Wireless Troubleshooting Self Help

    Wireless Self Help – Information Gathering

    Wireless Self Help on Mac OSX built in tools:

    Hold down Alt/Option and click on the Wireless icon on the top of your screen.  You will see additional information such as:

    The important information for troubleshooting are the information displayed on and below the ‘BSSID’ line.  So, BSSID, Channel, Country Code, RSSI, Noise, Tx Rate, PHY Mode and MCS Index.  It is easiest to just take a screenshot of the dropdown box and use that for attaching to Helpdesk tickets, etc.

    Wireless Self Help for Windows 10+ PCs

    There are several wireless apps in the Microsoft Store available for free. Regardless of which App you use, the goal is the same — identify how your device(s) see the wireless networks around them.   Using WiFi Analyzer as a reference, here is how to gather information you can then send to us at the IT Helpdesk.

    After installing the app and opening it, click in the bottom right hand corner to make sure it is on “Link-Speed” and if not, click on “State” to toggle it.  You will see a picture similar to the below:

    Screenshot showing the signal strength as an example

    This will give you a good picture of the wireless environment your PC is seeing at the time.  Screenshot the application for use in a Helpdesk ticket.

    Wireless Self Help for iPhone/iPad tablets

    For Apples devices such as iPhones and iPads, you will need the Apple AirPort Utility app.  Grab it from the app store and install it but before you open the app, go into the AirPort Utility settings and enable the “Wi-Fi Scanner” option.

    Once set, open the app and tap the upper right hand corner ‘Wi-Fi Scan’

    Then, hit the “Scan” button to start a scan of the wireless near you.  Optionally you can move the slider down, but be sure to run it for at least fifteen seconds

    You will be left with the results which you can snap a screenshot of and send over to us at the Helpdesk.

    Wireless Self Help for Android devices

    Android has a lot of options when it comes to wireless scanner/analyzer apps.  Wifi Analyzer produces the output we need to determine the quality of the wireless your device sees.  Screenshots are below so feel free to use any app that provides equivalent information!

    WiFiAnalyzer app screenshot NetSpot app screenshot Wifi Analyzer app screenshot

    What do the numbers mean?

    RSSI — the defacto value that most people associate with how good their wifi performance is.  Each device (and even between the same make and model devices) has a slightly different view of the wireless signal.  Devices like phones have smaller antennae and limited battery size so they see things much different than a laptop with a larger antennae (and battery).

    A very coarse guide to signal strength (remember — this is as your device sees it!)

    • -30 dBm — amazing signal strength — very, very close to an access point
    • -50 dBm — exceptional signal strength
    • -67 dBm — very good signal strength — for most devices this is the threshold for ‘full bars’
    • -70 dBm — acceptable signal strength, but starting to have trouble especially with high bandwidth or low latency applications (Youtube/Netflix/etc and/or Wifi calling/Facetime/Skype/etc)
    • -75 dBm — extremely unreliable connection in almost any use or situation

    Noise or Noise Floor — this is how much background interference there is according to your device.  The lower the better — typical noise is -90 dBm or lower.  Interference such as microwaves/other wireless clients and devices all play a role in this.

    SNR – Signal to Noise Ratio — very simply the difference between your RSSI and the Noise Floor, expressed as dB.  The higher the value, the better — SNR less than 25 dB can cause wireless devices to be unable to ‘hear’ each other and have to try again and again until the other side acknowledges they received it.  This slows everything down if retries are too high and can cause jittery performance.