Well, now I have done some semi-formal tests of the B One’s 2.4Ghz range compared to the Surf Soho MK3. Bottom line: The B One has a shorter range. This is a followup from a previous post, but I didn’t want to tack this on since I wanted to change the title of the post.
I set up the radios identically between the Soho MK3 and the B One, and then tried the B One with multiple antenna orientations, comparing the results from eight locations in my house. There were always one or more walls between the router and the measuring device.
I took perhaps 20 readings on the B One (trying different antenna orientations). There were three readings which were essentially equal between the two, but on the whole the B One was reading between 3 and 14dbm below the Soho.
Unless I can redeploy my Soho as an switch/access point that handles multiple VLANs, I may have to return the B One. Extremely disappointed.
I used this WiFi Monitor app on a Google Pixel 8 Pro. I put the phone in the same locations and same orientation for each measurement and let it settle.
All measurements were made on Channel 6.
Both routers are at 8.3.0 firmware.
I’m aware that you can’t put much stock in the absolute accuracy of measurement tools like these. However, since I was doing a comparative measurement, the readings seem like they should be useful.
I really don’t want to have to return the B One, so if you have any suggestions I’d love to hear them.
I’m sorry, but I dismantled the configuration and can’t run a speed test comparison at the moment. If I have the chance to do a comparison at some point, I’ll update this thread.
if you test again on channel 6, let us know what it says for power dbm output on the ap
The settings for the B One are Max power with Boost enabled, on Channel 6. If you’re asking me what the actual measurement of the output power is, I’m not sure where to locate this info.
After some playing with the orientation of the B One, the Signal strengths on the Client List page are at least as good, if not better than the Soho was (not that the comparison is necessarily valid, since these were two different devices doing the measurements).
However, in most B One orientations, a few of my furthest clients simply couldn’t maintain a connection, performing poorly or simply failing on speed tests. I had to tweak the B One’s positioning very carefully to get these devices to work reasonably well. This is in contrast to the Soho, which had considerably more flexibility in its placement without risking poor connections to these same clients.
So my inference (between those observations and my spot-checks of signal strength) is that the B One is not transmitting signals as effectively as the Soho.
Granted, these problematic clients are through several walls and floors from the router. But the point is: it has been substantially more difficult to get a B One to work from the same location that my Soho operated without issue. I think I’m able to live with this, but time will tell.
Do you have a ticket created for this ? I think it would be best that support team can review the setup and also understand how the device being installed before giving any suggest ^^