WiPryUserManual
2.4 GHz Wireless Troubleshooting

1Rev: OrigTable of Contents
Section 1 Getting Started
1.10 Quickstart Guide
1.20 Compatibility
Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.10 Basics
2.11 Screen Layout
2.12 Color Legend
2.20 How To Solve Wireless Speed Issues
2.21 Avoid Interference
2.22 Educate Customer
2.23 Identify Interference Source
2.24 Optimize Channel
2.25 Undo/Relocate Hardware(Features used: Decay, Heat Map)
(Features used: AP Utilization)(Features used: Heat Map)
(Features used: Channel Guide)(Features used: Signal to Noise Ratio)

2.30 Advanced Features
2.31 Waterfall Mode
2.32 Screenshots / Email2.33 Data logging
2.34 Other (pause / play, power meter, average, directional antenna,average, raw, ZigBee)
2.40 Reference
The ‘Best Practice’ Icon
The ‘Field Application’ Icon

2Section 1 Getting Started
1.10 Quickstart GuideInsert hardware into iPad. Then, launch WiPry app in the Apple App Store.

Attach extension cable to WiPry hardware and leave it connected. iPad case iscompatible with the extension cable.

1.20 Compatibility
WiPry is a 2.4 GHz spectrum analyzer that works with any iPad, iPhone, or iPod touchthat has the newer, smaller connector (called Lightning). As of April 2015, here is a list ofthe compatible devices: iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5, iPadmini 3, iPad mini 2, iPad mini, iPad Air 2, iPad Air, iPad 4, iPod touch [5thgeneration]. WiPry is a free app but requires software version 6.0 or newer. It does not
currently support Android or 5 GHz.

Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.11 Screen Layout
Across the bottom of the screen, menu options exist. Tapping on any of theseoptions, reveals features within that menu:

Hide Menu Bar

Change the way
wireless activity isdisplayed.

Signal to noise ratio

Channel guideoptions.

Visual changes only

Stop/start

Email, screenshots,save custom setup.

App version

Feature notavailable with thistool.
3Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.11 Screen Layout
The arrow pointing up represents
amplitude. The higher the signals are on
the screen, the stronger the signal.
The arrow pointing to the right
represents frequency. This tool
measures from 2.4 GHz on the far left to2.5 GHz on the far right.
The initial SSID scan takes two minutes(see top right corner for the exactcountdown). After the initial scan, eachsubsequent scan is 20 seconds.

To enable the Wi‐Fi channel guide, tap
located in the top left corner. Then, tap
any of the boxes listed (1‐13) tohighlight channel activity. To hide theWi‐Fi guide, just tap.
Channel‐specific activity is important tothe speed and reliability of your wirelesssignal. Interference can cause slow
speeds and at times no connection atall.

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Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.11 Color Legend
The colors listed in the default view illustrate a ‘heat map’ of the wireless activity as
pictured below. The hot colors (like red) represent continuous transmissions.

Light purple ‐ single packet
Blue ‐ less than green
Green ‐ less than yellow
Yellow ‐ less than red
Red ‐ noise floor, continuoustransmissions

Red activity can cause significant interference, which affects wireless speed andreliability. Here’s what activity looks like and how it affects speed:

Baseline

Video Streaming on iPad

iPhone 5 = 37.4 megs (Ookla)

iPhone 5 = 27.2 megs (Ookla)

Video Streaming + Microwave OveniPhone 5 = 8.9 megs (Ookla)

5Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.21 Avoid Interference
Interference across the entire 2.4 GHz spectrum is visualized below. Here’s how toduplicate the setup shown below:
Step #1 The default view includes the heat map, which is the setting that displays thecolors below.
Step #2 In this illustration, decay is also enabled. Decay is the white squiggly line thatprovides an average of the signal, which fades (or decays) over time. Enabling decay
can be done by tapping the ‘spectrum’ menu in the bottom left corner. Then, tap‘none’ below. Then tap.
Step #3 Tapping thesign in the top left corner will expand the channel guide.
Then, tapping on any of the boxes will highlight the channel activity. Channel 13 ishighlighted.

In this example, there is no clear channel in 2.4 GHz due to an unknown
interference source. This interference was limited to the inside of the home(interference disappeared when walking outside). When no clear channel exists in2.4 GHz, the customer can add dual band adapters on wireless devices to utilize 5
GHz for best speeds…or accept slower speeds on 2.4 GHz.
6Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.22 Educate
Apartment complexes are notorious for having wireless issues. That’s partly because
wireless bandwidth is being shared not just within a particular home but with nearby
neighbors that share the same channel. ‘Access Point Utilization’ grades each
AWG/Router within a given wireless environment. Showing a customer a poor gradeof D (like shown below) helps put wireless congestion in context. Unfortunately, this isthe best that could be done for this customer. Although speeds were not improved,educated customers are much more understanding. Here’s how to duplicate the setup
shown below:
Step #1 Tap ‘spectrum’ menu option in the bottom left corner. Then, tap
just above.
Step #2 Each AWG/Router is graded in the far right column.

Access Point Utilization is only available after an initial two minute scan. The
grade will change as the environment changes. In this example, the grade
fluctuated between a D and an F.

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Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.23 Identify Interference SourceThis screenshot was captured during speed test on an HP laptop. Not only were wirelessspeeds affected on the laptop but it was also causing problems for every other wirelessdevice. Powering down the laptop fixed the problem for all devices. It wasrecommended that the customer disable HP wireless network card and directly connect
the laptop using an Ethernet cable. No actions are required to duplicate the setup. Thisis the default view with heat map.

HP Laptop – Bandwidth Speed Test (This is a problem!)

Normal bandwidth speed test

It’s easy to reset the software back to the default view. Just tap the ‘settings’
menu option. Then, tap.
. Super‐savvy
techs may also want to save their favorite setup(s). Just below the reset
config option is an option to save three different setups. After a setup has
been saved, just tap
and the screen will load.

8Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.24 Optimize Channel
Not every channel yields the same wireless speeds. Manually testing speeds on various
channels gives significantly different results. In this example, speeds vary from 23‐31
megs down after optimization and 4.74 megs down before the change. Here’s how to
duplicate the setup shown below:
Step #1 Heat map is enabled as part of the default view. Tap the plus sign in the top left
corner to expand the channel guide shown below. This is helpful to quickly identify thechannel of each AWG/Router.
Step #2 Ookla is a separate app (very bottom of screen). It tracks each speed test anddisplays the actual wireless bandwidth.

Before optimizing channel9

Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.25 Undo / Relocate Hardware
Convenient setup of the AWG/Router is often in a basement or mechanical room far
away from where wireless internet is used. This can be a problem because the signal
strength will attenuate (or lose strength) as it travels further away from the source. So
when should the AWG/Router be relocated to a more central location? If the Signal toNoise (SNR) ratio is too low. The industry minimum is 25 dBm for VOIP and video
streaming. Here’s how to duplicate the setup shown below:
Step #1 Tap ‘cursors’ menu option.
Step #2 Tap ‘on’. Ensure setup matches the image here
Step #3 Then, set one cursor at the potential of your access point(solid line) and the other one at the noise level (dotted line at
the bottom of the screen). The SNR is calculated for you(27.52dBm). This was not sufficient for a VOIP AT&T MicroCell. Recommended
relocating the router closer to the VOIP system.
Step #4 To view SNR ratio slide the menu bar away by swiping ‘arrow’ in bottom left.

VOIP over a cell phone (especially on 2.4 GHz) is a challenging request. Customer
could improve telecommunications by hard‐wiring VOIP box (like an OBi)
directly into the router. Using a cordless phone with this setup yields afar superior experience for the customer AND the AWG/Router would
not need to be relocated.
10Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.31 Waterfall Mode
One of the challenges with RF is that the environment is constantly changing. The
default setting on our app is for a real wave view. This displays activity in real time. Butinterference can come and go. Waterfall displays RF over time. The newest activity is at
the top of the screen. And it ‘falls’ down the screen as time elapses. The oldest activity
is at the bottom of the screen.
Step #1 To view waterfall mode, tap the ‘spectrum’ menu.
Step #2 Then, tap.
Upload speed testcompleted

Download speed testcompleted
Started Ookla speed
test

Logging activity on site is a great way to create a reference point at a particularlocation. And although it is possible to log the data in WiPry, it’s not currently
possible to save (and replay) that log exactly as you see it on the screen. Logged
data is currently displayed as numbers / data points.

11Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.32 Screenshots / EmailCapturing and emailing screenshots is helpful for supervisors . Difficult wireless issues
can be forwarded to managers or Wi‐Fi experts for immediate feedback. Here’s how tocapture screenshots and use email inside the WiPry app:
Step #1 Tap ‘settings’ menu option.
Step #2 Then, tap
and a picture of the screen will be captured andemailed (see image below). Or, if multiple screenshots are needed, tap
instead and images will be stored in photos.
Screenshots can also be captured by simultaneously pressing the power button(on the Apple device) and the menu button (on the Apple device). The screen will
briefly flash white. This feature is available at any time, not just while using
WiPry software.

12Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.33 Datalogging
Datalogging creates a record of activity while using the WiPry tool. Although it ispossible to log as long as there is battery life on the iOS device, the data is represented
by numbers in a CSV file. This is a bit cryptic without a way to re‐create the waveforms.
So, it is not recommended that this feature be used for this application.
2.34 Other Features
Pause / play ‐ located on the menu bar and it simply pauses the screen. It does not takea screenshot/photo. So, it is not recommended that this feature be used at this time.
Power meter – located on the menu bar and is represented by a ‘switch to’ menu
option. This feature is only available with a different piece of hardware. It is notrecommended that this feature be used at this time.
Colors – located on the menu bar and is represented by ‘colors’. Changing the colors
does not have any material advantage, and as a result, it is not recommended that thisfeature be used at this time.
Directional antenna – the supplied antenna is omnidirectional. That is, it exists in everydirection. But, it is possible to amplify signals in a particular direction. This could beused to pinpoint the exact location of an interference source. Directional antennas are
not supplied standard. They can be purchased separately. Here is what is needed: 1 x
Asus WL‐ANT‐157 (supplied by Asus) and 1 x Conducted Measurement Kit (supplied byOscium):

Actual Product

How It Amplifies Signal

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Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.34 Other Features
Average – provides a yellow line that averages the signal. Very similar to decayfunctionality described in more detail on page six.

Raw – represents the raw spectral data and is visualized by the blue squiggly line. The
problem with raw view is the signals are so fast that it’s impossible to do anything withthe data. Image captures here:

14Section 2 How WiPry Works
2.34 Other Features
ZigBee – Viewing ZigBee’s specific channel guide is helpful for troubleshooting ZigBeesystems. To access this feature:
Step 1 Tap the measure menu option. Then, scroll down and tap 802.15.4 – ZigBee.
Step 2 The ZigBee channel guide has been loaded. Now tap in in the top left corner.

Since most AWG/Router’s default to channels 1, 6 or 11, the best ZigBee
channels to use are often 15, 20 or 25. These channels do not overlap withthe majority of Wi‐Fi traffic, which helps improve performance.

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Reference
Access Point Utilization (2, 7)
Apartment Complex (7)Android (3)Average (2, 14)
Avoid interference (6)AWG / Router (7, 9, 10)
Bandwidth Speed Test (5, 8, 9, 11)Best Practices (2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 12)
Channel Guide (2, 4, 6, 9)
Colors menu option (13)Color legend (2, 5)Countdown, 2‐minute (7)Cordless phone (10)Cursors (10)
Data Logging (13)Directional Antenna (2, 13)
Decay (2, 6)
Educate Customer (7)Email (2, 12)
Extension Cable (3)Grading (7)Hardware, WiPry (3)Heat Map (2, 5, 6, 8, 9)
Identify Interference Source (8, 13)Load Config (8)Lightning (3)Menu Bar (3, 10)
OBi (10)
Optimize Channel (2, 4, 9)
Ookla (5, 8, 9, 11)
Pause/Play (2, 13)
Power Meter (2, 13)
Raw (2, 14)
Relocate Hardare (2, 10)
Reset Config (8)Save Config (8)Screen Layout (2, 4)

Screenshots (2, 12)
Software, WiPry (3)Speed test (5, 8, 9, 11)Signal‐to‐noise or SNR ratio (2, 10)
Table of Contents (2)Video Streaming (5)VOIP (10)Why Care (2, 5, 6)
WiPry (3)ZigBee (3, 15)
5 GHz (3, 6)

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