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Wi-Fi is communication over the air, using radio waves. It includes end user devices (e.g. laptops, smartphones), radio frequency spectrum, and Wi-Fi and network infrastructure including connectivity to the Internet.
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How would you know if the issue is on your device, is caused by interference, is due to a coverage gap, or high usage in the area, or something else?
You probably won’t know, so report the issue, and/or visit a Service Desk, so everything can be investigated.
In almost all cases, the investigation starts with the end user device itself, checking drivers and settings.
If you would like to you can submit a Wi-Fi incident report
If you are using a single band (2.GHz only) laptop or smart phone, next time you upgrade be sure to get dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) !
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Issues on end user devices (laptops, smartphones, notebooks, etc) can affect the quality of Wi-Fi service.
Driver bugs and poor implementations can affect service, even if the device works fine on a home Wi-Fi network.
Home Wi-Fi networks use WPA PSK while enterprise Wi-Fi networks use WPA2 Enterprise, the latter being harder to implement correctly.
Example: Intel's Wi-Fi adapters connectivity issues continue
The Windows 7/8 disconnection errors appearing with Intel Centrino 6230/6235 adapters are still a problem area, and users are becoming increasingly annoyed with the way Intel are handling the issue.
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Wi-Fi uses radio frequency to communicate between the access points and user devices.
It uses unlicensed frequency spectrum.
The University has guidelines regarding use of the Wi-Fi spectrum.
There are significant sources of interference, particularly on the 2.4GHz band, from:
Rogue (or private) access points installed without following the approval process.
Microwave ovens.
Many models of cordless base station phones.
Nearby access points of our own on the same channel (this is called co-channel interference, and is a particular problem on the 2.4GHz band where there are only 3 non-overlapping channels).
When another device is using the same frequency as UWaterloo’s Wi-Fi in an area, even at low power levels, Wi-Fi in the area can stop working until the interference is gone.
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The body of knowledge on interference is significant, and includes vendor neutral and vendor material, some examples:
…The technical support engineers at a major Wi-Fi infrastructure vendor reported to Cisco that in a recent service call to a major customer they found almost 20 sources of interference, contributing to over 50 percent of the problems on the customer's Wi-Fi network…
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Our Wi-Fi system detects interference, and can adjust the channel of the AP automatically in some cases.
But…
There are only 3 channels in the 2.4GHz band.
There are minimal options for working around interference. For example the leakage from a typical microwave oven is 30 times more powerful than the average laptops Wi-Fi radio.
Unless someone finds and removes (or shields) the interference, it can continue to cause Wi-Fi performance problems.
We have updated the guidelines for use of the wireless spectrum, with both Computing Technology and Services Committee and University Committee on Information Systems and Technology support.
We have activated some features in the Wi-Fi system to block access to non approved Rogue APs (where possible). But this does not eliminate the interference from beacon frames.
We have acquired directional antenna equipment to start to locate interference sources, with a goal of asking the owners of such sources to remove it, or change to non interfering technology (e.g Dect 6.0 cordless base station phone to remove 2.4GHz base station phone).
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For additional information, please see the University's wireless guidelines.
For assistance using the University's Wi-Fi network, you may contact a Faculty service desk or the IST Service Desk.
Bruce Campbell
Director, Technology Integrated Services
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University of Waterloo
519-888-4567 ext. 38323