Wireless signal strength issues

Poor to no wireless signal strength.

Possible cause

Wireless signal strength issues can stem from a number of factors.

• Environmental factors: Various factors can slow down the data rate, lose data, or even ruin the connection. For example:
  • Materials can interfere with communications. Metal, silvering (mirrors), thick glass, concrete, ceramic, walls, and even large groups of people can absorb or reflect wireless signals.
  • Metal enclosures can block the Wi-Fi signal.
  • Other types of signals can interfere with communications: microwaves, fluorescent lights, motors, 2.4 GHz phones, other Wi-Fi devices, and some military equipment, such as radar devices.
• Range: As the distance between two devices increases, the received signal between them is reduced. This distance also affects the speed of the connection (throughput). If the devices have a strong signal between them, their transmit speeds will be highest. As distance increases and signals get weaker, the devices will lower their speed. This decrease will have the effect of extending their range. At some point, when the range is too great, the connection does not work well or is lost entirely.
• Security features: Security on a Wi-Fi device introduces several factors that can go wrong. For example, it is easy to introduce errors when enabling security features, such as the WPA Pre-Shared Key. These errors can cause the Wi-Fi module to not associate with anything and stop responding. In such a scenario, the only resolution is to reset the device to factory defaults and repeat the device configuration process.

Solution

When installing the WVA in a vehicle, it is not recommended to mount the WVA under the dash. If you must mount the WVA under the dash, make sure there are no metal enclosures near it.

If a security feature causes you to be locked out of the WVA, reset the device to factory defaults and repeat the device configuration process. For more information, see Reset the WVA to factory defaults.