Comment 1 for bug 1425172

From previous conversations:

Pat McGowan (pat-mcgowan) wrote on 2015-02-12:
Yes, I currently have some 50 APs in the list both on command line and the indicator
Its as if the phone was picking them up while I was driving

Mathieu Trudel-Lapierre (mathieu-tl) wrote on 2015-02-13:
Scanlist updates aren't instantaneous, it depends on whether another scan has happened, and whether the network is still in range; and given moving fast through APs as I recall they will also have to timeout from the list.
How long in between tests from the command-line? What is the distance between the two locations?

Marcus Tomlinson (marcustomlinson) wrote on 2015-02-16:
I tested this by turning on and off a WiFi hotspot a few times and observing both the output of "nmcli d wifi list" (executed every ±30s), and the list displayed in the Network Indicator.
Over 4 test cycles I observed the following:
When turning on the hotspot it takes about 1min (maybe 2min) for both nm and the indicator to display the new AP.
When turning off the hotspot, nm and the indicator took anywhere between 5-10min to recognise that the AP had dissappeared.
AFAICT signal strength updates for APs on the list (other than the currently connected AP) also lag by this 5-10min delay.
Seeing that the indicator is always in sync with Network Manager, these delays are clearly not caused by the Network Indicator, but by Network Manager itself (as Mathieu mentioned).
So yes, Network Manager does recognise when an AP is no longer in range or drops in signal strength, but personally I find the delay far too long (which I think is the concern expressed here).

John McAleely (john.mcaleely) wrote 50 seconds ago:
Anecdotally, going on a bus journey in london (or a train journey) will produce a long list of garbage AP's that are not interesting when you finally sit down near a hotspot you want to join. It's not an issue on 'other' OS.
Seen on RTM based hansets too.