Applies to:

Introduction

Location Engine connected devices that use WiFi MAC address scanning (i.e. Edge, Fusion, etc) to determine their location use public Access Point (AP) datasets by default. These commercial databases are fantastic for locating devices in public areas with lots of fixed WiFi routers, but can lose accuracy or fail to gain a fix altogether on private property. Additionally, because public AP datasets are 2 dimensional, they lack context as to floor level or other local attributes which can help people find an asset indoors. Private WiFi lookup APs let you build and maintain your own dataset of MAC addresses that may or may not be in the public Wi-Fi database and assign them a location and metadata attributes. By importing these private APs, your compatible devices can recognise them on-site, and use them for location-based asset tracking.

How to Import & Manage Private WiFi Lookup APs

Prerequisites

• Role & permissions: Ensure that you have the ‘Private Wifi Lookups Manager’ permission enabled.
   
• File format (for bulk import): CSV, UTF-8 encoded, with headers.
   
• MAC address format: AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF
   

Importing Bulk Private WiFi Lookup APs via CSV

1. Sign into Device Manager and in the left side toolbar, navigate to the Settings Cog → Private WiFi Lookups.
    
2. Navigate to your target Dataset, either by selecting an existing one from the dropdown or clicking New Dataset to create a new dataset.
    
3. Click Import Access Points From CSV.
   
    

4. Download the template file by clicking on Download Template.
    

1. Add details about your Private WiFi Lookup APs into the template file. Do not rename or remove any of the header columns, every column must be present to avoid import errors. That said, you can leave the row-level information for an optional column blank, but its header must remain. Save your file with whatever name you like.
    
2. Click Select File and select your CSV, or Drop your CSV in the import modal. 
    
3. Click Validate.
    
4. On successful validation, you will see a summary where:
   
   
   1. Valid: Rows in green have passed validation.

b. Warning: Rows colour coded in yellow may have an issue, such as missing optional information. Review the Import State and Message in columns 1 and 2.

c. Invalid: Rows colour coded in red have an issue, review the Import State and Message in columns 1 and 2 and resolve the error before proceeding.

7. Click on Import. The results will now populate in your Private WiFi Lookup Dataset.

Adding Private WiFi Lookup APs Manually
 

1. Sign into Device Manager and in the left side toolbar, navigate to the Settings Cog → Private WiFi Lookups.
    
2. Click on New Dataset to create a new dataset or choose an existing set.
    
3. Complete the standard fields.
    
4. Under Advanced, additional fields can be populated to update the devices' reference details such as room, floor, and power, path loss exponent and random noise settings.
    
5. Click on Save, or Save and New to finish or continue on to the next point as required.

Verifying & Managing Your List
 

• Click on Edit Dataset to update the Name, Distributor, Vendor and Client for your dataset. This only controls who has access to this page and the option to select this dataset in dropdown menus.
   
• Click on Edit for an individual Access Point to edit the details.
   
• Click on Delete to remove an individual access point.
   
• Click on Export to download a CSV of the current dataset.

Limitations & Known Issues