The sad thing about inSSIDer is it stopped being free and became a shareware application from version 3 onwards. Do be aware that NetSpot crashed for us on first run but appeared to work fine after a system reboot. The frequency of the signal strength scanning can be either left at the default of 5 seconds or changed to 10, 30 or 60 seconds. Also available is a Tabular Data window that shows the same data as the graph but in text form.

This has a Signal tab which shows a graph of the signal strength over a period of time, the last 5, 30, or 60 minutes can be shown in the window at once. Double click on the target network to open the details window. The program starts in Discover mode which shows available wireless networks along with some general statistics. In addition to a standard WiFi discovery and monitoring section it also has a site survey feature that allows for the relative network signal strengths to be plotted onto a map of your building or local area. NetSpot is a free wireless network signal analysis and troubleshooting tool available for both Mac and Windows computers. Here we list 5 free tools that show a graph for your wireless signal so you can watch it over a period of time to see how it behaves. Watching how your WiFi signal behaves over several minutes or even hours could help identify if the current location for it is ideal or causing problems. To get a better idea how the signal is behaving and whether it gets affected by other factors it’s a good idea to monitor the signal strength over a period of time. Windows and most bundled WiFi software allows you to see how good the current wireless signal is. These include walls, floors, ceilings, electrical appliances, anything emitting radiation or electromagnetism, and of course distance to the router. There are many factors that can affect the quality and strength of a WiFi network connection. If the router is placed in a poor location the signal could be weak, intermittent or cause constant dropouts. Because of that it’s important the WiFi router is placed in the best available location to give the longest range and strongest signal to as many devices as possible. Wireless internet is everywhere these days and you could have several WiFi capable devices connected to your own wireless network.

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