Common Sources of Wireless Interference
Learn more with these free online training courses on the Meraki Learning Hub:
Sign in with your Cisco SSO or create a free account to start training.
There are a wide variety of devices that can cause interference on your 802.11 wireless network. If you suspect that your network is experiencing interference from other sources, look for items on this list as possible suspects.
Interference causing devices:
- Microwave ovens
- Cordless phones
- Bluetooth devices
- Wireless video cameras
- Outdoor microwave links
- Wireless peripherals
- PDAs, cellphones
- Zigbee - Wireless personal area network technology
- Fluorescent lights
- WiMAX
- Other 802.11 networks - this is known as co-channel and adjacent channel interference. Since other 802.11 devices follow the same protocol, they tend to work cooperatively – i.e. two access points (APs) on the same channel will share the capacity of the channel.
- Bad electrical connections can also cause broad RF spectrum emissions
Here are some devices that interfere with 5 GHz radios:
- Cordless phones
- Radar
- Perimeter sensors
- Digital satellite
Here is a article in the Wireless Wikipedia on interference.
Meraki access points provide tools to evaluate your RF environment. These tools can be useful to determine if there is RF interference. For more information on these tools, please refer to the following articles.