Linukh Wi-Fi network test programs. Diagnostics of Wi-Fi networks and detection of free channels

Yes, the operating system will let you find and connect to nearby networks, but what about add-ons? What if you need to have detailed information on all the Wi-Fi networks around you, need to fix problems with your network, turn your laptop into a portable Wi-Fi hotspot, or stay safe on public hotspots? Windows won't help you with all of this.

That's why we've found six apps for you. They do everything Windows can't and more. Five of the six apps are free, while the sixth is not expensive at all.

From MetaGeek is an excellent tool for searching and collecting information on Wi-Fi networks in the area where your computer is located. The program is also useful in solving problems with your own network WiFi.

For all found WiFi networks, InSSIDer shows the MAC address of the router, the manufacturer of the router (if the program can determine it - usually it can), the channel in use, the SSID or public network name, security type, network speed, and the like. In addition, the program shows the current signal strength of the network.

How would you use the program to solve problems with your wireless network? If you see that a nearby network with a strong signal is on the same channel as you, you would change the channel of your network (most routers allow this) to avoid potential conflicts.

The program also allows you to identify "dead zones" in your area, where there is no sufficiently reliable Wi-Fi signal. To do this, just walk around your home or office with InSSIDer turned on. In the future, you can either avoid these places or try to rearrange your router.

Whether you're looking to fix problems with your network or find Wi-Fi hotspots to connect to, InSSIDer is the program you'll want to download and try out.

Price: Free
Compatibility: Windows XP, Vista and 7 (32-bit and 64-bit)
Download InSSIDer

Here's another great program for finding Wi-Fi networks and providing information about them, like how far away they are from you. The radar-like screen shows all nearby hot spots. A separate panel offers detailed information on all found hotspots, including signal strength, network type (for example, 802.11n), router manufacturer, transmission channel, etc.

Next to the radar, the panel provides even more detailed information about the network you are currently connected to, including your personal IP address, external IP address, DNS, gateway information, etc.

Why use Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector over MetaGeek InSSIDer? For example, because the simpler and more understandable layout of Wi-Fi Inspector simplifies the presentation of information on hot spots. The program also shows the relative physical distance of you from the hot spot. And, probably, no one will deny the usefulness of the radar itself.

However, InSSIDer is better than Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector in terms of getting more detailed information about surrounding Wi-Fi networks.

Price: Free
Compatibility: Windows XP SP2+, Vista and 7
Download Xirrus WiFi Inspector

is a wonderful, free program that allows you to turn a Windows 7 computer (the program only works with Windows 7) into a Wi-Fi hotspot, which can then be used by nearby devices - like a smartphone, or colleagues' tablets.

Of course, the computer itself, which you would like to turn into a Wi-Fi hotspot, must be connected to the Internet and support Wi-Fi. At the same time, the Internet connection does not have to be wired at all (although it does not hurt), because the computer's Wi-Fi card can perform a dual function - on the one hand, act as a Wi-Fi receiver, and on the other, as a transmitter.

Setting up a hotspot is simple: once connected to the Internet, launch Connectify, give your hotspot a name, and set a password. Thereafter WiFi card your computer will start broadcasting a Wi-Fi signal that other devices can connect to. It is worth noting that your computer will work on the Wi-Fi protocol under which it was created. In addition, it will also support older protocols. So, for example, the 802.11n signal will allow you to connect devices with 802.11b/g/n.

Setting a password will restrict access to the Internet by strangers. The hotspot signal itself is protected by WPA2-PSK encryption.

Connectify you can even use to set up a LAN without external connection to the Internet. Run the program as a hotspot and nearby devices will be able to connect to its network, even if you don't have Internet access. This can be used, for example, to transfer files within working group or for multiplayer games.

It's worth noting that connecting my Mac to a hotspot based on a Windows 7 computer and Connectify caused me problems. However, other computers and devices connected without problems.

A router today is in almost every home. But such an abundance WiFi routers could not but affect the quality of the signal. Very often, networks overlap one another and there are interruptions in the Internet signal.. And this despite the fact that he is strong and nothing visible should interfere with him.

The reason just may be the imposition of several access points on one channel. For apartment buildings this problem especially relevant. Only the user needs to distinguish between signal and router problems. So very often they confuse the complete freezing of a smartphone on the Android platform at the stage of downloading torrent files. Here the reason is different.

Wi-Fi breaks can proceed as follows:

A tablet, a smartphone behave as they want - when they are normally connected to the network signal, when they are not connected at all;
A sharp drop in download speed for no good reason (and low speed observed on internal resources);
Communication is lost in a certain place of 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 wireless routers. In the future, the congestion of this channel leads to low speed and disconnections.

To quickly solve the problem means to change the channel. Most users do not even know how to analyze such a situation and how to change the "Auto" setting on their router.

How to change the communication channel to different types routers can be read at this link.

Changing the automatic selection of a network channel on an Asus router

Analyzer programs for computers with Windows 7, 8 and 10

Analyze Status wireless network free programs that can be downloaded on the Internet without problems for:

smartphones with different platforms;
laptops and PCs.

There are thirteen channels in total for signal transmission in Russia. So, of these 13 channels, the first, sixth and eleventh do not intersect. But not all countries use 13, in the USA, for example, only 12 are allowed. different versions operating system have their own peculiarities in the use of certain channels.

Schematic display 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 fix access to this channel.

OS version 7 also does not see channels greater than 12. Therefore, when choosing another unloaded channel, this must be taken into account.

Just programs - analyzers are needed in order to identify free channels, configure the router for them and work calmly.

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

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

inSSIDer 4 - download ;
Free WiFi Scanner - download;

These programs will help you learn more useful information about networks. You can recognize the type of security, signal speed. Convenient graphs help 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

Network analysis example with InnSider

When downloading the program from the official site, 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, the program must be purchased.

Channel occupancy analysis

As you can see from the picture, after the 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

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

Downloading the program from Google Play

After installation, you can go into the program and analyze the communication channels. You will immediately see at what frequency the router is operating, and on what channel. All this will be indicated on the available charts. It is enough to select in the settings - channels and properties.

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

That is, in an illustrative example, nothing needs to be changed, 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 asterisks.

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

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

Signal strength indicator

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

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

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

Changing Wireless Network Settings

A window appears, "advanced settings" are selected in it, and then the main 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 the free channel in it that was shown by any program for analyzing communication channels.

Selecting and saving a new communication channel

After that, the connection may be interrupted for a short time and restarted again. If this does not happen, you need to check the router settings again and if a dialog box appears in the upper right corner asking you to save the changes, you need to click and save it. After that, the data transfer and download speed should increase.

With the help of such simple manipulations, any user can today correct small errors in the operation of the wireless network in his apartment without calling the masters and without paying for their services.

So, how to choose this very high-speed and high-frequency wireless communication channel?

Run the analyzer program;
Define 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) on this frequency, for example, reception speed and jumps;
Set the selected free channel with a high reception frequency - reconfigure the router, accept the changes.

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

Today, wireless networks have become the most respectable way to connect to high-speed Internet. Access points can be found almost everywhere, from apartment buildings to public places like car stops, cafeterias, and so on. In addition, quite often you can stumble upon a WI-FI network that is not blocked by a password, which makes it possible to freely and completely free of charge receive network traffic to your device. But how to determine which of the access points will give you the highest speed and connection quality?

WIFI analyzers - what is it?

The standard interface of almost any mobile or stationary operating system does not provide complete information about available networks, so analyzers are in great demand today. The analyzer is a special software, whose main task is to provide comprehensive information about access points.

WIFI Analyzer networks can be useful to you at any time, for example, when hiking, moving to a new place of residence, and even at the railway station, because today you can meet a couple there open networks. Thanks to a small piece of software, you will find out all the information you need about a particular network, including the number of connected clients, connection level, signal strength, and the like. In addition, some analyzers allow you to slightly improve the quality of the Internet and improve the level of reception.

WiFi Analyzer for Windows

WiFi Analyzer is a completely free program available for download from the Microsoft Store on any device that has an operating system installed. Windows system 8/8.1/10. In the standard interface, you can only see the signal level, which is displayed in the form of bars and sometimes incorrectly. Any modern laptop and even desktop computer equipped with a WiFi adapter, so the application can play into your hands. In order to download it, you should do the following:

Enter the Start menu and drive into the search "Store" (Windows 10);
Using the search, you can easily find the WiFi Analyzer application;
Press the "Get" key and wait for the download and installation to complete;
Use the application by finding it in the Start menu.

WiFi analyzer for iOS

AppStore is a store of various applications and games for devices based on the iOS operating system, which includes a lot of good decisions. In general, the work of the analyzer on mobile devices differs little from the above described version. There is a similar application for Windows on "apple" smartphones and even has the same name. A feature of this software is the fact that it displays absolutely all available networks and their signal strength in relation to your device, so you can always choose the best option. In general, if you are looking for a WiFi scanner for Apple smartphones, then definitely choose WiFi Analyzer, because it will give an excellent result.

However, there are situations when the application refuses to function on a smartphone, so you can use various alternatives. Based on reviews in App Store, users appreciate the Network Analyzer Lite application very well, which can not only improve the quality of the connection, but also automatically detect and correct all sorts of problems, if any. Another curious program called WiFi Explorer, which is regularly updated with new functionality, has long been in the recommendations of the Apple device owner community.

Download free app WiFi Analyzer for smartphones and tablets based on Android OS you can Google Play market. By entering the name of the program in the search, you will see a list of several applications with the same name, you can test them all or opt for one software, the choice is always yours. It is strongly recommended to use the software that has the most positive feedback from users. To download the analyzer you will need Account Google, by entering which on your device you will be able to operate any service, including the Play Market.

For the Android platform, there are several other reliable applications that have 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 software

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

For devices from Apple an application called Network Info II is suitable, which can display all the information about nearby networks on your screen. It is very convenient to operate due to the 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 the applications for desktop solutions, the highly popular Acrylic WiFi Home software deserves special attention. Unlike other programs, this one does not only work with versions of Windows that support Metro. Rich functionality, a multi-frequency scanner and a user-friendly interface are available to you completely free of charge.

An example of the work of a Wi-Fi analyzer

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

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

For Windows, there are dozens, but such as WiFi SiStr unique in its kind. It's about extreme simple application, which will allow you, as a user, to find out the signal strength of any Wi-Fi point. Of course, if it is within the range of the sensor.

Interestingly, the strength of the wireless signal is shown digitally on the screen. After you click downloadWiFi SiStr and install the program, a small panel will appear on the desktop. You can place it anywhere on the screen: at the bottom, at the top, or even in the middle. It will show the digital and graphic values of the signal level.

It often happens that the user cannot access the site for unknown reasons - especially if you are connected via Wi-Fi. There is another situation: the client for messaging periodically interrupts the connection - you have to constantly reconnect. To solve this problem, just look at the signal status panel and make sure that it is quite enough for a stable and fast Internet. If you have the WiFi SiStr program, then doing this is quite simple.

WiFi SiStr Features:

Flexible in setting. Despite the panel's simple interface, you can even customize it. Just click on the status bar right click mouse - and you will see a menu with settings.
Comfortable. You can monitor the signal level directly on the desktop of your PC or laptop.
It does not consume a lot of system resources, it is not just small - it has a miniature size.
For correct operation WiFi SiStr you need .NETFramework version 1.1 and above.
At startup, it always minimizes to tray and does not interfere with the work at the computer at all.

The article deals with free software (software) under the control Microsoft Windows, which allows you to perform a preliminary analysis of the radio coverage of the territory for the presence of third-party equipment operating in the 2.4/5 GHz Wi-Fi band. Comparison made technical features the software in question.

Introduction

In wireless networks, the communication channel between the transmitter and receiver is open, which greatly complicates the analysis of radio signal propagation in the territory of the network being designed. And even more annoying is that neighboring wireless equipment through this "open" channel can have a negative impact on your network. Therefore, radio survey of the territory plays a very important role in the design of a Wi-Fi network. Some experts claim that a radio survey is a completely unnecessary stage, referring to the fact that surrounding networks are also constantly appearing, developing, modernizing, transferring, etc. But you must admit, it’s better to know in advance that a giant network of points lives near you access to a neighboring office, and take appropriate measures (for example, move to other non-overlapping frequency channels), than later encounter radio wave interference problems and, as a result, the low bandwidth of your "open" communication channel.

To date, there is a sufficient amount of software that allows you to assess the level of the ambient electromagnetic background in the 2.4/5 GHz bands. This article discusses programs running under OS Windows.

1.Acrylic WiFi

Acrylic Wi-Fi is the newest free network scanner that displays available wireless networks, their specifications(protocol, channel, maximum speed etc.) as well as information about their level of protection. The program even includes a list wifi passwords, which are used by default access points.

Acrylic has a paid professional version with advanced features to detect wireless security issues. Also in this version, the program performs a radio survey of the territory and offers to select the optimal channels in the network to ensure the most correct operation. The appearance of the program is shown in Figure 1:

Figure 1 - Appearance of the Acrylic Wi-Fi program

V free version its capabilities remain rather scarce, limited by the output of the information shown in the screenshot above (Figure 1), namely: the transmitted access point - SSID; her MAC address; RSSI - signal level; Chan - number of the channel used for transmission; 802.11x - Wi-Fi transmission standard; Max Speed - maximum speed; WEP/WPA/PWA2 - Encryption type. An excellent feature is that the program shows on which access points WPS 1.0 / 2.0 is enabled, because it is no secret to anyone that this WPS 1.0 has long been a kind of "back door" for any network. It also displays related information about the manufacturer (Vendor) and the type of network in which the access point operates (Type), or in other words: does it have Internet access, or does it make no sense to break it (just kidding). For more pathos, a graph is displayed showing changes in the signal level from various access points over time (lower right in Figure 1).

In general, the listed set of functions is limited to the paid version acrylic wifi. Pretty meager, given that long before this program, software appeared that could do more.

It’s hard to find fault with the professional version of the program, they stuffed quite a lot of useful functions there, for example, the program itself will indicate access points that negatively affect your network. Acrylic allows you to generate reports on the status of Wi-Fi networks with detailed characteristics of access points and send them to the communicator or administrator's computer.

Resume on acrylic wifi: when working with this program, I got the feeling that it was made entirely on the Kali Linux platform, with the only difference being that the graphical shell was added to work from under Windows. The paid version is enhanced by the fact that it allows generating reports in HTML format and helps the user make decisions about setting up a network without going into technical details. Thus, I would rate the free version of the program at three points on a five-point scale, it can be classified as software for "beginners", the paid version of the program deserves a slightly higher rating of three plus (due to report generation). However, in general, the program remains weak in terms of its technical capabilities. In addition, it contains a bunch of distracting links leading to the developer's website and profiles on google+, Facebook, twitter, etc. Which in general creates the impression not of a technical application, but of a program for entertainment, when, having nothing to do, I decided to "monitor" neighboring Wi-Fi access points.

2. WiFi Scanner

This software can show detailed information about 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac networks near you, as well as access point parameters and signal strength. The program also has a paid and free version, unlike the previous software, they do not differ in functionality. After installing the program, you can use it for 30 days, after which you need to register it - free of charge for personal use, or buy it - in case of commercial use of the software. The appearance of the program is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 - Appearance WiFi programs Scanner

As in the previous software, information about available networks is displayed in the main column, but the information is more extended. The presence of additional columns: Achievable rate - the actually achievable data transfer rate, Channel Width - the channel width used, Spatial stream - spatial streams (here we are talking about MIMO technology), Channel Utilization - how busy the data transfer channel is, and more extended information about the security protocols used , and specifically - the type of encryption: CCMP / TKIP / WEP / or a combination of them.

In the free version of this program, all the functions listed in the professional version of Acrylic Wi-Fi are available. In particular: Figure 3 shows a graph of the signal strength from available Wi-Fi networks. Very convenient and intuitive.

Figure 3

Figure 4 provides extended information about one of the surrounding networks. In this case, this network with the same name Rostelecom.

Figure 4

Resume on WiFi Scanner: In my opinion, the design of this program is quite "light" in terms of perception of the displayed information, and the location of all buttons and tabs is intuitive. This program is an excellent solution for private use, and for commercial use, the prices are reasonable. The program deserves an excellent rating.

3. Homedale

Belongs to the class of "weak". From a technical point of view, the program has glitches and shortcomings, but it works on the latest Windows versions. The program is easy to use, but it only allows you to evaluate the signal level coming from the access point, and some information already listed in the previous software products. The program does not see hardware manufacturers and does not always determine the model of the access point whose network it has detected. Moreover, the signal strength from the access point is also not always able to determine. The appearance of the main program window is shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5

The program does not provide filters in any way, therefore, for example, on the power distribution graph of available access points by channels, it is impossible to remove connections that are “uninteresting” for us, so it simply shows such uninformative stuffing (Figure 6):

Figure 6

Given the incomplete performance of this program, it is assessed, to put it mildly, "unsatisfactorily." The program is rather weak compared to other similar free software distributed throughout the Internet.

4. Outdated monitoring software

Add to list outdated programs there are those that either do not support the "modern" Wi-Fi standards - IEEE 802.11n / ac, or no longer work under Windows 7/8/8.1/10. And the appearance of these programs is rather depressing, which is not pleasing to the eye.

Network Stumbler is a lightweight wireless network monitoring tool for Windows. Its development stopped at the support of 802.11 a / b / g standards, that is, it monitors the network only in the 2.4 range, excluding five gigahertz. The software works on Microsoft systems Windows up to and including XP.

WirelessNetView was once a great tool for monitoring Wi-Fi networks, but is now somewhat outdated.

Wireless Network Watcher - originally created to detect and analyze Wi-Fi networks. I once used it myself, the utility scanned local networks, including wireless. The program displays a list of all devices connected in this moment to the network being scanned. The device information output table contains such information as: IP, MAC address, device name and adapter manufacturer. The list can be exported to HTML. On the issue of analyzing Wi-Fi networks, her attitude is rather mediocre, because in order to get information about a Wi-Fi network, you need to connect to it. In this review, she got in fact simply because of her specific name.

Instead of a conclusion

The Acrylic Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Scanner programs listed above belong to the class of those free programs, which keep up with the times and are able to monitor access points operating on the relatively recent IEEE 802.11ac. In addition to the programs considered, there are also no less famous ones that were not included in this review, among which inSSIDer is a completely and completely paid software recently. In addition, a large number of programs running Os Android, Mac Os and Linux are available on the network. But that is another story.