Commissioning an Auracast system: walk test and sign-off

The Bluetooth SIG's walk test

The SIG's transmitter guide describes a baseline walk test:

1. Set the broadcast to a lower power level.
2. Walk the whole intended coverage area with an Auracast receiver and listen.
3. Where reception is not good enough, raise the power one step and walk again.
4. Stop when reception is "consistent throughout the intended coverage area."

The guide then asks you to repeat the check "when the room is being used" or after the transmitter moves, and to check the broadcast "with earbuds or headphones" after commissioning. Starting low matters: the SIG's best practice is the lowest power that covers the intended area.

What manufacturers add

Auri's installation best practices split the job in two:

1. Radio coverage: a site walk with its RX1 receiver in commissioning mode; the guide says to "ensure the space is empty prior to running the test".
2. Audio quality of service: for each broadcast, with "all systems and services (e.g., Wi-Fi)" running as they would in normal use.

Auri's manual adds that coverage "should be validated in normal use of the space."

What the UK code of practice lists

The ISCVE Code of Practice (2023) says these measurements "should normally be made" for an Auracast system: frequency response or bandwidth, audio signal level, signal-to-noise ratio, coverage (signal strength / packet loss), latency, network performance, interference from other RF transmissions, and a subjective assessment. Speech intelligibility (STI) "could also be made." It also says a certificate of compliance "is to be produced and supplied to the venue management."

The code is candid that it was written early: at publication, it says, Auracast was "not yet fully defined" and there were no installed systems. It lists what to measure, not pass marks for Auracast.

Our three-check sign-off

A signal-strength reading shows your transmitter's level. It does not show packets lost in a busy band, and it cannot hear a bad feed. So we sign off three things separately:

1. Signal at target at the farthest seats and the awkward spots, at listening height. The UK code uses 1.2 m for seated and 1.7 m for standing listeners.
2. A quiet band at the busiest hour, checked with a Wi-Fi or spectrum analyzer while the Wi-Fi, microphones and lighting control are running (see Auracast and Wi-Fi).
3. A real listening test with the receivers people will use: a loan receiver, a phone with LE Audio earbuds, and a hearing aid through its app if one is available.

A practical route

• The farthest seats and the corners.
• Behind pillars, organ cases and columns; under balconies; in side areas behind walls.
• Entrances and the loan desk.
• The boundary between two transmitters, if there are several.

At each stop, we join the broadcast and listen for 10 to 30 seconds, then note the level, any dropouts, the receiver used and whether the room is empty or in use.

What to record

• Transmitter models, positions, heights, firmware, power, broadcast names, quality and open or private. The SIG recommends transmitters expose manufacturer, model and serial number "for maintenance and commissioning."
• Every reading: place, level, receiver, empty or occupied, date and who measured.
• The band check and what was running at the time.
• Listening notes, including a hearing aid if tested.
• What was handed over: join cards, signs, receivers, neckloops, training.

Keep the private broadcast's code out of the report and give it to the venue separately.

What to call it

Standards for Auracast commissioning are still arriving. IEC 63087:2026, published in September 2026, sets out requirements for providing assistive listening systems of every kind, including an assessment report; IEC 60118-17, for hearing-aid users and 2.4 GHz streaming, is forecast for November 2027. Its published scope includes "a method for measuring the coverage" of a transmitter, for single-transmitter systems only. Until you have worked to the purchased text of a standard, call your document a commissioning record or installer's declaration, and avoid words like "certified." Our standards overview tracks what is published.

After handover

For installations with no loudspeakers, the SIG recommends "regular checks ... to confirm that broadcasts are available," since a fault could otherwise go unnoticed. Re-walk after any change to power, positions, the Wi-Fi or the wireless microphones. With the venue's approval, register the location with the Bluetooth SIG once the broadcast "is fully deployed and accessible."