mr33 coverage issues

[mmacdonald70]

I started an evaluation of the MR33 some time ago to see if Meraki was something that I would want to look into.  Unfortunately, I'm finding that the coverage I'm getting is severely lacking compared to other APs that I have tried.  I currently have a Cisco 1142 and a cheap home Linksys AP sitting at the same location and my signal is much stronger with the other two than the MR33.  Are there suggestions to tweak it?  Would other models be better for coverage?

While I am impressed with the cloud management of Meraki, I'm not sure if I would be recommending this platform with such a weak signal.

[PhilipDAth]

Signal strength is not a good measure.  There are situations where the MR33 may reduce its transmit power - because it doesn't help the throughput.  Perhaps try using something agnostic like www.speedtest.net (assuming you have a fast enough Internet circuit to use up a lot of WiFi bandwidth).

If you want lots of coverage then the 2.4Ghz band is best, but the trade off is reduced throughout.

If you want lots of throughput then the 5Ghz band is best, but the trade off is reduced coverage.

Personally, I try to disable 2.4ghz and only use the 5ghz band.

[BlakeRichardson]

Are the tests you are making performed on the same band with each AP i.e. 2.4 or 5Ghz, you need to make sure you are comparing Apples with Apples. 

Meraki as Phil suggested will have features that consumer models wont have. 

[randhall]

Check out Meraki's radio settings documentation for all of the tweaks. Your other devices may be transmitting at full blast...not always a good thing.