What’s going on this week

After last week we have talked with our WiFi vendor about the fixes that Gustavus did. They pretty much agreed with the approach. The first thing to do, much like with your computer, is update our WiFi software. So that’s our first step.

During the Zoom call the vendor looked at our overall WiFi connection status and saw many more slower (2.4 GHz) connections then they expected to see. To see why that matters look at last week’s post in the technical section. Most every device should be connecting at the faster 5 GHz frequency. This is a symptom of the problem we’re trying to fix.

This week we’re starting our first round of updates. On Wednesday at 5AM we updated the WiFi software in OGC and Hagfors and adjusted some WiFi settings recommended by the vendor.

What’s planned for next week

Next week we continue WiFi software updates at 5AM on Monday with the remaining dorms.

Will these changes fix every WiFi problem?

The short answer is “no.” Some problems are due to old software or drivers on a laptop or other issues particular to the situation. But the systematic trend we’re trying to stop, devices (especially Apple devices) connecting to a distant slower wireless, should be improved by these changes based on what information we have from Gustavus, IT email lists, and our WiFi vendor.

Reporting Form

We’ve started to get some good data from students who have used our WiFi reporting form.  Thank you for taking the time to fill it out.  Please keep using it as it will help us determine if the dorm updates have made a difference.