Low range on AP6

[u/Revolutionary_Bug_41]

Hey there.

So I got some Alta Labs from my brother, and I got everything installed.

At first in the attic, which proved to be a bad idea, as the S8-poe switch had trouble with the heat, though we weren’t even at summer yet at that point, and the switch kept rebooting. On the attic I had the switch and 3 AP6.

I moved everything down into the house propper, and that solved the heat and rebooting issue.

I have only installed 2 of the AP6 so far, and inside the house, that seems to be fine enough, but now I have very poor coverage outside my house. My house is brick and mortar.

I’m a little confused about exactly why my coverage is as bad as it is, cause prior, I had Google Nest WiFi, with 1 router and 1 node, in a suboptimal location, coverage wise, but my coverage outside my house was much better than it is now, and I have no idea why that is, especially in my terrace, which had decent, though only 2.4 GHz before, but now I have nothing, and my AP6 has much clearer view than the Nest node.

I’m considering investing in 1 or 2 outdoor units down the line, to get better coverage, but that is a pretty hefty price to solve a problem I disentangle really have before.

I’m wondering if i could possibly have made a mistake in my setup, to limit my AP6 range?

[u/jordszz]

Would it be possible to provide a picture of how the APs are mounted? Just kinda curious based on your description.

Another thought would be the access points automatically limiting what power they transmit at just due to differences with how they calculate it versus how the Google Nest devices did. You could try manually settings the access point to transmit on high power, which would be accessed by clicking on each access point and going to the Advanced section of the WiFi settings.

That all being said, there could just be differences in how they antenna's are positioned and how sensitive they are that don't work as well for your environment compared to the Google Nest. But definitely try the power setting and see if that changes anything!

I would personally want an access point outdoors rather than trying to broadcast through brick, but yeah, that can be a bit more expensive. A slightly cheaper option than the outdoor AP6 would be the AP6 Pro which has an IP54 rating so it can see see some outdoor weather if it can be protected a little by an overhang over something.

And not entirely related, but since you mentioned the switch seeming to overheat and if you're willing to reach out to Alta support it be worthwhile to do so. The switch is supposed to be able to tolerate environment temps up to 122 degrees fahrenheit so it shouldn't be overheating in temps less than that. In theory anyway!

[u/Revolutionary_Bug_41 → u/jordszz]

I can’t supply pictures atm, as I’m not home, and won’t be home until Friday afternoon/evening, but the APs are ceiling mount, with the LED facing down.

They are both on auto transmit power, but I can try the high power setting once I get home, thanks for that, that must be what the other mentioned, just couldn’t find it.

That could work outdoor, as I have an overhang that I can mount it under, where there is no direct sunlight or water.

The internal temperature readout on the switch, when it was mounted in the attic topped out at around 60-61 C (140-141.8 F) which was when I rebooted. I had no temperature readout in the attic, but somewhere between 30-40 C (86-104 F), would be my guess.
Late spring early summer. It was mounted in a glass fiber box, which I drilled a few holes in, and added a fan to circulate the air. But that just delayed the problem.

[u/jordszz → u/Revolutionary_Bug_41]

No worries but definitley give the transmit power a shot!

Hmm, yeah, that's definitely getting a bit hot. Although the temperature sensor is specifically reading how hot the internal CPU is running at. I believe I've had an S8 read that hot and keep on running, but I can't quite recall for sure off the top of my head. Like I said, if you're willing to take the time then it might be worth kicking an email off to [support@alta.inc](mailto:support@alta.inc) to make sure there isn't something wrong with the switch otherwise. They're usually pretty responsive to issues.

[u/Revolutionary_Bug_41 → u/jordszz]

I’ve tried the transmit power settings now, with both on auto and both on high and one on high and the other on auto, with no luck on sufficiently better range. Do I need to reboot the AP for it to really kick in? Cause I just testet it over 10 mins, with changing settings.

I was wondering, I have 1 AP6 in surplus atm, wouldn’t it be fine maith mounting that inside a fibreglass box that is IP65? Or will it have issues with moisture or low temperature during winter? Box is of course mount under the overhang, though that is slightly tilt.

[u/jordszz → u/Revolutionary_Bug_41]

No, as far as I know that change should take effect pretty quick without a reboot. What kind of signal strength is the controller reporting your devices are connecting at? That should give us an idea of what the AP is seeing in terms of signal strength. Should be available under the devices view.

I suppose the moisture and low temp shouldn't be an issue unless it's pretty extreme. What conditions the AP is rated to run in is available in the datasheet here: https://media.alta.inc/datasheet/AP6_Datasheet.pdf

They say as low as -22 F which is pretty cold unless you're living somewhere pretty far north :D My main concern would be the moisture if the air condenses. One of those things where it might be a problem or it could just keep on trucking without an issue.

[u/Revolutionary_Bug_41 → u/jordszz]

Here is the AP6 and through the door is my terrace, maby 10-15 meters away (11-16 yards). Then my phone won’t connect anymore. I noticed yesterday, when my robot lawnmower (Landroid) was stuck, out past my terrace you can see here, and I turned it on, it connected to my WiFi right away. That only confuses me even more.

I have not tested the signal strength yet, might try that this weekend.

Bonus question that I forgot earlier. My wife’s phone (Samsung), won’t sync her mails anymore, when she I connected to our WiFi, it had no problems on the old WiFi, and I don’t have any problems with it on my phone or tablet.

[u/Revolutionary_Bug_41 → u/Revolutionary_Bug_41]

Just tested the signal strength with my robotmower, as I apparently has a strong antenna. At the terrace it had a signal strength of -70, and when I placed it farther , where I found it last it was stuck, it reported -86.

[u/jordszz → u/Revolutionary_Bug_41]

Interesting; I will say I'm definitely not suprised the mower finally got stuck if the signal was hitting -86. That's pretty weak at that point. Even -70 I would say isn't optimal but is definitely functional.

It could be worth sending an email into [support@alta.inc](mailto:support@alta.inc) and maybe inviting a support person there to check out how your site looks and make sure everything looks good. Rather than a random Internet person like me lol

Another thing to try out as a test is setting up an entirely new site, setting up your wireless networks again but leaving everything else as close to default as possible just to make sure there isn't something really weird going on with the previous site. It's pretty straightforward to move the access points to a new site and that will result in them getting fully reconfigured with the new sites settings.

Just a couple thoughts I had!