Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)

A relative measure of signal strength for a wireless network.

A relative measure of signal strength for a wireless network. The method to measure RSSI is not standardized though it is constrained to a limited number of values in the 802.11 standard. Many use the term RSSI to reference dBm, and the 802.11 standard uses terms like DataFrameRSSI and BeaconRSSI and defines them as the signal strength in dBm of the specified frames, so the common vernacular is understandable. However, according to the standard, “absolute accuracy of the RSSI reading is not specified” (802.11‐2012, Clause 14.3.3.3).