What is Validation survey?
A validation survey checks a finished wireless network against its requirements. An engineer walks the site with a measurement device and survey software, records signal strength, signal to noise, channel overlap and often throughput, and compares the results with the targets agreed in advance. The output is usually a set of heat maps, a list of areas that miss the targets, and recommended fixes.
It differs from a predictive survey, which is a computer model made before installation using floor plans and assumed wall materials. It also differs from an AP on a stick survey, where a temporary access point is moved around the site before installation to measure real conditions. A validation survey is the only one of the three that tests the installed system, including the final mounting positions, cable runs and radio settings.
Providers use different names. Some call it a post-install survey, a post-deployment survey or an acceptance survey. Some treat it as pass or fail against the requirements. Others treat it as a tuning step that ends with changes to channel or power settings. Define in the scope which one is meant.
How it shows up in practice
- Write the requirements before the survey: minimum signal level, minimum data rate, which bands, and which device types and areas matter.
- Allow time for fixes. A validation survey normally finds spots to adjust, so plan a short re-survey of the changed areas.
- Do the survey with the same devices or a similar client device to the real users where possible, since client radios behave differently.
- Ask for the survey project file and heat maps, and a short report listing each area against the target.