A good wireless scanner app supports all modern WiFi standards. While your home router may have a yellowish tint due to its age, Wi-Fi Alliance has been actively improving the WiFi technology to achieve wider ranges, fewer problems with interference, and faster speeds. Just because your router doesn’t support the latest WiFi standard doesn’t mean there aren’t other routers nearby that do. Wifi Scanner by AccessAgility LLC is next WiFi analyzer app for Mac on our list that also detects access points and clients in ad-hoc mode in case the SSID is broadcasted. WiFi Scanner Mac WiFi analyzer tool offers WiFi download and upload speed testing to uncover possible issues. It can also help you detect unauthorized devices on your.
Why Should I Use a WiFi Scanner App?
We live in the era of wireless communication. Most modern electronic devices are WiFi-enabled, constantly sending and receiving packets of information to offer users interesting and useful features, to stay up to date, and to help manufacturers learn more about the likes and dislikes of their customers. Likewise, we have gotten used to accessing the web and conversing with our friends and family from anywhere and at any time.
Even though our lives now depend on wireless Internet access and its quality, we seldom bother to do anything to improve it. We defeatedly accept having a strong WiFi signal on one side of the bedroom but not on the other side. And we don’t even consider that online videos could load just a fast when our neighbors are at work as when they are at home, also streaming high-definition movies and TV shows.
Wireless scanners are an antidote to this passive attitude. They show what exactly must be improved to achieve shorter loading times and better coverage. Some do this for free, while others cost money. Some target home users, while others are designed for network professionals and IT experts. But despite their differences, all wireless scanners make it easier to understand why it sometimes takes just a few steps in the wrong direction to go from five bars to only one or none.
If you’re currently unsatisfied with the performance of your home WiFi, or if you would like to extend your WiFi coverage so that no room in your home is without WiFi, you need a WiFi scanner app. More specifically, you need a WiFi scanner app that fits your needs and your expertise level. In the next section, we cover some of the most important features that every good wireless scanner app should have.
Description
Name: WiFi Scanner
Version: 2.7.7
Release Date: December 19, 2016
Language: English
Developer: AccessAgility
MAS Rating: 4+
Mac Platform: Intel
OS Version: OS X 10.8 or later
Processor type(s) & speed: 64-bit processor
Web Site: http://wifiscanner.com/wifiscanner.html
Mac App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/app/wifi-scanner/id411680127?mt=12
Overview:
Using WiFi Scanner you’ll see nearby wireless access points and their details, including channels, signal levels (RSSI), noise, channel width, and MAC address, signal quality, maximum data rate, encryption, and much more. Also includes upload and download speed testing to quickly measure and analyze WiFi Internet performance problems.
“…your wireless router is fighting for spectrum with its neighbors, potentially slowing you down and making your Internet experience less pleasurable. …WiFi Scanner helps you solve this problem by showing you all the access point(s) nearby, and suggesting the best configuration settings to get the most out of your router.”– MacWorld
Simple, fast wireless network discovery of 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac access points. WiFi Scanner is great for determining the best position for an access point at home or in the office. After selecting the best position, the optimal channel to use can be determined by selecting the least used channel resulting in improved WiFi speeds.
Key Features
▪ Simple, fast wireless network discovery of 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac access points.
▪ Connect to detected networks using join button
▪ Full support for both 2.4 and 5 GHz networks
▪ Support for all channel bandwidths (20, 40, 80, and 160 MHz)
▪ Display detailed wireless network parameters: network name (SSID), signal level (RSSI), MAC address (BSSID), signal quality, channel, maximum data rate, encryption, etc.
▪ Display changes in signal level over time in graphical form.
▪ Filter list of detected wireless networks by specified parameters (SSID/network name, channel, channel band, signal strength)
▪ Display wireless connection statistics in the form of graphs and tables.
▪ Give each access point a custom label
▪ Export results to comma separated value (CSV) files
▪ Generate summary reports in HTML format
WiFi Speed Testing
▪ Upload and download WiFi speed testing
▪ Use speed testing feature to troubleshoot WiFi networks
▪ Auto run speed test when client roams to different access point
▪ Auto repeat speed test with wait time between tests
“Who’s On My Network” (IP Scanner)
▪ Fast IP scanner that detects unknown devices connected to your WiFi network.
▪ Detects hostnames, determines the MAC address, and in some cases can auto-detect device type (phone, laptop, router, etc).
▪ Configured icon for discovered devices is saved for future scans.
▪ Scanning results can be saved to CSV file via menu export option.
▪ Great for finding WiFi “Piggybackers”.
Advanced Features (supported by some access points)
▪ Display access point name if configured by network administrator
▪ Display number of devices connected to each access point
▪ Display channel utilization
▪ Display if 802.11r is enabled and type
▪ Display if WiFi protection mechanisms are enabled
Help and Support
▪ Included Help clearly explains features and all app screens
▪ Email: [email protected]
▪ Twitter: @accessagility
WiFi Scanner is the most feature rich and complete WiFi scanning app on the app store and is a great tool for personal use and for IT professionals. All features available on 10.7 and later (Lion, Mountain Lion, Mavericks, and Yosemite, El Capitan, Sierra. Use WiFi scanner to find WiFi dead zones and select the best configuration for your WiFi access point / router to prevent video buffering.
What’s New in Version 2.7.7:
Free Wifi Scanner For Mac
– performance improvement – scan results load faster on launch
– improved 802.11 information element parsing – should fix issue where a few users where not seeing scan results
– other bug fixes