Analysis of wifi channels. Analysis of external wireless networks. Setting a specific channel on Tenda routers

One of standard advice on what to do when there are problems with your wireless connection and low speed via Wi-Fi - change the router channel to one that is more free, since the presence of a large number of networks (yours and neighbors) on the same channels can lead to poor performance of these networks.

Finding free Wi-Fi channels is quite simple using special analysis programs wireless networks. Wi-Fi analysis apps are available for Android and programs for Windows or MacOS. This article will look at the first two options, which will most likely be sufficient. Once you have found free channel, It can be useful: .

Finding a free Wi-Fi channel using Android applications

I recommend this method to find a free channel for a router, since most people now have Android phones(a tablet is also suitable), and applications for Wi-Fi analysis on them are completely free and are in Russian (for Windows these two factors are more difficult).

Wifi Analyzer

The first and, at the same time, free and simplest application for analyzing Wi-Fi networks, allowing you to find free channels - Wifi Analyzer, available in the Play Store here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com .farproc.wifi.analyzer (be careful, there are many more applications under similar names, this one is fully working and has the best reviews).

After installing and launching the application, click on the eye icon at the top and select “Channel Graph”.

On the graph you will see a representation of your and neighboring networks (keep in mind that a network, say, on channel 6, also affects neighboring channels): their channels and power. At the top left of the graph you can switch the range (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz).

For example, in the screenshot above you can see that three networks are simultaneously located on one (6th) channel, and the freest channels will be channels 9-13 (here it is worth remembering that there are devices that do not see networks on channels after the 10th , and on the router, to be able to select these channels, you need to set the region to the Russian Federation). And the network on channel 3 is quite low-power (the router is probably located far away), i.e. if you choose the 2-3rd channel with communication, everything will probably be fine.

If you cannot choose the best channel yourself, look at the “channel ratings” (also by clicking on “Eye”). Channels with the largest number stars are most preferred.

This is not the only Android application with the ability to view busy and free channels, but there are not many good ones. If you don't mind the English interface, you can also try Fritz App WLAN (available for free on the Play Store) - also a decent tool for analyzing Wi-Fi networks.

Looking for free Wi-Fi channels on a laptop or Windows computer

There are also programs for Windows 10-7 that allow you to analyze wireless networks and find a free Wi-Fi channel.

InSSIDer

The most popular of these programs is InSSIDer, but it is paid. However, by entering your data on the official website https://www.metageek.com/products/inssider/ you can get a trial key for the program for 7 days: this is quite enough to find a free channel. To obtain a trial license, click the Download Trial button, enter the data and wait for the key on email(may take a few minutes: I received it in about 15 minutes).

By launching InSSIDer, you will see a list of wireless networks in two bands, as well as a graph of their distribution by channel and power, similar to what can be seen in WiFi Analyzer.

If desired, you can change the ratio of the panel sizes in the program to view in more detail information about available wireless networks and select a free channel for your network.

Acrylic Wi-Fi Home Free

Another similar program for Windows, available for free for home use- Acrylic Wi-Fi Home Free, which can be downloaded from the official website https://www.acrylicwifi.com/ru/

In terms of searching for a free channel, it is very similar to other such programs, but if you want to see a graphical representation of Wi-Fi networks by channel and power, open the program settings menu and turn on Advanced Mode.

After this, you can switch views in the program, including displaying wireless networks with occupied channels for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.

As you can see, finding free Wi-Fi channels (if available) is quite simple. But if they are missing, then it might make sense to think about purchasing a router that supports the 5 GHz band, which is still more free.

For the Android platform, there are several more reliable applications that enjoy a good reputation in the Google store, among them:

Advanced Spectrum Analyzer PRO;
Analyzer-Home Wifi Alert;
Spectrum Analyzer;
SpecScope Spectrum Analyzer.

The functionality of all the above software is quite similar, so you have the opportunity to download and test each program separately, and then choose the most suitable one for yourself.

WiFi analyzer programs

In addition to the classic WiFi Analyzer, there are many other good applications for both computers and mobile devices. For example, for Android you should select an analyzer with open platform, which is available for download on the Play Market and is called WiFiAnalyzer (open-source) from the developer VREM Software Development. It is a reliable tool that is compatible with all OS versions up to Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

For devices from the company Apple will do an application called Network Info II, which can display on your screen all the information about nearby networks. It is very easy to use due to its well-designed user interface. The Fing application can also be very useful, thanks to which you will find out complete information about the devices connected to your access point.

Among desktop applications special attention is the very popular Acrylic WiFi Home software. Unlike other programs, this one works not only with versions of Windows that have Metro support. Rich functionality, multi-frequency scanner and user-friendly interface are available to you completely free of charge.

An example of how a Wi-Fi analyzer works

The analyzer works very, very simply. For example, the WiFiAnalyzer application for Windows just needs to be installed and launched, after which you will receive complete information about the network. The first and main tab displays the connection to the current network and its status, as well as the signal quality in percentage and -dBm. For example, 80% is a pretty good indicator, but it can also be improved, which the program will definitely warn you about in the “Analysis” tab.

Below you can choose a frequency of 2.4 or 5.0 Ghz, and also see recommendations on ways to improve the signal. Analyzer in automatic mode scans the congestion of channels and suggests you switch to the freest one, which will increase the quality of your Internet connection. In the “Networks” tab, you will see all access points available for connection and the signal level in order to select the most promising option. Even if you are satisfied with the speed and quality of the Internet, it is still recommended to use analyzers from time to time, especially if you play online games, surf the net, or watch streaming videos.

Networks. It is possible that someone has gained access to your Wi-Fi networks and consumes data without your knowledge. How to determine this? Use special software.

The software will show a list of devices that are accessing the Wi-Fi network. Be it a mobile device, laptop or PC, you will be aware when an unknown device connects to the Wi-Fi network. Unfortunately, it is not possible to disconnect a device connected in this way, but you can manually change the network password in the router settings.

Who Is On My WiFiWho Is On My WiFi

The software shows notifications directly on your desktop in real time when an unknown device connects to your Wi-Fi network. In addition, detailed information about the specific device is provided, including the device's last known IP address, MAC address, date and time when the device was first discovered, digital signature when the device was last discovered, currently connected or not, network card name (if possible), etc.

Apart from this, you will see a list of all detected devices and check which device is currently connected or not. For a known device, you can mark it as "known". Settings Set IP ranges and scanning frequencies also available in this software.

The ability to block a specific device is available, but in a paid version.

The installation file of this program takes 2.32 MB.

Wireless Network Watcher

Wireless Network Watcher is a portable software for detecting intruders of your Wi-Fi network. D For the connected device turns out to be almost similar information to that in the software mentioned above.

In addition to this information, you can export the list to a text file, HTML file or CSV file for further usage. You can place this program in your system tray and it will constantly scan in the background.

When you first launch the program, you will be prompted to install the network adapter and change the IP address range (if necessary) to begin the scanning process.

The installation file size is 292 KB.

SoftPerfect WiFi Guard

SoftPerfect WiFi Guard also very useful for automatically and regularly scanning networks to identify rogue devices. You can set the network scanning time automatically from 1 to 60 minutes. You can set your own IP ranges and audio file to play when an unknown device is detected.

Once the scan is completed, a pop-up window appears that displays the IP address and MAC address of the unknown devices. In addition, all connected devices are visible. For each individual device, the provider name, RTT (Round-Trip Time), device name, IP address, MAC address and other information are shown.

The installation file is about 2 MB. When you start it for the first time, you need to select a network adapter and also configure scanning settings.

NCS Network Scanner

NCS Network Scanner is a very simple software that does not require any configuration to detect devices connected to Wi-Fi. When you launch the program, you can start scanning with one click, the program will find devices connected to the network. She doesn't show detailed information for the device. Only hostname, IP address, response time and reason for disconnection.

This software is useful for beginner users. A list of connected devices for a specific time is displayed. There is no way to save the list on a PC.

ZIP file 2.08 MB.

NetBScanner

One of the easily customizable programs. Unfortunately, it is not able to detect mobile devices associated with your PC, which is a significant drawback of this software.

Devices are scanned based on the range selected by the user. As a result, you can see the IP address, workgroup, computer name, MAC address, adapter manufacturer and main browser, used by this device. You can export the list to a CSV file, text file, XML or HTML file.

The installation file size is 278 KB. When you launch it for the first time, you will be prompted to set the IP address range and scanning speed. After this, scanning will begin.

Conclusion

The first three programs on this list are the most effective in detecting all devices connected to a Wi-Fi network. Although you can use the router's Wi-Fi administrative console to check the list of devices, it takes some time. The listed software is easy to configure and shows detailed information about connected devices.

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Today there is a router in almost every home. But such an abundance of Wi-Fi routers could not but affect the quality of the signal. Very often networks overlap one another and interruptions in the Internet signal occur. And this despite the fact that he is strong and nothing visible should interfere with him.

The reason may just be the overlap of several access points on one channel. For apartment buildings this problem is especially relevant. Only the user should distinguish between problems with the signal and the router. So it is very often confused that the smartphone completely freezes on Android platform at the stage of downloading torrent files. Here the reason is different.

Wi-Fi breaks can occur as follows:

A tablet or smartphone behaves as it wants - when it connects normally to the network signal, when it doesn’t connect at all;
A sharp drop in download speed without good reason (and this is also observed on internal resources);
Communication is lost in a certain place in the apartment, where there are no barriers.

The reason for all these troubles is precisely the use of the same communication channel by many points of wireless routers. Subsequently, congestion of this channel leads to low speed and connection interruptions.

To quickly solve a problem means changing the channel. Most users don’t even know how to analyze this situation and how to change the “Auto” setting on their router.

You can read about how to change the communication channel on different types of routers at this link.

Changing automatic network channel selection on an Asus router

Analyzer programs for computers running Windows 7, 8 and 10

Free programs that can be easily downloaded on the Internet will help you analyze the state of your wireless network for:

smartphones with different platforms;
laptops and PCs.

There are thirteen channels in total for signal transmission in Russia. So, of these 13, the first, sixth and eleventh channels do not intersect. But not all countries use 13; in the USA, for example, only 12 are allowed. For different versions The operating system has its own characteristics regarding the use of certain channels.

Schematic representation of overlapping channels

So Windows 10 does not see channel 13, and in the router settings it is impossible to change the region to Europe in order to correct access to this channel.

Version 7 of the OS also does not see channels larger than 12. Therefore, when choosing another unloaded channel, this must be taken into account.

This is exactly what analyzer programs are needed to identify free channels, configure the router on them and work calmly.

If the user has a problem connecting to any channel or the signal lags due to channel congestion, then the answers to your questions can be asked to the technical support of the official Windows website.

The most convenient and simple programs that analyze the occupancy of communication channels are the following:

inSSIDer 4 - download;
Free Wi-Fi Scanner - download;

These programs will help you learn other useful information about networks. You can recognize the type of security and signal speed. Convenient graphs help you analyze the signal. The figure below shows how different users overlap on the channels and which access point has the highest frequency signal.

Wireless network channel analysis with overlay graphs

An example of network analysis using InnSider

When downloading the program from the official website, the user should pay attention to the terms of use. Very often today they offer only demo versions of programs with a period of use of no more than a month. after that you need to buy the program.

Analysis of channel fullness

As can be seen from the picture, after analysis it is clearly seen that the most crowded channel is 6. That is, you should disconnect from it and select free 2, 3, or 4, or any other except the first and eleventh, which are also already occupied.

Network analyzer for Android

Most convenient for smartphone on the Android platform, use the Wi-Fi Analyzer program. No problems searching or downloading. The user logs in via his phone Google service Play and through the search finds this application and downloads it. When the smartphone is turned on, you can download the application via a PC.

Downloading a program from Google Play

After installation, you can go into the program and analyze communication channels. It will be immediately clear at what frequency the router operates and on what channel. All this will be indicated on the available charts. Just select channels and properties in the settings.

Asta operates on frequency 50 and the signal is received on channels 8-10

That is, in the illustrative example there is no need to change anything, because the signal does not intersect with almost anyone. In the same program, you can select the “channels” tab in the properties and see which channel has the highest and best signal. The rating is indicated by stars.

The example shows that the best signal without interference is on channels 12,13 and 14. The program installs quickly and erases quickly. Therefore, users should not be afraid that the application will take up a lot of memory on the device.

There is another convenient tab in the same application that will show the signal frequency. With such a pointer, you can move around the apartment and choose exactly the place where the signal will be the strongest.

Signal Strength Measurement Indicator

How to change automatic channel selection on a D-Link router?

There are a huge number of routers on the market today. But according to statistics, the most frequently purchased is D-Link model. How can I disable auto channel selection on it?

To do this, type in the Internet address bar address 192.168.0.1. In the window that opens, type admin in both login and password. Unless the user himself changed them. The standard login and password are always written to back cover boxes from under the router.

Changing Wireless Network Settings

A window appears, in which you select “advanced settings”, and then the basic ones, as in the figure above. After selecting the basic properties of the wireless network, you should find the “channel” line in the window that appears and select from it the free channel that any program for analyzing communication channels showed.

Selecting and saving a new communication channel

After this, the connection may be interrupted briefly and restarted again. If this does not happen, you need to check the router settings again and if there is a dialog box in the upper right corner asking you to save changes, you need to click and save it.

After this, the data transfer and download speed should increase.

With the help of such simple manipulations, any user today can correct minor errors in the wireless network in their apartment without calling a technician or paying for their services. So, how to choose this fastest and high frequency channel?

wireless communication
Launch the analyzer program;
Determine a free channel; Find a place in the apartment with the most high frequency
reception
Check non-overlapping channels (1,6,11 - if they are free) at this frequency, for example, reception speed and jumps;

Thus, fixing problems with lost signal and lost speed turned out to be very simple, you just need to strictly follow the above steps.

To work with large wireless networks, there are a sufficient number of good multifunctional software solutions on the market that allow you to comprehensive testing WiFi networks. However, often for quick glance When designing, deploying, or troubleshooting, you'll benefit from using simpler, free tools. We present to your attention an overview of the most interesting free programs for WiFi diagnostics-networks.

In this article, we will introduce you to nine free software tools - most of them are powered by operating systems Windows, others - for macOS or Android - which will provide you with basic information about the existing WiFi signals in the coverage area: SSIDs, signal strength, channels used, MAC addresses and types of protection of a particular network. Some can detect hidden SSIDs, determine noise levels, or provide statistics about the successful and unsuccessful packets sent and received on your wireless connection. One of the solutions includes a WiFi password cracking toolkit, which will be extremely useful for finding vulnerabilities and security assessments when testing the hacking resistance of your wireless network.

Note also that most of the tools described below are free versions of commercial solutions distributed by the same vendor, but with reduced functionality.

Wireless scanner local networks Acrylic WiFi Home is a stripped-down version of the commercial solution from Tarlogic Security. Version 3.1, reviewed in this review article, attracts attention, primarily due to the detail of the wireless environment and advanced graphical capabilities for displaying collected information. The functionality of this solution includes: overview of found WiFi networks supporting 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac standards; detecting unauthorized access points and displaying connected clients; scanning and analysis of WiFi channels used by wireless networks at frequencies of 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz; plotting graphs of the received signal level and its power for WiFi access points.

WiFi scanner for Windows Acrylic WiFi Home will allow you to scan and view available wireless networks in real time, provide information about detected WiFi networks (SSID and BSSID), their type of protection and wireless devices currently connected to the network, and will also allow you to receive WiFi list passwords (set by default by manufacturers) thanks to the built-in plugin system.

Being free product Acrylic WiFi Home 3.1 has a simple but attractive GUI. A detailed list of SSIDs is located at the top of the application. Here, in particular, you can find: negative dBm values for the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), supported 802.11 standard (including 802.11ac) by access points or WiFi routers, manufacturer name, model and MAC addresses network devices. The solution recognizes the bandwidth being used and displays all channels involved. It doesn't look for hidden SSIDs, but may show them if it detects network data indicating the presence of hidden networks. The application also has functionality for inventorying the operation of WiFi networks, allowing you to assign and save the names of detected SSIDs and / or clients (for the free version, this feature has quantitative restrictions on use).

At the bottom of the application screen, by default, visual rating information is displayed for network characteristics selected SSID. There is also a graph of the signal level and power of all detected access points. When you switch to the advanced mode for displaying the status of wireless networks, you will receive two additional graphs - for the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands - which simultaneously display information about the channels in use, including those combined into one “wide” channel, and signal level data.

Exporting or saving captured data is extremely inconvenient, since the software company decided to cut down this functionality excessively in the free solution: you can copy at most one line of data to the clipboard and then paste the text into Text Document or spreadsheet. There is also a function for publishing a screenshot on Twitter.

Overall, Acrylic WiFi Home is good software scanner WLAN, especially since it costs nothing. It collects all the basic information about your wireless space and clearly demonstrates the obtained data, both in text and graphically, which is perfect for simple WiFi network diagnostic tasks. The main disadvantage of this solution can be considered large problems with data export, or rather, the virtual absence of such an opportunity due to the functionality in the free solution that was limited by the manufacturer itself.

AirScout Live (Android)

Greenlee's AirScout Live app turns your Android smartphone into a convenient and portable WiFi analyzer networks. AirScout Live has seven operating modes, four of which are completely free to use without any restrictions on Android devices. The commercial version, unlike the free version, is compatible with most desktop computers (Windows) and mobile devices(Android and iOS). With the help of basic functionality, you can quickly, mobilely and, most importantly, solve problems related to insufficient level WiFi signal in some places of your office or home.

AirScout live will show all the characteristics of access points detected within range: from signal strength and security protocols to equipment capabilities. It will allow you to determine the least loaded channel, measure the signal strength at each point of the WiFi network and identify places with insufficient signal strength. Helps identify sources of interference by analyzing channel usage parameters in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Using the program, you can select the optimal location for the location of access points to ensure the highest quality coverage of the premises with a WiFi network and configure it to maximum performance without buying additional equipment. Additionally, the AirScout app allows you to take pictures of your WiFi network and save them locally or upload them to the cloud.

AirScout Live is very easy to use and requires no additional training. The user interface looks attractive and intuitive. The first two menu items - “AP Graph” and “AP Table” - will provide you with visual and comprehensive information about all the characteristics of access points located in the visibility zone. Access point coverage graphs will visually demonstrate to you the dependence of the signal level of each of them and the congestion of channels in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Extended information in tabular form information about each access point (SSID, Mac address, equipment vendor, channel used, channel width, received signal level in dBm and security settings) are available in the second menu item.

The “Time graph” item will allow you to see all the access points that your Android device has detected in the observed location, and their graph of changes in signal level in dBm with a time reference. So, for example, if you are examining a network that consists of several access points, this information will help you understand what signal strength each of them will have at a given location, and how the client device will switch between them. In addition, selecting a specific access point highlights its signal strength, which helps visual perception of information.

The “Signal Strength” item will allow you to visually test the signal level for each access point over time. You can select a specific SSID and see the current, as well as the minimum and maximum signal level recorded by the device for this access point. The original interpretation of the results obtained in the form of a red-yellow-green speedometer will make it possible to clearly see whether a particular function will work in this particular place or not. For example, a stable signal level in the green zone will tell you that here you will not have problems with resource-intensive technologies such as voice over IP or transmission streaming video in Full HD format. Being in the yellow zone will indicate that only web surfing is available. Well, the red zone will mean big problems with receiving a signal from this access point in a given location.

To use additional features that are not available in the free version of the software without additional hardware (identifying the most common problems: suboptimal signal coverage or incorrect choice channel; identification of sources of interference, including from “non-WiFi” devices; optimization of configurations of WiFi networks adjacent to 802.15.4 networks; tune WiFi performance by comparing signal strength and usage parameters; Ookla speed test and much more) you will need an AirScout controller or a kit that includes a controller and remote clients.

AirScout Live is an excellent application that, above all, attracts with its portability. Agree, having a tool that will always be at hand is worth a lot. The free version of the product provides you with all the necessary information that you may need to quickly analyze the status of small office or home WiFi networks and identify basic problems with their performance. Intuitive interface and competent graphic design The obtained measurement results not only leave a good impression, but also help speed up the work with the application.

Cain & Abel is a multi-purpose operating room application Windows systems for password recovery and cracking, which is also equipped with tools for interception and analysis network traffic, including WiFi networks. Like its predecessor (Acrylic WiFi Home), Cain & Abel is a powerful network analyzer capable of capturing and processing most wireless network traffic.

Its graphical interface has a relatively ancient, simplified look. The toolbar (old style with icons at the top of the screen) is used to launch various utilities. Access to the main functional parts of the application is provided through window tabs.

Through the “Wireless” tab we have access to functional tools for analyzing network traffic of WiFi networks. In addition to the usual information about SSIDs and various signal information, a list and detailed information about connected clients can also be found here. For access points and clients, Cain & Abel provides information on the number of detected packets: all packets, protocol initialization vectors WEP security(WEP Initialization Vector, WEP IV) and ARP requests. Any hidden SSIDs discovered from the captured packets will be displayed in the GUI. Most of the intercepted statuses and data can be exported to a simple text file.

Despite the enormous functional potential of this solution, shortcomings such as the lack of visual graphs, as well as the inability to recognize 802.11ac access points and determine wider channels, do not allow Cain & Abel to be called the best choice for monitoring and analyzing WiFi networks. This solution is worth paying attention to if your tasks go far beyond simple analysis traffic. With it, you can recover Windows passwords, perform attacks to obtain lost credentials, examine VoIP data on the network, analyze packet routing, and much more. This is a really powerful tool for system administrator with broad powers.

Ekahau HeatMapper is a mapping software tool for deploying small home-level wireless networks and determining the optimal location for access point installation. This is simplified free version professional solutions from Ekahau. The software provides the same network information, like a WiFi wireless network scanner, but it also generates a WiFi heat map so you can visualize signal levels. For the purposes of this review, we will focus on version 1.1.4.

The software offers the ability to create a plan or layout of the site being studied, as well as design a wireless network topology using a grid for rough orientation.

The left side of the main UI screen displays a list of wireless networks and their details, sorted by signal, channel, SSID, MAC address, and security type. This list includes basic information, but does not contain signal strength in dBm and percentage. In addition, the application does not recognize networks that support the 802.11ac standard, identifying them as 802.11n.

Using Ekahau HeatMapper, as with other mapping tools, you define your current location on the map as you walk around the building to generate a heat map of WiFi coverage. Ekahau HeatMapper will automatically calculate the location of access points and place them on the map. Once all the data has been collected, an interactive heat map of WiFi coverage will be generated. So, for example, when you hover the cursor over the access point icon, its coverage will be separately highlighted; and when you hover your cursor over a heatmap area, a tooltip window will appear for the received signal strength indicator with a negative dBm value for that point.

According to reviews, the Ekahau HeatMapper software solution is an overly simplified WiFi mapping scanner: the manufacturers removed almost all additional functionality from the free version, making this decision really home version. Additionally, the only option available for exporting or saving is to simply take a screenshot of the map.

However, Ekahau HeatMapper solution can be used to small networks or to get a basic understanding of how more professional map-based tools work.

Homedale Software Utility is a relatively simple and portable (no installation required) wireless network scanner for Windows (currently version 1.75 available) and macOS (currently available version 1.03) operating systems with an optional command line interface. In addition to display basic information about wireless networks and signals, this utility also supports location determination using GPS and other positioning technologies.

This utility has a simple graphical interface that resembles more of a dialog box with several tabs than a full-fledged application. The first tab "Adapters" displays a list of all network adapters, as well as their IP gateways and MAC addresses.

The Access Points tab contains a lot of important information. It doesn't list the 802.11 standard for each SSID, but you will find all supported data rates, as well as all channel numbers used by each SSID at a given time, including those with larger channel widths. It also doesn't list hidden networks, but does show other network data that indicates the presence of hidden SSIDs. Also very useful function is the ability to save notes for individual SSIDs, which can then be included in any data export.

In the Access Point Signal Graph tab, you will find the change in negative dBm values for the received signal strength metric over time for all selected SSIDs. The implementation of access to this functionality cannot be called very convenient and intuitive - the selection of wireless networks for monitoring and comparison is done by double-clicking on the desired SSID from the list previous tab"Access points".

The “Frequency of Use” tab illustrates in real time a graphical dependence of the frequencies used by each SSID (for convenience, divided into channels) and signal level values. Channel usage visualizations are displayed for the 2.4 GHz band and each subset of the 5 GHz band. The utility performs its task - visually demonstrates the occupancy of each channel - but it would be more convenient if we had the opportunity to have a single view of the 5 GHz frequency, instead of dividing it into four separate graphs.

In addition, Homedale offers excellent opportunities for both free application, to export the collected data. Yes, saving is supported network list in tabular form in CSV format, logging the results of each scan (useful if you move around while scanning), and saving an image of each graph.

Despite its very simple graphical user interface, Homedale provides more advanced functionality than you might expect. In addition, I would like to note that, for a free program, the capabilities of recording and exporting data, as well as determining location, are quite impressive.

LizardSystems offers a free version of its software WiFi provision Scanner for non-commercial use, which has the same features and functionality as their paid product. Currently version 3.4 of the solution is available. In addition to the WiFi scanner, this solution also offers excellent analytics and reporting functionality.

The application has a modern graphical interface, intuitive and easy to use. The Scanner tab provides a list of detected SSIDs. In addition to the standard detailed information here you will also find signal strength values in both negative dBm and percentage values. It even shows the number of clients that are connected to each SSID. Also, along with the 802.11 standards specification, the solution can detect and report multiple channels used by any SSID with a larger channel width.

You can use the list of visible SSIDs to filter input based on the following parameters: signal strength, supported 802.11 standard, security types, and used frequency bands. At the bottom of the Scanner tab are graphs that you can switch between. In addition to typical graphs showing signal strength and channels used, visualizations of data rates, channel load and number of clients are also available. The bottom of the screen displays information about the current connection. In the "Advanced Information" tab you will find various information about network activity, up to the number of unprocessed packets.

The Current Connection tab displays more detailed information about the current wireless connection. Here you will access and manage the list of wireless network profiles saved in Windows 10, which can be useful because in this latest version operating system Windows more Native access to and management of this list is not provided. The Wireless Statistics tab provides graphs and statistics for various types of packets, both the physical (PHY) layer and the data link (MAC) layer, which will be useful for conducting advanced network analysis.

LizardSystems WiFi Scanner software solution offers advanced exporting and reporting capabilities. Basic functionality allows you to save a list of networks in a text file. Additionally, you can generate reports summarizing the types of networks found in the scan, with all SSID data logged, any comments you added, and snapshots of the graphs. These are pretty impressive features for a freely available WiFi scanner.

In summary, LizardSystems WiFi Scanner really impresses with its functionality, including output filtering and reporting capabilities, as well as advanced information about transmitted packets data. He might become important part your “go-to” set of tools for maintaining and checking WiFi networks, but remember that the free license is only available for personal use.

NetSpot (Windows and macOS)

NetSpot is a software solution for researching, analyzing and improving WiFi networks. The commercial version uses mapping tools for thermal visualization of coverage areas, but this is not available in the free version for home use. However, this solution is proposed for both operating networks Windows and macOS. In this review article we will look at NetSpot Free versions 2.8 is a free, significantly reduced version of the company's paid products for home and corporate use.

The NetSpot Discover tab is a WiFi scanner. Although the GUI is simple, it has a modern look and feel and the network details of each SSID are displayed in bold and clearly visible. Signal levels are shown in negative dBm values (current, minimum and maximum) as well as percentages. Hidden networks are not displayed in the free version, and the ability to export data is not supported (although there is such a button, it is not active).

When you click on the “Details” button at the bottom of the application window, combined graphs of signals and used channels for each WiFi range, generated for those selected from the list, are shown SSID networks. In addition, the signal information of each SSID is displayed in a table view so you can see the exact values received by the application during each scan.

Overall, the free version of NetSpot does a good job of detecting WiFi networks (although it does not support working with hidden networks). And yet, the free solution has a very limited functionality, which is eloquently shown to us by broken links to a large number of additional features- this includes the inaccessibility of visualizations, the inability to use a heat map, and the lack of export.

WirelessNetView (Windows)

WirelessNetView is a small utility from NirSoft that runs in the background and monitors the activity of wireless networks around you. It is offered free of charge for personal and commercial use. This is a fairly simple WiFi scanner, available in both portable and installable form. For the purposes of this article, version 1.75 is considered.

The WirelessNetView solution's graphical user interface is not very fancy - it's just a window with a list of wireless networks. Available for each detected network the following information: SSID, signal quality at the current time, average signal quality over the entire observation period, detection counter, authentication algorithm, information encryption algorithm, MAC address, RSSI, channel frequency, channel number, etc.

Thus, this utility provides signal level indicators in negative dBm values, as well as in percentage terms for the last received signal and the average for the entire observation time. But it would be even better if we also had access to the average values for the RSSI of a particular access point over the entire observation period. Another unique piece of available analytics that WirelessNetView offers is a measure of how often each SSID is detected, which can be useful in certain situations.

Double-clicking on any of the detected wireless networks will open a dialog box with all the information about specific network, which can be very convenient, since your screen width is clearly not enough to view all the details in the main list. Click right click mouse over any network from the list allows you to save data for that specific wireless network or all detected networks into text or HTML files. The Options toolbar menu displays some options and additional functionality, such as filtering, MAC address format, and other display preferences.

Please note that this utility lacks a number of advanced features that we expect to see in modern WiFi scanners. First of all we're talking about O graphical representation information, full support for the 802.11ac standard and, accordingly, recognition of all channels occupied by an access point that can use a larger channel width. However, the WirelessNetView solution can still be useful for simple monitoring of wireless networks or small WiFi space, especially if you find some of the unique functionality this utility is valuable to you.

Wireless Diagnostics (macOS)

Starting with OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.4 and later operating systems Apple company provides the Wireless Diagnostics tool. It is more than just a WiFi scanner; it can help detect and fix WiFi connection problems. But the best thing is that it is a native toolkit included in the operating system. For this review, we'll look at the Wireless Diagnostics software solution included with macOS High Sierra (version 10.13).

To get started, press the Option key and then click the Airport/WiFi icon at the top of MacOS. You will have more detailed information about your current WiFi connection, as well as access to the “Wireless Diagnostics” shortcut.

Opening Wireless Diagnostics will launch a wizard called "Assistant" that may ask for additional information such as the router's make and model, as well as its location. Tests will then be run to detect problems. Once verified, a summary of the results will be shown, and clicking the icon for each result will show expanded details and suggestions.

Although it's not entirely obvious, you also have more tools available to you than just the aforementioned wizard. While the wizard dialog is open, clicking the Window button at the top of the toolbar will provide access to additional utilities.

The Scan utility is a simple WiFi scanner that shows the usual data about detected wireless networks, as well as short description types of networks and best channels. One of its main advantages is that it shows noise levels in WiFi channels, which most of the Windows scanners presented in this article do not show. However, it would be more convenient if all channels that use specific SSIDs with a larger channel width were listed, rather than just showing the channel width and the center channel.

The "Info" utility shows the current network connection and detailed detailed information about signal characteristics. The “Logs” utility allows you to configure WiFi, EAPOL and Bluetooth diagnostic protocols. The Performance utility shows line graphs of signal and noise, signal quality and data transfer speed of the current connection. The Sniffer utility allows you to capture raw wireless packets, which can then be exported to a third-party packet sniffer.

In summary, the utilities included in the Wireless Diagnostics toolkit of the MacOS family of operating systems are truly impressive, especially when compared to the native wireless toolkit for Windows operating systems. You always have a WiFi scanner at your fingertips (which even shows you noise levels) and packet capture capabilities (with subsequent export options), and their troubleshooting "Assistant" seems really smart. However, to visualize WiFi channels, in our opinion, the channel usage graph is not enough.

Apple also offers an excellent tour and guide to using Wireless Diagnostics for more information.

conclusions

Each of the diagnostic programs we reviewed WiFi networks has its advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, all these solutions, judging by user reviews, are worthy of downloading and evaluating in action. The choice of the optimal program for each specific case will be different. So try it!

wifi analyzer – what is it?

Analyzer is a program that allows you to scan available networks and analyze Internet accessibility. Its main task is:

analyze channel distribution;
analyze the signal quality;
carry out interference analysis;
issue a report bypassing analysis tools such as Aircrack.

Similar ones work in a slightly different direction, although they know how to conduct analysis.

You can download the application for free using the play market.

Download

What is wifi analyzer used for?

There are a huge number of programs that offer work on analyzing Wi-Fi signals. The difference between them is not fundamental.

Somewhere the interface changes a little, somewhere some additional function is present. But the results of everyone’s work are approximately the same - the same tables with conclusions.

Today we will look at a completely new application that can easily make working with wifi easier. It is used for computers and Android phones.

Let's say you installed a router to distribute Wi-Fi in your home. It does not always happen that the settings are carried out efficiently the first time, and the signal is received perfectly.

What is this connected with? The neighbors also have the Internet, they also have a router and there are several media that can be connected to it.

These are the reason for your troubles with the signal. Simply interference caused by such a device.

The real find is that routers can work not on one channel, but use several of them. This is what an analyzer is required for.

It will help you decide on the most suitable channel that will not respond to extraneous interference.

Advice!

If you have a router in your home, be sure to download a free one or purchase a paid analyzer. You shouldn’t hope that the interference will go away on its own, and you definitely shouldn’t be content with little. Even if, after using the application, you deleted it, for example, to save space. You still have to contact him anyway.

Wi-Fi analyzer - a miracle program

By spending just a few seconds of your time, the user can easily get all the existing information about the fullness of the network and the quality of the received signal.

After checking, the user will have access to two tabs. The first contains data on the quality of the wifi channel.

This window will help you easily decide which of them would be most appropriate to join.

The second tab presents information for each channel individually. With its help, you will receive information about how much the option you are interested in is loaded.

Both pages are presented in table form. All networks are marked with different colors.

To the left of it are written all the found connection options.

In the upper right corner there is a program settings icon.

Advantages of the application and reviews about it

All reviews that were found on the Internet about this application are only positive.

Some users who have installed it on their phone boast that they no longer need to run through the streets looking for free Wi-Fi.

Advantages:

The great advantage of this program is that in a passive state it takes up practically no space;
for it to detect a signal, even its weak manifestation is sufficient;
there is a sensor to determine its strength;

can be turned on sound accompaniment. The better the command, the louder its alert sound will sound;
the application is free and accessible to anyone;
provides advisory advice on solving problems that have arisen;
automatically detects the existence of illegal devices and the presence of network vulnerabilities.

Where can I download the program from?

The Wi-Fi analyzer is provided free of charge, and finding it on the Internet is not difficult.

1 For Android phones, it can be found on Google Play. This is the simplest option. It is very easy to do. Dial in search bar a request like “download the Wi-Fi analyzer program from Google Play” and the required results will open to you. Follow the link provided by the system. In the application, next to the program we are interested in, there is only one “download” button. So it's impossible to make a mistake here. Click on it and wait for the results. After downloading, follow the system’s recommendations and install the application on your storage device without any problems.

2 On Windows 10, the official download source is the Microsoft website. It's free.

A feature or even a problem for this method is that for a successful result when downloading, you must have Windows at least version ten. If she is not like that, but the application is necessary. You'll have to make an update. If this is not done, downloading will simply be impossible.

Of course, you can install some alternative, for example, inSSIDer (which is paid), or Acrylic WiFi Professional. This is the user's choice.

When you run a network check on your computer, a message will be displayed that will tell you which one is the best option for the given area. It looks like this:

On the screen of an Android-based phone, the information is presented in approximately the same form.

The utility file analyzer is designed for installation on Windows tenth series release. If you have a different version of the software on your computer, tablet or laptop, installation will not be possible.

If you really need this application, you will need to update for Windows or use one of the program’s analogues.

Wifi Analyzer for Windows 10 on your computer looks like this.

– this is an indicator of the sensitivity of the receiver; This indicator displays the weakest signal level at which Wi-Fi operation is possible. For normal functioning the value of this section must be no less than 85 dBm. This indicator is quite enough for the device to work correctly.

– quality of the signal itself;

– network settings;

– mas – address of this network.

Below the scale there is a row of signs that indicate the signal level:

means that the supply is weak;
you didn't choose the best one the best option among channels;
the line used does not have access to the Internet;
The Internet is not secure.

Very a convenient thing Some computers have a BSSID. Translated from English, this is a unique number that is assigned to a wireless Internet channel.

If such a function is present on your computer, it becomes possible to configure several access points at once.

One SSID can contain up to four BSSIDs.

What do you need to choose the best channel?

To make such settings, you need to go to the program tab called “Analyze”. Quality indicators of different types of channels will be displayed here.

The designations are deciphered as follows:

Wi-Fi indicators different users that live in the nearby range.
The force with which the apparatus of each of them works.
The channels themselves.

Based on the data in such a table, it is difficult to understand where the largest number of access points are located and to select the best option.

But this is not the most understandable option for ordinary people. It will be much more convenient if you enable the SSID parameter.

Then each line is signed with a specific name, which makes working with it easier.

The application is very convenient in that it not only carries out analysis, but also displays the result in the form of a table with a rating of channels that the best way suitable for your device.

What to do if the signal quality has not improved after the settings?

If after all the parameters are set, and the supplied Internet still leaves much to be desired, you need to check the following points:

Try placing your router away from the wall. This will help remove the interference that comes from other people's devices. Moreover, these interruptions do not necessarily come from another router. They can be caused by any technique.
Move the device around the apartment until it is detected best place with the highest quality signal and, accordingly, Wi-Fi speed.

Analyzer for Android

After downloading the program, there are no problems with it. To get started, just launch it. An investigation will begin available options networks and displaying the results on the screen.

This utility is for mobile phone most understandable and acceptable. Another advantage is that it practically does not require free space in mind.

After the analysis, information will appear on how actively this or that network is used in a given territory.

How often does the router operate? This entire history will be displayed in the “properties” and “channels” tabs.

If your settings are similar to the example, this means that the phone you are using is not blocked by any of the available networks. After all, they practically do not intersect with each other.

You can also find out information about how strong a particular signal is.

To do this, go to the “Channels” tab in “Properties”. The performance rating will be displayed as stars.

Although such an application will not take up much space in the phone’s memory, after the test is completed, you can simply delete it and, if necessary, download it again. It does not take a lot of time.

On the phone version, there is also a tab with a speedometer, which is responsible for the signal frequency. This feature is very convenient.

To choose the best quality, the user needs to move around the area and pay attention to the arrow indicators.

When she is in her highest place, your search work is done.

Same as in the version for personal computer, you can enable sound for this page.

Then, as the quality increases, the sound output from the device will also increase.