Wi-fi signal distribution map program. Selecting the optimal location of the access device on the Wi-Fi network. What to do before using the programs

When ordering a service package from a provider, the latter cannot guarantee excellent quality. Therefore, many are concerned about the issue of the router’s incoming signal. The user is looking for ways to improve it. One option is an antenna to strengthen the Wi-Fi signal. It provides significant assistance and is an excellent way to improve the performance of the router.

Antennas are auxiliary devices that affect the Wi-Fi signal. They are made mainly in the form of a lattice made of copper and steel. Preference is given to this material because of its properties that provide the best radiation. An amplified antenna for a router is placed in large trade centers and warehouses. Wi-Fi signal propagation is stable and activities proceed without interruption.

Many devices have protection devices against bad weather conditions and precipitation. The main parameter of amplified antennas for wi-fi routers is the degree of increase in action, measured in DBI. Internet speed and quality depend on the level of the incoming signal.

To make the antenna for amplifying the Wi-Fi signal as effective as possible, you can use a Wi-Fi signal distribution map.

What are the reasons for poor communication? Before purchasing an antenna, analyze the operation of the equipment. Poor communication has different causes at all installation sites. Each device that provides access to the World Wide Web has a Wi-Fi module that is responsible for the level of the incoming signal. This is the reason for the communication failure. When the modem is not working properly, call a technician. The incoming signal will be much higher after the repair.

The speed and quality of the wi-fi signal are also affected by:

• remote location of the router from devices that determine the entrance;
• low power.

In the first case, it will be enough to change the location of the amplification device. In the second, you will have to buy other equipment.

Features and types of antennas

Tightness. The antenna for amplifying wi-fi has a distinctive feature - tightness. It is especially important in bad weather conditions. In addition, external devices are large in size. They require fasteners for installation on a vertical or horizontal surface.

By location there are:

• external;
• internal.

Directionality. The next distinctive nuance is directionality. The purpose of the device will be an even coating within a given range of action. Antennas are designed in the form of pins, with installation in a vertical position. This element will control the distance of the signal on the entire plane.

Internal antenna for laptop

Outdoor directional antenna

Quite often, outdoor devices are used in combination with other devices located in the room.

According to their purpose, antennas are divided into the following types:

• sectoral;
• wave;
• segmented parabolic;
• panel.

The former are used as coverage area regulators. Sector antennas emit waves within a radius of 60-120 degrees. Wave devices include a vibrator, making them classified as active devices.

Segmented parabolic ones are used to establish communications over long distances. The device operates at a frequency of 2.4 GHz and has high gain. If you install these additional antennas for a wi-fi router, it will be possible to maintain communication over a remote distance of up to several tens of kilometers.

Panel structures are flat structures. They are used on small-area objects. Installation is quite simple, there will be no difficulties with placement.

Selection criteria

The selection criteria will be different depending on the tasks assigned to the device, the size of the room that needs to be covered with wireless communications, and the location of the server. When the antenna for your router breaks down, you go shopping for a new one.

What to look for when choosing an antenna:

1. to the building where the communications will be located;
2. on the body. The material from which it is made;
3. antenna specifications.

To organize wireless communication in a small house, the antenna included in the router is sufficient. If you want something more, you can enhance the Wi-Fi signal with an additional antenna.

Directional antenna and signal propagation planes

When organizing communication in a large room, place the device under the ceiling. In open areas, it is possible to enhance the effect of Wi-Fi using an antenna installed on the roof of the house or the top of a tall tree. When you want to organize communication between two objects that are within sight, for example, two apartments on the same landing, take two antennas directed at each other.

To connect equipment located at a great distance, use directional antennas. A popular option is the directional wi-fi antenna An-15m. This option is also suitable for sailors on a voyage, users from different parts of one small locality.

If the antenna has antennae, change their position. An excellent option is to have two devices. Place one vertically, the other horizontally. Install them at different heights.

The propagation of the signal is impeded by any electronics standing in its path. Do not place the router on the floor. In this position you will lose half the power. The signal will go to the neighbors. The Wi-Fi signal map shows that you should find the ideal location for the router. Practice has proven that this is the center of the apartment.

Anyone who has set up wireless networks on their own knows firsthand about the problem “it catches here, but it doesn’t catch here.” You can only choose the optimal location for the router through experience, moving it around the apartment and measuring the quality of the coverage. To simplify the task, it would be better to use a diagnostic utility. With its help, you can do everything right the first time.

This application is designed to search for wireless networks and analyze in detail each of their many parameters. In Discover mode, NetSpot constantly monitors the airwaves and displays a list of networks around you. It can be filtered by various parameters to find out, for example, how busy a particular channel is and select a free one for your network.

More interesting for us is the Survey mode, which allows you to conduct a full survey of your network and provides a detailed report on all its nuances. Let's try to understand the capabilities of NetSpot using a specific example - my dacha.

Following the wizard's prompts, select the type of room and sketch out its diagram (you can import the finished one from a file). I'm not the best artist and I completely got the proportions wrong, but the main thing we need to know is that the total area is about 75 square meters.

Next, we begin to take measurements at various points in the room. It makes more sense to go to the places where you use the Internet, so I started in the living room, checked the signal by the bed, in the kitchen, in the office, on the veranda and, of course, in the bathroom. The more points you add, the more accurate the result will be, so don't be lazy. After completing the measurements, click Stop scan and proceed to analysis.

Based on the data received, NetSpot will draw us a coverage quality map, that is, it will show us where the Wi-Fi signal is strong, where it is weak, and where there is none at all. The color spectrum is used for visualization. Just note that the green color means areas of poor reception, and not the other way around, as you might think. To avoid confusion, use the scale at the bottom of the map to guide you.

If your network uses several access points, the signal from them can be displayed separately by checking the boxes next to the ones you need. This will allow you to identify problem areas in order to move repeaters or add new ones for more reliable coverage. Access points, by the way, will automatically appear on the map, but if their location is not determined entirely accurately (that’s why more measurement points are needed), then it can be changed manually.

By default, the SNR value, that is, the signal-to-noise ratio, is visualized on the map. This is the main evaluation parameter, but in addition you can select more than a dozen others from the drop-down menu: signal strength, number of available networks, interference level, coverage at a certain frequency, download and transmission speeds, access point power and others.

When building a network, you probably want the signal to not only be caught, but also to be at a good level. For this purpose, the dialog for changing signal level thresholds will be useful. By default, the range is very large, the minimum level only implies the ability to connect and operate at the lowest speed.

By clicking on each access point, a menu is displayed with detailed information about it (channel, frequency, etc.). It will come in handy if you have neighbors’ networks in your house, and also if your network has access points operating in two bands.

All data is provided with explanations (though in English). They will help you identify areas with a weak signal, determine the optimal places to install a router and, if necessary, repeaters.

In my case, the need to install another access point for good coverage in the office was confirmed. The signal is caught there, but the speed leaves much to be desired. I conducted testing in a private home with a minimum number of other people's networks, where the use of free channels is not so relevant. In urban conditions with a jammed airwave at the 2.4 GHz frequency, the importance of this nuance is difficult to overestimate. With NetSpot you can identify the least busy channel and switch to it.

Using NetSpot on a non-commercial basis is completely free, but there are certain restrictions that are practically irrelevant in a home environment. The Pro version offers an expanded set of features, including multi-zone projects, unlimited access points and measurements, data export, and guidance for setup and troubleshooting. This version costs $149. NetSpot is currently only available for Mac, but a release is planned soon

To work with large wireless networks, there are a sufficient number of good multifunctional software solutions on the market that allow for comprehensive testing of WiFi networks. However, you will often find it easier to use simpler, free tools to get a quick look at the airwaves during design, deployment, or troubleshooting. We present to your attention an overview of the most interesting free programs for diagnosing WiFi networks.

In this article, we'll introduce you to nine free software tools—most of them running on Windows operating systems, others on macOS or Android—that will give you basic information about existing WiFi signals in range: 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.

The Acrylic WiFi Home wireless LAN scanner 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 get a list of WiFi passwords (set by default by manufacturers) thanks to the built-in plugin system.

As a free product, Acrylic WiFi Home 3.1 has a simple but attractive graphical interface. 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 on the network characteristics of the 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, as 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 a word processing document or spreadsheet. There is also a function for publishing a screenshot on Twitter.

Overall, Acrylic WiFi Home is a good software WLAN scanner, especially considering that it doesn't cost anything. It collects all the basic information about your wireless space and clearly demonstrates the obtained data, both in text and graphical form, which is perfect for simple WiFi network diagnostic tasks. The main disadvantage of this solution can be considered big 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 network analyzer. 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 WiFi signal levels in some places in your office or home for free.

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 access points to ensure the highest quality WiFi network coverage of your premises and configure it for maximum performance without purchasing 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 area. 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 about each access point (SSID, Mac address, equipment vendor, channel used, channel width, received signal level in dBm and security settings) is 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 signal level changes 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 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 functions that are not available in the free version of the software without additional equipment (identifying the most common problems: suboptimal signal coverage or incorrect channel selection; identifying sources of interference, including from “non-WiFi” devices; optimizing WiFi network configurations adjacent to 802.15.4 networks; adjusting 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 gives you all the information you need to quickly analyze the health of small office or home WiFi networks and identify underlying performance issues. An intuitive interface and competent graphic design of 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 application for Windows operating systems for recovering and cracking passwords, which is also equipped with tools for intercepting and analyzing network traffic, including WiFi networks. Like the previous solution (Acrylic WiFi Home), Cain & Abel is a powerful network analyzer capable of capturing and processing the majority of 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 get access to functional tools for analyzing the 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 about the number of packets detected: all packets, 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 traffic analysis. 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 truly powerful toolkit for a 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 a simplified free version of professional solutions from Ekahau. This software product provides the same network information as a WiFi wireless network scanner, but 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 or 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 plot your current location on a map while you walk around a 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 solution a truly home version. Additionally, the only option available for exporting or saving is to simply take a screenshot of the map.

However, the Ekahau HeatMapper solution can be used for 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 displaying 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, along with their IP gateways and MAC addresses.

The Access Points tab contains a lot of important information. It doesn't show 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 a very useful feature 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 made by double-clicking on the desired SSID from the list of the previous “Access Points” tab.

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 utilization 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 capabilities, as a free app, to export the collected data. Thus, it supports saving the network list in a table form in CSV format, logging the results of each scan (useful if you move while scanning), as well as 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 their WiFi Scanner software for non-commercial use that 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, 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, visualized data on data transfer rates, channel load and number of clients are also available. The bottom of the screen displays information about your current connection. In the "Advanced Information" tab you will find various data 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 stored in Windows 10, which may be useful since this latest version of the Windows operating system no longer provides native access and management of this list. 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 the data packets being transmitted. It can be an important part of your go-to toolkit for maintaining and testing WiFi networks, but keep in mind 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 offered for both Windows and macOS operating networks. In this review article, we will look at NetSpot Free version 2.8 - a free, significantly stripped-down 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, with the network details of each SSID 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 the SSID networks selected from the list, are shown. Additionally, each SSID's signal information 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 very limited functionality, which is eloquently shown to us by broken links to a large number of additional features - 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. For each detected network, the following information is available: 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 a particular network, which can be very convenient, since your screen width is clearly not enough to view all the details in the main list. Right-clicking on any network in the list allows you to save data for that specific wireless network or all detected networks to 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 are talking about a graphical presentation of 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, WirelessNetView can still be useful for simple monitoring of wireless networks or small WiFi spaces, especially if you find some of the utility's unique functionality valuable.

Wireless Diagnostics (macOS)

Beginning with OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.4 and later operating systems, Apple provides a 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 be looking 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'll 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 a brief description of network types and the 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 the 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 programs we reviewed for diagnosing WiFi networks has its own 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!

See also:

Get a complete list of analyzed devices and generate editable reports with heat and coverage maps in Word and CSV format, and export results to Google Earth.

Wi-Fi radio survey report

More accurate and complete results are generated automatically V various formats(Word, CSV, KMZ) to evaluate the proper deployment of Wi-Fi infrastructure and process them as you wish.

Do you need to provide a client with a Wi-Fi radio survey report or process the data collected during a coverage analysis in a detailed and clear manner? Acrylic WiFi Heatmaps does this for you with a simple click of a button. Getting a Wi-Fi radio survey report has never been easier.

Download sample reports in various formats!

Generation business reports and advanced category in Word format.

Export results V RAW(csv) and KMZ(Google Earth).

Reports for Wi-Fi consulting at the touch of a button.

Reports are the optimal way to organize the information collected during coverage analysis, present the results of the work to the client, as well as store and subsequently use the data. However, creating reports manually requires a lot of time and resources. With Acrylic WiFi Heatmaps, you can spend your time solving the problems that really matter and let us produce the most comprehensive and detailed reports for all your network inspection projects.

Open the reports section in Acrylic WiFi Heatmaps, select the type of report to generate (technical or executive), configure the sections the report should contain, select the language and format, and then save the document.

The coverage analysis report can be generated in DOCX, CSV and KMZ formats in Spanish, English, French and German.

Forget about PDF reports that can't be edited. Our reports can be edited as you wish: add information, graphic materials, cards, organizing the plan and structure to your liking, and much more.

In the world of technological progress and global computerization, rapidly developing technologies have touched every modern user. Access to the World Wide Web is no longer limited to using just a computer.

Today, in every home, almost all family members, young and old, have one or several different devices with access to the network. In this case, it is very convenient to install a Wi-Fi access point and distribute a signal to any connected equipment. Modern devices such as laptops, tablets, phones have built-in Wi-Fi receivers, making them easy to connect to a network.

A network card, or network adapter, is an integral part of a computer that determines its interaction with the network. With the exception of outdated device models, many laptops and computers are equipped with a network adapter during production. This provides the ability to connect to the Internet without purchasing a separate item. But, despite the built-in adapter, you can and should purchase an additional external device, expanding the possibilities of data exchange.

The network card can be integrated into the motherboard or external. Regardless of the type, it is assigned a Mac address, through which a computer connected to the network is identified.

Wi-Fi network card

The computer can be connected to the Internet physically using a cable connected to the PC’s network port, or wirelessly, which does not require the use of connectors.

A Wi-Fi network card allows the computer to receive a signal from a wireless network. It can be connected to the PCI connector of the motherboard or USB port of a computer, less often to Ethernet (this type of connection is mainly applicable to older devices). A Wi-Fi card plugged into the USB port of a PC or laptop is most convenient in terms of mobility; it can be easily connected to another device if necessary.

In addition to the connection method and appearance, there are differences in the speed and power of the adapter. Some cards can only receive signals, others can also transmit. Adapters equipped with the Soft AP function provide the creation of a Wi-Fi access point.

The range of signal reception and transmission can be carried out over long distances up to hundreds of meters, or limited to a small access area. As in the case of a router, there is no need to use overly powerful network cards for home use, unless, of course, you are going to distribute Wi-Fi to all your neighbors or take over someone else’s signal. In addition, the price will depend on the power of the model, and it is not advisable to overpay for a card that will work in a small area. More robust adapter models are applicable in large areas of offices or enterprises.

How the Wi-Fi adapter works

Access to the Internet via a wireless network is achieved through the joint work of a network card and a router or modem. Wi-Fi technology operates on a specific frequency range. Data exchange with the network is carried out through a router or modem, which communicates with the air via radio waves. For the computer to perceive the radio signal, a network card is used, which reads and converts the signal into an electronic one. All devices equipped with an adapter and located within the range of the router’s transmitter will receive the incoming signal. To digitize data for recognition by the device, the adapter is equipped with a chip and special software that controls the operation of the module. For proper operation, the necessary drivers must be installed.

Types of adapters

All adapters are divided into two main categories:

External. Such network devices are connected via the USB port of a computer or laptop. They are not distinguished by high data transfer speeds, but they pleasantly compensate for this disadvantage with their price, which is why they are the most popular today. In appearance, such adapters look like USB drives. To get started, you need to insert the device into a free port and connect to a wireless connection.

Internal, or built-in. Connect to the PCI connector of the motherboard. To install this type of adapter, you will have to remove the cover of the system unit. The built-in network card is larger than the external one. This type of device has good throughput, resulting in high data transfer rates. The price of the issue will be significantly higher than that of external adapters.

There is another version of devices that is not widely used - card devices (Card-Bus). This type of adapter connects to a PC Card slot, if your computer equipment has one.

Wireless network cards can be connected not only to computers and laptops. A separate niche is occupied by external adapters for TVs. They can be either universal or designed for specific models. If your TV is not equipped with a Wi-Fi receiver, but has a corresponding connector, you can purchase an adapter compatible with it to connect it to a network source.

Network card antennas

A device equipped with an external antenna receives the signal better. Of course, the dimensions of the receiver do not always contribute to comfort, so you can choose an adapter with a removable antenna or with a connector where you can insert it if necessary.

When choosing a device, the antenna power must correspond to the conditions of the location where you want to install the network.

The number of antennas affects the speed of information transmission. Models equipped with removable antennas are very convenient if the router is located far away; if necessary, it is possible to install a more powerful radio wave reception structure. External antennas provide greater range.

Installing and configuring a Wi-Fi adapter

Despite the significant differences in network cards in terms of type and type of connection, they are all configured according to a similar principle.

First, you need to physically connect the adapter to the desired connector on your computer or laptop. Windows will detect the new hardware. Although there are always compatible programs in the system set of programs, for correct operation it is still better to install drivers from the disk that came with the network device. You can also download the necessary software from the manufacturer's official website. Data exchange through the adapter occurs thanks to the driver, which is why it is better to install software that is suitable specifically for your device model.

After installing the Wi-Fi card, a network connection icon will appear, click on it and in the properties of the wireless network connection, find the TCP/IP Internet protocol. Here you need to enter network parameter settings; you need to find them out by contacting your provider’s technical support and fill them in in the fields. Settings can also be assigned automatically. When you have selected the necessary parameters and access points, all that remains is to assign a Mac address to the card. This task is performed by the network administrator; to do this, call technical support and notify about the adapter change and the need to change the Mac address.

When choosing a network device, pay attention not only to functionality, because you will not use all the capabilities of the card, and the price for a wide range of functions will increase several times. Pay attention to some factors, such as the dimensions of your room in which the Wi-Fi network will be used, the distance between the router and the computer, and the thickness of the walls. The manufacturer also plays a significant role in the reliability of products; it is better to choose a proven one that has proven itself in the quality of its products, of which there are many in the computer equipment market. It is advisable to purchase adapters from the same manufacturer as the router or modem, thereby ensuring better compatibility between the devices.