at www.trgsolutions.com.