I don’t have experience in measuring signals or anything alike, but after swapping my ISP router with a Mikrotik hAC3 that my Wi-Fi range has been decreased by a lot.
After some investigation I got to see that --in front of the AP-- my ISP Router had a strength of around -15 while my hAC3 was at -30.
Mikrotik Wireless Package tells me this is the maximum I can legally get (I cannot decrease the antenna gain and it will complain if I try to), while my ISP Wi-Fi remains a lot stronger.
Why is that? Is it that I’m placing my antennas badly, Mikrotik has to update legal limits, My ISP has legal advantages…?
I’ve noticed similar behavior where ISP routers sometimes appear stronger due to preset power and antenna tuning rather than real performance differences. Tweaking channel width, regulatory domain, and output power on the hAP ac3 can usually balance things out. Interestingly, while researching unrelated technical documentation on Allegheny County Dockets I found that clear configuration details matter just as much as raw specs. Real-world results often come down to environment, interference, and proper setup rather than legal maximums alone.