Slow wireless speeds can be frustrating and difficult to diagnose. The following suggestions will help narrow down potential issues and arm you with the necessary information to submit a support request to support@alta.inc.

Create a new SSID

To isolate the issue, create a new SSID and assign a non-black color to it. To do this, navigate to Settings -> WiFi and then click Add New. Configure it with the same parameters as your existing SSID, but use a new name and remove the black color, then add any other color. It is important to remove black because otherwise this SSID will broadcast from every AP.

Next, navigate to Network and click the icon for your AP. Configure the Colors to add the new color; black cannot be removed here, which is why it is necessary to remove it in the prior step.

After saving, you should see the new SSID broadcasting from only the AP to which you assigned this color. Connect to it, and perform iperf3 speedtests according to our article here. This will help you to determine if the issue is specific to the singular AP, and if the issue is related to the wireless connection. Alternate through your other access points to further confirm if the problem can be isolated to any one device, or a set of devices.

Scan for interference

In the Network tab, click the icon of your affected access points. From the configuration card, you'll find an Info tab from which you can run RF scans. Launch the full scan, and then use this article to better understand the results. If you see high interference, consider using the automatic channel replanning tool found at Settings -> System -> Advanced -> Automatic Channel Replanning. Alternatively, if you see that the automatic tool is unsatisfactory, consider manual channel planning from the AP configuration card by setting the channels for each band to uncongested ranges. Continue using the iperf3 tests as described in the prior linked article (or again here) to confirm if your wireless speeds have improved.

Additionally, interference is commonly caused by failing to remove or disable a prior existing wireless network. This is often the case when using an ISP provided modem with a combined router/WAP component.

Poor signal strength

Signal strength will strongly correlate with maximum throughput capacity. Try using a WiFi analyzer app on your wireless client devices to determine if you have dead zones in your WiFi coverage. An optimal signal strength is roughly -50dBm, which you can confirm by monitoring the device's connection strength in the Devices table or in the Connected Devices section of the AP's Info tab. Hover your cursor over the WiFi icon to see the raw value. It is also possible to set the signal display to raw values instead of an icon at the site Settings -> System -> Appearance.

Wrong band or channel width

Maximum throughput is only available on 5GHz at 160MHz width. This channel width is unrecommended due to the likelihood of self-interference, so instead it is suggested to remain at 80MHz for best results.

The 2GHz band at 20MHz will achieve throughput saturation under 150Mbps. This does not indicate a throughput issue with your wireless connections; instead, the band is simply too narrow to support greater capacity. It may be configured to 40MHz for increased throughput, but this shares the same pitfall as noted above regarding 160MHz width on 5GHz.

Please ensure that the AP you are connected to has the 5GHz band enabled, preferably set to Auto for both Channel and Width.

Physical link speed

You may find that your speedtests (again, please use iperf3 as described here to test internal WLAN & LAN speeds) seem limited to specific values such as 10Mbps or 100Mbps. In these cases, it is very likely that your wired connection is linked up at a reduced rate. If your speeds are very stably locked to those speeds, or often it will look like they are pegged at e.g. 9.7Mbps, then try using another cable which you have already confirmed does not exhibit the same issue on other devices. It is important to use a verified cable that you have tested with other real devices; a cable tester is not sufficient to confirm proper link negotiation. You can check the negotiation speed easily with any Alta Labs switch, as shown below. Hover over the Legend question bubble to see what each color means.

If you still see the same issue, try different switch interfaces or even entirely different switch devices. This will help to narrow down whether the problem is limited to your AP.

Finally, try other confirmed working devices with the original cable and switch that the AP was connected on. If the issue persists on those devices, it likely means the problem is with something other than the Alta Labs access point.

Misconfiguration

Please confirm the configuration of both your SSID and the AltaPass you are connected to. It is possible to configure limits on the maximum speed, which can be confirmed by clicking the purple button to the left of the associated password.

There are also many switches and toggles which you may or may not wish to enable or change. Following the first recommendation in this article is critical before changing any of these settings; next, you may begin altering these values one by one and testing between each change. These can be found by expanding the Advanced section of the SSID settings.

Warning: It is imperative that only one option is changed between each test; multiple changes will introduce uncertainty regarding the impact of each new setting or value, and may result in prolonged issues.

Split-band SSID

Following from the previous suggestion, it is common for users to deploy multiple SSIDs on different bands. This is unrecommended; please consider consolidating up to 8 SSIDs into a single SSID with both bands active, and then click Add Password to configure each with the purple button next to the respective password entry. 

Some legacy devices may exhibit connectivity issues in this configuration; those devices should optimally be replaced with newer ones that honor modern network and wireless standards correctly. If this is not possible, consider adding a dedicated SSID for those specific devices running on the 2GHz band. However, do not split the band from your original SSID; it should remain as-is, with both bands enabled for normal operation.