Ekahau AI Pro Reviews

I am an Ekahau partner in Brazil, and it's part of my business. My company provides wireless professional services, and we use Ekahau Site Survey daily for clients like NTT, British Telecom, and Orange Group. This is my day-by-day use case. 

I used Ekahau Site Survey Pro with IPEdge to check the RF interference in a large bank in Brazil.

Ekahau Site Survey can be crucial for troubleshooting our Wi-Fi network.

Moreover, the automatic network planning tool helps me not lose time when it comes to Wi-Fi deployment, which is very important for us. It saves time. 

The optimization capabilities of Ekahau Site Survey are good.

The Sidekick version 2 is a valuable feature. When you work together in real-time with Ekahau Site Survey, it's very good, and no other competitor offers that.

The simulation feature is very good for predictive projects. It's better than other solutions like AirMagnet or iBwave. It's the first solution for that.

Ekahau needs to enhance the view of materials and make some adjustments to the reports. Currently, it's possible to make changes to the Word report using Python, but it could be improved. For example, when I create an AP on a survey report, information like the cable view, distance, and support assessments could be enhanced.

Only one comment about Ekahau Optimizer. It needs improvement. I tried to upload site products, and for five products, I needed to involve Ekahau's supply chain.

When I try to solve that, it's not possible. For example, I uploaded one product for a large bank, and the optimizer didn't finish. I needed to involve Ekahau support, and they sent me the file two or three days after I opened the case.

I have experience with Ekahau Site Survey. 

I have been using it since 2004.

I would rate the stability an eight out of ten. 

I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten. It's always possible to improve features.

The customer service and support were nice. 

For example, when I try to solve the problem related to Optimizer, it's not possible. For example, I uploaded one product for a large bank, and the optimizer didn't finish. I needed to involve Ekahau support, and they sent me the file two or three days after I opened the case.

Positive

Most of my customers are in complex environments, like large banks, Unilever, PepsiCo, and Coca-Cola. They use Ekahau for design and troubleshooting.

So it can be complex to set up. For example, deployment can take six months for big projects. 

For instance, I work on a big warehouse site with Juniper. The design phase takes two or three months, and the implementation phase is six months.

Six people are needed for the deployment process. Their job title is a senior wireless engineer. 

My team has eight people; two sales, four technical, and two CIO/CTO.

In our case, we provide professional services in designing, troubleshooting, and implementing solutions. The investment is paid off. There is around 20% ROI.

The pricing is high, but for us, we serve Ekahau products and provide professional services in designing, troubleshooting, and implementing solutions. The investment is paid off.  

I would recommend using it. 

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

I use Ekahau for Wi-Fi designs and other services. It is used for troubleshooting and for analyzing the network. Additionally, we analyze each and every API, FSID, power transmission, bitrates, and other data.

The most valuable function is the site survey capability. We can also analyze each API in the course, FSID, power transmission, bitrates, and all data related to it.

Ekahau could be improved by adding three-dimensional modeling, as we currently cannot view APIs in a three-dimensional perspective. They need to include backhaul features and improve the ease of integration with existing systems.

I have been using Ekahau for the past six months.

No tool will give you one hundred percent stability. We can aim for around forty to fifty percent stability, which I consider something is better than nothing.

This part is common in both IBWave and Ekahau, so we can do it on any step. The major disadvantages I mentioned earlier only affect certain aspects of scalability.

Ekahau's customer service is satisfactory, and they are giving their maximum effort to answer my questions. I contact technical support weekly, and their support satisfies my needs.

Positive

The setup requires a couple of technicians, and maintenance is needed every few months post-installation. It's not just plug and play.

Usually, we require two or three technicians for installation.

The solution has proven to be time-saving compared to traditional installation methods, providing a return on investment by saving roughly thirty to forty percent installation time.

The pricing and licensing of Ekahau are costly.

I use both IBWave and Ekahau for designing wireless networks. IBWave provides certain features like three-dimensional modeling and backhaul processing where Ekahau lacks.

Both tools are adding AI features, such as AI planners that automatically place APIs. However, these are not suitable for complex venues like high-story buildings, stadiums, and airports.

Our primary use case is to determine the correct AP placements and to verify that we have adequate coverage in our areas.

We reviewed the maps as a team and determined if any changes needed to be made or if we could just replace APs as they are. We got into this by upgrading our access points to Meraki, and we wanted to make sure that we weren't leaving trouble behind us as we were doing it.

We were able to recover some access points in some areas that were over-saturated. There were at least two areas where we had twice as many access points as we needed. We redesigned it and pulled some of those access points where there wasn't any proper planning done when they were initially deployed. It was before my time, but it just seemed over-saturated. Site wasn't helping. It was probably hurting, and we saved equipment that we could then deploy somewhere else.

This can be improved. 

I have been Ekahau Site Survey for five months. 

It is a stable solution. 

It is a scalable. 

They are proactive. 

The initial setup is straightforward. There was a try-before-you-buy offer through ECL. We got to try it for thirty days and realized we loved it and then officially acquired it. 

We pay a licensing fee. 

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

They want to verify whether everything is working fine after doing the planning. Sometimes, customers check if there is any issue going on, such as problems with the Wi-Fi. They want to study what problems are happening and need advice on what changes should be made.

There are many valuable features, including the ability to do a mobile survey without the floor plan, Eco Analyzer, and the optimiser which is useful for diagnosis. The OEM dashboard has a lot of useful features to troubleshoot the Wi-Fi.

As of now, almost everything is there and suitable for site requirements. However, the cloud takes a lot of time to upload the site survey, and we regularly face issues with syncing to the optimizer. There needs to be improvement in this area. Additionally, the product can be very expensive.

I have been working with Ekahau Site Survey for six to seven years.

There are regular issues when uploading to the cloud and syncing with the optimizer. Sometimes, it takes a long time to resolve issues with technical support.

From one to ten, I would rate the ability to scale as eight.

We don't get proper on-time support. Once we raise a ticket, it takes a lot of time to get a response. The first-level support may respond, but it takes time to resolve if it is escalated. Immediate support is not available, and hardware replacement can be very hectic, taking months to get replaced.

Neutral

I have used Air Magnet for more than ten years before using Ekahau Site Survey. Ekahau Site Survey seems very good and more user-friendly, allowing for easier addition of floor plans, scaling, and design.

The setup process for Ekahau Site Survey is very simple, not critical. Doing a survey with mobile or iPad/IOS is easy.

Pricing for Ekahau Site Survey is very expensive. It would be beneficial if the pricing model were more flexible for clients.

I have used Air Check G3, HEDIScope, Cyberscope, and Hamina as other solutions.

Ekahau Site Survey is very easy to use, especially for a site survey. It is more user-friendly with its mobile capabilities, removing the need for a laptop. It is highly recommended for enterprise accounts, universities, airports, and warehouses.

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten.

Ekahau is user-friendly. It takes just thirty minutes to install the software, kickstart your current plan, and evaluate the Wi-Fi coverage in the area. Initially, when we first bought the software, we relied on manual setup. We used Google and YouTube to learn how to set it up initially. It's very accurate. It can detect all Wi-Fi devices operating at both 2.4 gigahertz and 5 gigahertz frequencies. With it, you'll know which devices are interfering with your signal. It's an incredibly accurate tool for assessing Wi-Fi networks.

Updating the iOS and PC versions of the Ekahau Site Survey app, while the Android version lags. They should prioritize enhancing the Android app's capabilities to ensure a seamless experience for users on both Apple and Android devices. Presently, the iOS version outperforms its Android version. Their recent updates show a strong inclination towards Apple or the iOS version. The advantage is that you can start a survey inside a building without having the floor plans on hand or installed on your device. You can conduct a site survey simply by using your iPad Pro or iPhone Pro. Android devices currently lack this Li-Fi technology.

The product works well without any interruption.

I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.

They're always updating the device and software, and offer free webinars every month to showcase the new updates of Ekahau Site Survey software. If you attend the webinar, they demonstrate the new updates, which is impressive. After downloading the update, you can implement it. Their commitment to customer service and continuous learning is commendable.

Five people are trained for the solution’s usage.

I rate the solution’s scalability a ten out of ten.

We have used AirMagnet Survey. I have tested their device and their API scope. Ekahau is superior.

The initial setup is easy.

I rate the initial setup a nine out of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy.

The product’s pricing is reasonable except for certification and training. The certifications are expensive, hope that they give discounts to instructors and those who are working in the academe. On the other hand, they regularly provide quality webinars to share valuable knowledge to their audience.

The system does not extract the certificate.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

Primarily, we use it to design Wi-Fi environments and networks. 

We also use it in the second phase, after deployment, to double-check locations and Wi-Fi performance. These are the two main reasons for using Ekahau.

The spectrum analysis capability is very good. It provides deep insights into the Wi-Fi environment. It's not just about troubleshooting interference but also optimizing access points and modifying power levels and channels.

Ekahau uses its own device for data collection, so there's no need for integration. It works as a single platform. Other products require integrations because they rely on your portable devices for site surveys.

The Sidekick tool is the most valuable. It's used for site surveys after deploying the Wi-Fi solution.

The solution covers a wide range of models from different vendors, which is a good advantage.

The only issue is the price. The overall price is a bit high, especially compared to our other vendor. Ekahau is considered expensive.

I have been working with it for one year now. 

It is stable. 

It's more about compatibility with different vendors. The software isn't limited by the size of the project but by the number and model of access points. So, it's compatible with most wireless vendors.

The customer service and support were very helpful. 

Positive

We're a service provider, not an end customer. We provide SD-WAN solutions from various vendors like Cisco and Fortinet.

It's very straightforward and easy to use. Ekahau has its own AI-powered software. You upload your floor plans, and the AI engine places the access points. 

You can choose the model and vendor, and the AI decides the best locations. It's easy, but there can be some complexity.

For the Sidekick device, we can simply plug it into the software and tower, and it is ready to use. 

We only use the on-premises solution. I haven't tested the SaaS or cloud version yet.

The deployment time depends on the project. Small projects might take four hours, while larger ones can take up to five days.

It is not difficult to maintain. 

It depends on the customer and how much they rely on Wi-Fi in their organization. Some customers need it regularly, while others only need it once for deployment. There's no single answer. So, it vary depending on the customer. 

I recommend it 100%. Other users should understand their needs and how much they rely on their wireless environment.

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

Most of the surveys I conduct are with Ekahau Site Survey, which I use for site surveys and planning. I rely on it when there are Wi-Fi issues. I examine the package to understand the Wi-Fi configuration and assess the situation. After that, I identify any issues and use Ekahau for the surveys. I primarily focus on warehousing for planning, but I also handle site surveys for events. For example, using Ekahau, I conducted the survey and planning for the King Baldwin Stadium in Brussels, where Coldplay performed two years ago.

The most important feature is the Sidekick, which allows us to see what’s happening during the survey, including spectrum analysis.

Ekahau is a great tool for planning, assessments, and post-deployment surveys. It excels in those areas.

It took me over a week to fine-tune the reports, but they became impossible to use. That’s one of the reasons we started looking at Hemina. I’ve been using Ekahau for quite some time, and when the Sidekick 2 was released, packet analysis wasn’t supported, even though it was included in my subscription. 

I contacted them for over a year about this issue since packet analysis is essential for my work, but I didn’t receive a response. When I requested support, I was banned from their communications, no invitations for Wi-Fi Day or webinars. If that’s how they treat their partners, it’s clear that our relationship has to change.

I'm renewing my subscription for the last year, but I’m not willing to pay two thousand euros anymore. If they can make me a reasonable offer and provide a discount. The customer experience has been poor. I called my distributor, who checked and confirmed that everything was functioning. To troubleshoot, I created a new account under a different name and received an invitation. When I tried registering with my original account, I was blocked because I had contacted customer support about my issues.

You can use different software; Ekahau is an option, but look at how they treat their customers.' On the other hand, there’s Hemina. They don’t have spectrum analysis yet, but it’s coming. Technically, the Sidekick is still one of the best devices for checking Wi-Fi. However, there are alternative solutions, and you receive support with those alternatives. For me, the support issue is a significant concern.

I have been using Ekahau Site Survey for seven years.

Over the last six months, I encountered issues with Ekahau, especially when saving files to the cloud. Sometimes, not all data was stored correctly. I’d save the first version and continue working on it, but later, when I retrieved the file, it would revert to the initial version, losing work hours.

I rate the solution’s stability a six out of ten.

I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.

The customer support is low. Support is somewhat acceptable because I know the team, but it's lacking when it comes to practical and financial matters. My Ekahau subscription has been inactive since July 2022, and I’m uncertain about renewing due to rising prices and declining customer support. While Ekahau has been the only vendor for a long time, that’s no longer true. Hemina’s software is better. For instance, if an access point isn't supported, I can request it, and they typically incorporate it within days, provided the manufacturer shares the antenna patterns. Hemina’s team is responsive, whether through calls or emails, making it a much better solution for me.

They need to listen to their customers. With Ekahau, the attitude feels like; We’re the biggest and best, so be grateful to pay us two thousand euros each year to use our software.'Since Jussie left the company, the mentality seems to have declined significantly. They’re not listening to feedback, and it feels like they view us merely as a cash cow.

They handle their loyal customers poorly, almost like they’re kicking us when we’re down. I never complained during webinars or put Ekahau in a bad light. I always addressed issues directly with support. I’d point out that I was being charged for a service that wasn’t functioning, and the response was always, 'It’s coming, it’s coming.' A year later, I was still facing the same issues, so I asked about compensation for my investments in packet analysis equipment, which included a multimeter that cost around twenty-one thousand euros. When I inquired about a discount, I was told, 'This is the price. You either pay it or leave.

Negative

I purchased professional licenses from both Ekahau and Hemina. Hemina's software is better overall, though the Sidekick remains superior to Hemina’s current solution. 

One advantage of Ekahau is that when you conduct a site survey, the spectrum analysis data is automatically incorporated into the report. However, that’s the only benefit I see right now. I’ve been using Hemina for six months, and when I have to revisit an older project with Ekahau, it feels like it takes forever to load. I’m still open to renewing my Ekahau subscription for another year, but not at the price of two thousand euros.

It is too expensive.

If no corporate firewall is installed, there aren’t any issues. I experienced some headaches with the license server, but those problems were resolved and weren't significant. Using a SaaS application is even easier since you don’t have to install anything; you log in to the site.

Overall, I rate the solution a four out of ten.

We have a lot of buildings on our campuses, and we use Ekahau Site Survey to troubleshoot the network in some cases.

Ekahau Site Survey is an easy and accurate solution. It's the best product now on the market.

Ekahau Site Survey is an expensive solution, and its pricing should be improved.

Ekahau Site Survey is a new solution for us. We took it on rent from a company a couple of years ago, but now we bought the system.

Ekahau Site Survey is a stable solution. I rate Ekahau Site Survey an eight out of ten for stability.

Ekahau Site Survey is a scalable solution.

Four users use Ekahau Site Survey in our company, each one at a time.

The solution's technical support was good when we used it for training before buying the solution.

Ekahau Site Survey's initial setup is straightforward.

An experienced person from the firm we bought the solution, gave us a couple of days of training.

The return on investment with Ekahau Site Survey is very good because we actually need the service.

Since we are an academic institute, we get better prices and discounts from Cisco, but not Ekahau.

One person from the engineering support and one technician are needed for the solution's deployment and maintenance.

Overall, I rate Ekahau Site Survey a nine out of ten.

I use this solution for off-site surveys. We are resellers of this solution and I'm a solutions architect working in pre-sales. Our company is based in South Africa.

I like that it's easy to plot the APs and generate reports. It's a good design. The reports Ekahau provides are very professional. The product is mature and provides ease of use regarding large-scale planning and reporting. It's a mature solution. 

I'd like to see the option of an in-app photo application or a way to upload photos while carrying out an active onsite survey. You can obviously use a tablet's camera but it would be helpful to have an automated import of the physical AP in the Ekahau reports. Also, they come out with a lot of updates and it sometimes feels too much. Finally, I'd like to see a function or plugin for Ekahau to pick up on the switches the APs connect to so that you can map out further than just the APs when you do your site survey. It would be great if it could pick up a Mac address of each AP's switches, which would help engineers map out a network topology.

I've been using this solution for four years. 

We're happy with the stability.  

When we started out with the solution, the only support available was via email. It was efficient but sometimes it's preferable to speak to someone. I haven't used the support in a while, but it has improved despite the fact that it's a bit too rigid for my liking. 

I've used AirMagnet once or twice and found it to be cumbersome. Part of it may be that I'm more experienced with Ekahau. This kind of work previously required the manual effort of taking floor plans to sites, along with physical APs to test the coverage and plot out our WiFi design.

The initial setup was straightforward. We had a technical session with Ruckus in South Africa after we'd been using the solution for a year. It was more of a workshop for using Ekahau for Ruckus designs. I carried out the deployment and it took around 20 minutes.

The solution provides good reporting and is easy to use but the pricing is a sore point even though you get what you pay for. This is a very expensive solution, more than double AirMagnet. In terms of the South African rand and economy, it's very expensive. Our annual licensing costs amount to the equivalent of around 9000 euros.

If you have the budget for it, this is a very good product. We've been doing WiFi for quite a long time and we didn't do the online training or use the guides. For anyone new to the solution, it's worth spending a couple of hours with the online help that's available. 

The only downfall is the price so I rate this solution a nine out of 10.

Ekahau Site Survey is used for site surveys. 

We are a school district. In the event that we have coverage issues, and someone reports that they have coverage issues, we go investigate. 

Essentially, we can look and see what the current situation is in that area. And this allows us to make adjustments as needed.

The most valuable features of the Ekahau Site Survey for us are the combination of using the tool. It's simply a useful tool for assessing wireless coverage.

They have a new product on the way, a new Sidekick that we just ordered, that will cover basically Wi-Fi 6E, which we don't have yet but plan to get. 

Hopefully, it will be in place by next year. We are buying that ahead of time, knowing that we'll be moving in that direction in the future with 6E and Wi-Fi 6.

The 6E uses a completely different spectrum, which is why we need a new Sidekick for it. I know they recently upgraded their software and are making upgrades to support it. I hate to say what they need to improve without seeing their new product, which is on the way.

The new Sidekick is going to support Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E.

I have some experience with the Ekahau.

I am not the primary user of it right now. In fact, an upgrade to the Ekahau product is on the way.

I have never had any issues with the stability of the Ekahau Site Survey.

It has no limitations in terms of scalability; you can use it in as many buildings or locations as you have.  I am not sure if it needs to scale beyond that. 

We are not a large organization. We have eight locations, but I am sure some large corporations have no such restrictions.

We are a school district with approximately 2,200 students and 500 employees. That would be approximately 2,700 users.

I used AirMagnet years ago.

The initial setup is pretty straightforward and simple. 

It can be used in a variety of ways. For example, you can use an iPad, but you can also use a laptop. We used an iPad Pro a little bit. 

Having GPS capabilities built into the device you are using is beneficial because it can easily line up with maps and things of that nature, especially if you are doing any kind of site surveys outside.

We only have two users in terms of technology. It is used by two people, one of whom is myself. And, to be honest, I rarely use it. My network engineer is the primary user, though we have considered using some of our tier-one technicians to assist, but that is simply a matter of training on our end.

There is a one-time fee for the Sidekick unit, which houses all of the radios that you connect to your device to track.

There is also a charge for the software. 

I believe that it is approximately $2,000 per year for us. I know we pay for it on an annual basis.

Their software, combined with the Sidekick, is the best tool that we have come across. This is why we chose it: to conduct accurate site surveys, and they are compatible with all of the access points that we use. 

I can't speak for other products, but it works really well for us.

I would rate Ekahau Site Survey an eight out of ten.

It does what we need it to do. Obviously, we have to train people on how to use it, it is not automatic. 

When we take it into an area to see what is going on, or even if we are going to survey an entire school, it does an excellent job.