What is the optimal orientation of the AP (specifically R310) when wall
mounting.

Question

What is the optimal orientation of the AP (specifically R310) when wall mounting.  Observing considerable variation in in download speed depending upon which way the front of the unit points, so wondering what the antenna spread pattern is.

unknown · Answer

The decision to roam made by client station. But you can do some tricks to help clint make the "right" decision )))

1.	Switch on the Smart Roam.  If this feature is on, the AP kicks-off (disassociate) a client if the SNR is lower as threshold. It is so kind of hard disconnection and I would not suggest it you have voice traffic.
2.	Limit a BSS Min Rate. 12Mbps or even 24 Mbps is a good choice. But be careful you do need low bitrates in your WLAN.

unknown · Answer

Have multiple AP's.  Have noted that my devices do not automatically switch between AP's to get the best speed while I am moving around.  Any advice?  Thanks.

michael_brado · Answer

The Orange (round) pattern is the R310 antenna coverage.  The Black (right/front) pattern is Beamflex talking to an example (rectangle) client, showing it's focusing energy only in that client's direction.
That is still however only 2 dimensions displayed, where there will be stronger top (out from the wall if wall mounted) and weaker bottom RF coverage too.

A flat wall mounted R310 will still provide a single room with strong coverage, and likely good coverage into adjacent rooms (maybe better to those beside that room, than to rooms behind the AP).

If testing only one AP, try switching channels manually and lock down your best performing 2.4g channel, with speeds taken from 3 or more locations of your client on each test.