R710 Signal Strength

[richard_hosch]

I'm evaluating options for a mesh network for a new home we have under construction. Looking for something a little more enterprise grade than consumer Google, orbi etc. gear.

The ruckus access points in unleashed mode seem to be perfect for what I'm looking for.

I bought one R710 used to setup now and play with to see how I liked it. Flashing to latest unleashed firmware and getting setup was a breeze, but I'm a little disappointed in how robust the signal has been with this one AP operating.

I noticed that connection to mobile devices at the edges of the small house we are in currently kept dropping and reconnecting. A Roku box connected to previous wireless router in the most distant room would not establish connection to the R710.

I had initially powered this with a new 8 port POE+ switch, the BV-Tech POE-SW800G, which can supply 30W per port and a total budget of 130W. The spec sheet I found on the R710 led me to believe with POE+ the tx/rx power was the same as with DC adapter. But just in case, I ordered a 12V 2A DC adapter to make sure this wasn't causing problems. No change.

I downloaded a wifi analyzer app on my phone to confirm what I was seeing. Standing in the same room with the R710 a couple of feet away, I see max signal strength of around -37dBm but usually when I check in that room it is more like -41dBm. Three rooms away, where I've noticed the most problems, the signal is down to around -70dBm. However, my old Asus nighthawk 66-n and even the built in wireless in the xfinity all-in-one router are more like -60dBm when located the same as the R710. Even the HP printer has a stronger signal around the house.

Is there something I may be missing in configuration? Is this expected performance, or is there a chance a used R710 may be damaged in a way that still works but with reduced tx/rx power? The point in purchasing this was to see if I like the setup etc. before buying 4 new ones. But now I'm just not sure.

Open to any suggestions.

[hayward_kong]

If there firmware doesn't fix the issue.. it's possible that you could have a bad R710... I know the R710 has way better range than the regular Xfinity AC boxes that they dispute for regular customers. ... but yeah try rolling back firmware. I've never tested the R710 with firmware 200.7.x for range and signal strength but I just tested for raw speed when UP close since I already knew that range was good back in the days when I first got the R710 and used standalone firmware. .. but I know even the R500 way better in range than a regular Xfinity AC box... and I know that the R710 has better range than a R500 especially the 5ghz radio. 

[hayward_kong]

Also just curious what Phone were you testing the signal strength ?

[hayward_kong]

Also note.... when the R710 is running in POE af mode  just the 2.4ghz power is affected.. not the 5ghz...

You might need to force the R710 to run in at mode in CLI.... forgot what the command is. but it's in the forum.....but I first would recommend rolling back the firmware. 

[hayward_kong]

Ok, just heard back from another user who was having a lot of wifi drops from time to time using the 200.7.10.x  firmware... he's in a new Lennar smart home which are using two R510.. so I had him drop back to 200.6.10.1312 firmware today and so far... no drops as of tonight...

[richard_hosch]

Thanks, sorry for the delayed response. Seems I can't log in via mobile browser (chrome on S8), get stuck in endless signin loop, and employer must have blocked something because I couldn't log in there either.

I will try to downgrade tonight to see if that helps and report back.

Phones used were Samsung Galaxy S8, iPhone X, iPhone XR, and the Roku box is an Ultra.

Mesh is a bad word that I keep using when I shouldn't. I actually sought out Ruckus and similar options to avoid the wireless only mesh lots of consumer devices rely on. I want wired backhaul and have half a dozen access point locations prewired and could easily move or add if needed - we pulled about 5 miles of Cat cable in all!