Small Office Wi‑Fi AP Density: A Straightforward Plan

What this covers

A practical way to size and place access points in a small office so calls are clear and roaming feels natural. We keep it simple: start with people and layouts, not a shopping cart.

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Worked example: 4,500 sq ft, mixed layout

A 4,500 sq ft office with 12 private offices around the perimeter, an open work area for 14 people, one conference room and a pantry. Construction is typical drywall with a couple of structural columns.

Start with 1 AP per ~1,200–1,500 sq ft in open areas (2–3 APs), add one near the conference room, and rely on corridor placement to cover the private offices. Validate on site and adjust.

• Open area: 2 ceiling APs placed centrally, 40 MHz @ 5 GHz
• Conference: 1 AP nearby to handle 6–10 simultaneous calls
• Perimeter offices: covered by corridor APs; avoid APs inside small rooms
• Total starting point: ~3–4 APs; validate and tune

Common pitfalls

• Placing APs in closets or above metal ceiling tiles
• Running wide channels in busy RF neighborhoods
• Too many SSIDs (adds overhead; hurts roaming)
• No PoE headroom for future devices
• Skipping a quick validation walk after install

Mini case study: Roaming hiccups in Scarsdale

A 3,200 sq ft clinic reported call stutters in hallways. Two APs were placed at opposite ends of the space with high transmit power, causing overlap and sticky clients. We moved one AP to a central corridor, reduced power, enabled 802.11k/v and set a gentle minimum RSSI threshold.

Result: smoother roaming and fewer dropped calls, with the same number of APs.

At‑a‑glance decisions

Quick sizing heuristics

Rules of thumb help you start quickly. Validate on site — layouts and materials change the final count.

• Open office: ~1 AP per 1,200–1,500 sq ft
• Enclosed offices: ~1 AP per 6–8 rooms in a cluster
• Conference rooms: 1 AP per 1–2 adjacent rooms if walls are light; dedicated AP for dense use

Place APs where people are

Ceilings or high walls in open areas near desks and collaboration zones. Avoid closets, metal cabinets, returns/plenums with foil, and directly over ductwork.

• Open areas: central ceiling locations, away from large metal
• Private offices: favor corridors just outside doors vs. inside every room
• Avoid placing APs on opposite sides of a thick wall facing each other

Channels and power that behave

In busy RF environments, 20 MHz channels yield more usable airtime than wide channels that collide. Keep transmit power modest so devices roam to the nearest AP.

• 2.4 GHz: use 1/6/11 only; set 20 MHz width
• 5 GHz/6 GHz: prefer 20–40 MHz; allow DFS only if empirically stable
• Aim for cell overlap of ~15–20% for smooth roaming

• Wired vs Wireless: The Right Mix

Roaming and sticky clients

Many client devices cling to far APs. Minimum RSSI nudges a roam when signal falls below a threshold. Start conservative and test.

• Enable 802.11k/v; 11r only for clients that behave well
• Set a gentle minimum RSSI and adjust after a week of real use
• Limit SSIDs; use a dedicated Guest SSID/VLAN with bandwidth caps

Switching and PoE budget

Size PoE for today’s APs and likely near‑term additions, with 30–50% headroom. Leave a couple of spare ports by each switch.

• Budget for APs, cameras, and future door controllers
• Mix 1G/2.5G/10G by uplinks and NAS needs
• Add UPS for graceful shutdown and surge protection

Validation walk (15 minutes)

After placement, do a short validation: walk common paths, make a few test calls, and check channel use. Adjust lightly where needed.

• Walk with a spectrum/app; confirm RSSI and noise in busy areas
• Make two video calls while walking between AP cells
• Nudge power or minimum RSSI if handoff lags or drops

Detailed channel plan example

For a 3‑AP layout serving an open area and adjacent offices, start narrow and stable. Widen only if validation shows low contention and clean airtime.

Quick checklist

• Start with ~1 AP per 1,200–1,500 sq ft in open areas; validate
• Prefer corridor placement for clusters of small offices
• Use 20–40 MHz; 1/6/11 on 2.4 GHz; validate DFS before enabling
• Set modest power; add a gentle minimum RSSI only if needed
• Keep SSIDs minimal; bandwidth‑limit Guest on its own VLAN
• Leave PoE headroom for future APs/cameras; add UPS
• Do a 15‑minute walk with two calls to confirm roaming

Next steps

If you want a clean plan and quick deployment, we can design placement, pull neat cabling, size PoE correctly, and hand over simple documentation so changes stay painless.

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Disclosure

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FAQs

References

• IEEE 802.11 overview (Wi‑Fi)
• Small office design notes
• Wired vs Wireless: The Right Mix