It’s great when we come across IoT devices that can save us time and perform many automated tasks, like switching on our sprinkler lawn system, turn on lights as we walk into a room, make our morning coffee on a schedule, and set our AC/Heat thermostat temperatures.
Let’s face it, these devices work great most of the time, however nearly all lack wired connectivity which means most will work on WiFi only. The problem with that is on occasion IoT WiFi devices can sometimes go on the fritz and not reconnect. A simple reboot of your AP or device can usually fix it and other times a software update fixes it. However, in some situations when you’ve tried just about everything else and it still doesn’t work, it may be time to a call in a qualified WiFi technician with some fancy commercial tools.
This brings us to the wonderful story of how I got called into a consulting gig to diagnose WiFi thermostats at a high-end gym. The initial story was, thermostats are online during the day, but during the night some would turn off without a warning.
As I quickly paced the hallways of my office, I thought to myself what could cause such an interesting problem - Is it a power issue? Could it be WiFi interference? Is it a ghost, or some rodent having fun with wires at night? So, I reached out for my duffle bag and placed in it my NetAlly AirMagnet WiFi Analyzer, NetScout Spectrum Analyzer, Fluke cable tester and headed out to the site.
Let’s dig in and dissect this issue. Follow along with me as I hunt down the culprit that is causing this issue and how I solved it.
Carlo Zakarian is a network engineer with over 15yrs experience in the networking implementation, design, and diagnostics field specializing in LAN, WAN, and Wireless. Owner of NetFocus Technologies, an IT Managed consulting firm based in Chicago, specializes in setting up, configuring, diagnosing software, hardware, and network infrastructure.
Carlo Zakarian is experienced in network packet level analysis, application performance and network diagnostics. Expertise includes using commercial tools from Fluke Networks, NetScout, NetAlly, and ProfiTap to locate and fix network chaos. He can be reached via his website at https://www.NetFocusTech.com
