Wireless network performance is akin to business performance these days; productivity, efficiency and automation all rely on agile, fast, reliable connectivity, meaning your Wi-Fi can make or break your organisation. Consequently, it goes without saying that if you’re experiencing problems with your Wi-Fi, you can’t afford to let them go unresolved. A professional wireless survey is the best way to resolve any issues both in terms of efficiency, ensuring a thorough job is done, and also to give you certainty that your solutions won’t cause additional problems down the line.
A Wi-Fi survey needs to be conducted by a qualified professional who can draw on years of experience, industry best practice, uses the most accurate and informative tools, and can deliver recommendations and a fresh design based on emerging technology and industry trends. A professional wireless network engineer can also ensure you don’t waste your IT budget on unnecessary products, or on a network design that fails to support your organisation in the ways you need. We won’t wax lyrical – not here anyway. You can read more on the benefits of expert Wi-Fi surveys here
What are the three types of wireless surveys?
1. Passive Wi-Fi Surveys
2. Active Wi-Fi Surveys
3. AP-on-a Stick Survey
1. What is the purpose of a passive WiFi survey?
A passive WiFi survey assesses the current RF environment and identifies coverage, noise and interference issues. A passive survey involves walking a site with specialist software (such as Ekahau) that listens to nearby wireless signals. It doesn't actively connect to the network, instead, it passively collects data from all access points in range.
When to use a Passive Survey
- During initial discovery of an existing Wi-Fi deployment
- When troubleshooting performance issues
- To benchmark coverage and identify sources of interference
What it reveals
- Signal strength and coverage
- Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)
- Co-channel and adjacent channel interference
- Rogue APs or unauthorised devices
Why it matters
A passive WiFi survey gives a detailed snapshot of the RF environment and forms the foundation for informed design decisions or problem resolution.
2. What is the purpose of an active WiFi site survey?
An active WiFi site survey measures how the network performs under real-world conditions by connecting to it during the survey. Unlike passive surveys, active surveys involve connecting to the WiFi network as a client device and actively transmitting and receiving data while surveying the space. This provides real performance insights from a user perspective.
When to use an Active Survey
- When validating a newly installed network
- To assess application-specific performance (eg VoIP, video, data transfer)
What it reveals
- Packet loss and latency
- Roaming performance between APs
- Authentication and association success
Why it matters
An active WiFi site survey allows you to verify whether the WiFi actually delivers the experience your users need - not just what the signal maps suggest.
3. What is an AP-on-a Stick Survey (Pre-Development Survey)?
An AP-on-a-stick survey tests access point placement and performance before full deployment. It involves temporarily mounting an access point on a tripod or stand in planned locations and measuring how its signal propagates in the real environment. This is particularly useful when -designing networks for challenging spaces such as warehouses or large school campuses.
When to use an AP-on-a-Stick Survey
- Before installing a new wireless network
- When floor plans along aren't enough for predictive design
- To test different access point types or antenna
What it reveals
- Real-world RF propagation
- Optimal AP locations and mounting heights
- Obstruction or reflection issues not visible on floor plans
Why it matters
An AP-on-a-Stick Survey bridges the gap between theoretical design and physical reality, ensuring your wireless deployment is based on measured - not assumed - performance.
How should you pick the right kind of WiFi Survey?
Choosing the right type of WiFi survey will largely depend on the type of organisation you work for, your timescales and your budget. If a new network solution is going to actually be a solution to your current IT problems, these first steps are crucial as they can lay the foundation for a successful investment, and any WiFi specialist worth their salt will take the time to get to know your organisation, its requirements (current and future), it’s challenges, and key considerations.
At Redway Networks, we focus on providing a bespoke wireless survey service that puts your organisation and its needs at the centre. Our certified and experienced engineers don't make assumptions on the type of survey you need before they've spoken to you to fully understand why you need a WiFi survey and how we can help you move towards an optimally performing wireless network. We focus on providing services that have actionable, positive outcomes to help support your IT department and push your organisation forward, and that starts with one of our professional WiFi surveys.
How are our WiFi Surveys different to our competitors?
- Our experience across a range of sectors means we have the insight to ask questions that might not be pertinent to your daily network management, but can be catastrophic if overlooked during the design phase. Common examples we come across are factoring in additional capacity in school halls for exam periods, or specific access point placement in storage areas (such as a warehouse) where interference fluctuates due to stock movement.
- All our network engineers are Certified Wireless Network Professionals with many technical vendor qualifications. They have worked on the straightforward to complex WLANS including IoT deployments, large-scale industrial automation and difficult access point placements.
- We pride ourselves on being vendor-neutral wireless specialists who focus on fully understanding your organisation’s requirements and resources before recommending a solution. We turn this understanding into a design that responds to your needs, before recommending products. We don’t have preferred partners; we match your organisation and its requirements with the right solution – not the other way around.
- We don’t view WiFi surveys as a ‘one and done’ service, whether you’re designing a new network or fault-finding and fixing an existing one. Our goal isn’t to install or improve your wireless network and walk away – we want you to be happy with your solution for its entire lifetime. We recommend a Wi-Fi survey at least once a year to keep your network performing optimally, ensure it is adapting to fit how your organisation is changing, and keep you up to date with the latest technology. If you’d like to know more about our management services, take a look at our network support packages.
How do we present our findings from your Wi-Fi survey?
- We do things differently to our competitors. We deliver the results and recommendations from your survey by WebEx, giving the us the ability to demonstrate our designs. This also gives us the opportunity to go through your site room by room, floor by floor to make sure of your requirements and any details you feel we should know. This is vital in the case of passive, remote surveys.
- We make sure a highly qualified network engineer is always on the call to go through the survey report and design in a live simulation. They can also answer any questions you may have about your wider network – outside of your wireless – from switches to security. We see our role as helping you achieve an optimally performing network – not just WiFi.
- Our way of resolving your network issues is a 2-way conversation – a ‘non-technical’ technical discussion. We make a complex subject simple so that you never feel out of your depth when discussing your network, its shortcomings or our recommendations.
What if you have questions about your wider network infrastructure?
Your wireless network is only part of the wider picture. As your network gets increasingly complex, you may find that a broader understanding of product performance and longevity is helpful, from switches to cabling. This is where our network audits come in. These audits look at your entire network, and provide an in-depth assessment of your hardware, configuration, architecture and security, enabling you to see clearly where your current network is not giving the performance you need.
As with our wireless surveys, these are performed by our highly qualified network engineers, giving you a comprehensive report that in-house staff may not have the time, resource, experience or equipment to produce.
Rest assured, we don’t put pressure on you to revamp your entire IT infrastructure all at once. Our network audit reports are produced on a ‘traffic light system’ basis with immediate, medium term and long-term actions. Find out more about our network audits.
7 tips to get the best insight from your WiFi survey
As we’ve discussed, obtaining the best possible data from your wireless survey is vital. In the words of someone very insightful, 'proper planning prevents poor Wi-Fi performance' Below we’ve listed some tips on how you can prepare ahead of time for whichever wireless survey you go.
- Make sure that your floorplans are up to date. You’d be surprised at how many clients have sent us plans with entire buildings missing
- You’d be shocked at how many DIY floorplans we’ve received over the years that aren’t in any way to scale! This is a nightmare for mapping data against, and even worse if you’ve opted for a passive survey where engineers can’t use their physical survey walk data to compensate.
- Include large objects such as warehouse racking or machinery in your floorplans as these can have a bearing on interference and coverage
- Ensure access will be available for the engineer. It sounds silly, but our engineers are often found tapping on various doors and windows to get in if your survey is taking place out of hours or on school holidays!
- Give the engineer advance warning of any health and safety or PPE requirements, including DBS checks. If these are a non-negotiable, you don’t want the survey to be rescheduled!
- Inform the engineer of any specific requirements such as aesthetics (camouflaged APs, anyone?) or zones with high capacity usage
- Be sure to let the engineer know of any tricky spots with poor/problematic connectivity so these can be investigated – and perhaps easily resolved there and then
If you would like more advice on our professional WiFi surveys, please get in touch with us here or call our technical sales team on 01908 046400.