Mixing AP 37xx, 38xx, and 39xx aps in one environment

[Bryan_Donahue]

I have a mixture of ap models in school environments, and it seems as if the clients are showing a preference for 39xx aps over 38xx aps. In adjacent rooms where I have different types, I will have many more connections to the 39xx ap. (there are typically 20-25 chromebooks in each classrooom) and there will be 50-60 connections to the 39xx ap and 15-20 connections to the 38xx ap in the next room. Is this possible? Preventable?

[Bryan_Donahue]

The channels don't overlap, the power levels are similar and seem appropriate (14-16dB), the distance between access points is about 30 feet.

[Bryan_Donahue]

It's not really a question of two ap's. It's a pattern throughout the building. We formerly had 3825 aps in every other classroom. Then added 3935 aps in the every OTHER classrooms that hadn't previously had one. So it's a pattern I see throughout the building that the 3935's tend to have more client connections than the 3825's. So load balancing groups would be complicated. Maybe I just need to consolidate 3935's and 3825's by building.

[Jeremy_Gibbs]

Also, what is the distance between these APs if you had to estimate?

[Jeremy_Gibbs]

Um, I would assume it would be a better SNR for the other AP. Auto channel and power don't necessarily work all the time. Does the power level make sense? Do you get good RSS from clients connected to the AP and vice-versa?

What channels do you have on the 2.4 ghz and 5 ghz on both APs. What is the SNR for each connection from their respective locations than opposite locations? There can be hundreds of reasons! How dense is your deployment? Also, what is your MBR on the APs?

[Bryan_Donahue]

I guess I'm just wondering if the 39xx aps provide a better looking connection to the clients than the 38xx so they choose that one instead. Or should they be equivalent as far as the client is concerned?