RSSI

What is it? 

Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) is a relative measurement that helps to evaluate the strength of the incoming signal in the LoRaWAN® network. It is aimed to establish whether the signal strength is enough to receive a quality wireless connection from the transmitter. 

How does it work? 

LoRaWAN® supports bidirectional communication, so RSSI is a metric that matters both to gateways, which connect different types of sensors and gadgets, and end devices, i.e., hardware appliances that serve as either the source or destination of data transmitted through the network.  

RSSI is measured in dBm (decibel per milliwatt), and its value is represented in negative form. The closer the RSSI value is to zero, the stronger the received signal proves to be. 

Factors that influence RSSI include the transmitter’s output power and the following: 

• Path loss (drop in electromagnetic wave power density on the transmitter-to-receiver path). 
• Antenna gain (how well it turns radio waves from a certain direction into electrical power). 
• Cable or connector loss (the amount of power loss over the cable’s or connector’s length).