Free Wifi Channel Analyzer Mac

The best free alternative to Wifi Analyzer is NetSpot. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to Wifi Analyzer and many of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to Wifi Analyzer are WiFi Analyzer (Free, Open Source), Vistumbler (Free, Open Source. Changing your WiFi channel can be the difference between a stable connection for your devices, and a connection that makes you want to pull your hair out. Mac OS X Yosemite already has a WiFi scanner to help you find the best WiFi channel, but like in OS X Mavericks, Apple have made it sort of tricky to find.

Free Wifi Channel Analyzer Mac Os
Mac Wifi Scanner
Wifi Analyzer Os X

Scan, visualize, and analyze WiFi coverage. Act as a simple but powerful free WiFi analyzer app. SO, WE RECOMMEND. Free WiFi analyzer app runs on a MacBook (macOS 10.10+) or any laptop (Windows 7/8/10) with a standard 802.11a/b/g/n/ac wireless network adapter.
Acrylic is a free Wi-Fi analyzer that allows users to scan and analyze local wireless routers in a compiled table of relevant details. It provides all the important metrics like MAC address, SSID, RSSI, channel, and vendor.
Here are two free apps you can use on Windows 10 to find the best Wi-Fi channel for your router. Use WiFi Analyzer to Find the Best Wi-Fi Channel. WiFi Analyzer is a free app on the Microsoft Store that you can use to get information for the Wi-Fi networks around you.

Most of us use Wi-Fi every day and don’t give it a second thought until it goes wrong or becomes slow. When that happens, the options open to us are fairly basic. You can switch Wi-Fi on your device off then on again, or you can do the same with your Wi-Fi router or access point. And that’s about it. To get to the root of the problem and fix it properly, we need information about what’s going wrong and where. And that’s where Wi-Fi analyzers come in. These software tools scan your network and build a picture of signals and their strengths, allowing you to identify hotspots, and coldspots, signal interference, and more. Here, we’ll take a look at the best Wi-Fi analyzers available for Mac.

What is a Wi-Fi analyzer?

It’s a piece of software that can scan your Wi-Fi network. It identifies the access points within range and assesses the strength of the signal between your Mac and the access point. They identify dead spots in your home or office, where you just can’t get a Wi-Fi signal and also areas where there might be interference with a signal or where one access point has a stronger signal than another, causing your Mac to try and connect to that one rather than the one you want to connect to.

The best Wi-Fi network analyzers for Mac

1. Wifi Explorer

Wifi Explorer lists all the networks within range of your Mac and displays their SSID, MAC address, device manufacturer, signal strength and more. It also shows a graphical illustration of networks and allows you to see where signals overlap or networks conflict with each other. Each signal is given a rating depending on its signal/noise ratio. There’s also a column in the table where you can add your own notes. Wifi Explorer supports 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, and 20, 40, 60, and 80MHz frequencies. And it works with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax networks.

2. NetSpot

Netspot’s unique selling point is its network survey tool. This allows you to upload a scale plan of your home or office (or draw one inside the app) and then create a heat map of Wi-Fi signals in different locations. When you’re done, you’ll have a color-coded map showing the strength of the signal, the signal-noise-ratio and the signal-to-interference ratio in each location on the plan.

Netspot also has a discovery mode that can identify all the networks within range of where your Mac is at that moment, even those with hidden SSIDs, and tell you the details of the signal from those networks to your Mac. The Home version allows you to see data on up to five networks and to group access points by SSID. There’s also a pro version which adds several more features and access to more networks. NetSpot supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax networks and 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies.

3. WiFi Speed Test tools

WiFi Speed Test tools allows you to test the speed of your broadband connection as well as gather details on Wi-Fi networks within range. There’s a menu bar item that allows you to view the most important details without opening the app. Within the app itself, you can see details of SSIDs and access points, including IP and MAC addresses and even the ISP to which they are connected. You can also filter according to SSID, channel, security, and other details. A graphical display shows which frequencies and channels are in use and where they overlap. And, of course, you can check signal strength, noise, and interference for each network. WiFi Speed Tools also supports macOS’ Dark Mode.

4. iStumbler

iStumbler claims to be the ‘leading wireless discovery tool for macOS’. We’re not sure about that, but it does have a couple of neat features, such as a 3D style map of wireless networks within range. As you would expect, it provides details for each SSID and access point, including signal strength, noise, security type, channel, and more. And there’s a neat channel map, too. Perhaps the best thing about iStumbler, though, is that it doesn’t just analyze Wi-Fi networks, it does the same for Bluetooth, too. It shows details of each connected Bluetooth device including its MAC address, device name and type, and signal strength. And there’s also a tool for analyzing Bonjour devices on the network.

5. WiFi Scanner

WiFI Scanner does the same job as the other tools here, though it’s most like Wifi Explorer. It supplies all the data you need to analyze wireless networks and identify hot and cold spots, as well as interference and channel overlap. You can also export data as a CSV or HTML file. Where WiFi Scanner comes into its own is in the way it allows you to choose icons and names for connected devices. That allows you to see much more clearly who and what is connected to your network at any one time.

6. iAnalyzeWifi

iAnalyzeWifi is all about colorful graphs to make it easy to see what’s happening on your network, or any other network within range. It displays charts showing channels and signal strength, and each device on the network is represented in a different color. You can print out any of the reports or save them as a PDF. You won’t find some of the in-depth data and analysis that’s available in, for example, NetSpot, but if your main interest is signal strength and channel congestion, this may be all you need.

7. iWifi

Like WiFi Speed Test Tools, iWifi allows you to test the speed of your internet connection as well as analyze your local network. It’s dashboard-like display shows ping time, download speed and upload speed and, as well as providing numerical results, labels each as excellent, normal or poor. It also provides the usual information on Wi-Fi networks, access points and SSIDs, including signal strength, noise, and channel details. iWifi does one more thing too. It does a security check to tell you whether the network you're connected to is a phishing risk, or whether the router has security issues, or even if the public Wi-Fi network you think you’re connected to is fake.

Other ways to monitor Wi-Fi networks

If you don’t want to install a Wi-Fi analyzer, a native Mac app, CleanMyMac X can provide information about the speed of the Wi-Fi network you’re connected to.

So how to check your Wi-Fi speed using it?
Download a free edition of the app here (a link to the developer’s site)
Install the app and click on the small iMac icon in the Menu bar.

Just click the menu bar item, and, under Network, choose Test Speed. It will tell you the upload and download speed as well as what you can comfortably do at that speed.

Quite funny that the dropdown option tells me what I can do with that speed🙂.

CleanMyMac X’s Privacy module can also clear out the details of Wi-Fi networks you’ve connected to in the past but won’t need again. Did you know your Mac logs and stores the SSID of every Wi-Fi network it has connected to? In some circumstances, this could be a privacy risk, allowing others to see where you’ve been.

Finally, CleanMyMac X’s Maintenance module has a tool that makes it easy to flush the DNS cache on your Mac. When server IP addresses change, DNS databases become outdated and the cache may slow down your Mac when it tries to connect to websites. So clearing out the cache is a good way of resolving network performance problems.

There’s no shortage of really useful tools for analyzing Wi-Fi networks on your Mac and they provide a wealth of detailed information. But if you don’t need all the information you provide, and you just want to know the speed of your Wi-Fi network and internet connection, the free version of CleanMyMac X can tell you all that.

Get an app that fixes WiFi

WiFi Explorer analyzes and troubleshoots your network.

WiFi is something we all take advantage of, day to day, which makes it frustrating when your WiFi signal isn't reliable. Like so much technology we use often, we expect WiFi to just work!

But it doesn’t always “just work,” and finding the answers for why your WiFi is failing or not as performant can be confusing. Not to worry – we’ve got you covered. Here we’ll discuss the best Mac WiFi analyzer apps, why you should have a WiFi analyzer for Mac, and what a great analyzer can do for you.

What is WiFi Analyzer?

Here’s a scenario we’ve all run into often: our Mac or iPhone says it has a WiFi signal, but you can’t get online. There’s a WiFi available, and your device is accessing it, but nothing is happening.

Sometimes it’s your internet service provider; the company you get internet access through may be experiencing difficulties or disruptions, which can affect you. More often, it’s your WiFi signal that’s having issues. Something about the signal getting from the router in your home or via public WiFi is causing your signal to become unreliable, which can render you unproductive.

A WiFi analyzer helps you diagnose what the issue really is without toggling your computer or router off. While the ‘turn it off and on’ ethos often works, it’s not always indicative of what’s going on. With a proper WiFi analyzer, Mac computers can stay online via the strongest signal available.

Reasons why you might need to use WiFi Analyzer App

You may be wondering why you need a Mac OS WiFi analyzer. Finding the best wifi analyzer Mac computers can use will help you stay online, discover why your internet signal is poor, and how to fix it quickly.

Here are a few reasons to get a WiFi analyzer for your Mac:

Your home WiFi has dead spots. As you use your Mac around the home, you notice videos don’t stream clearly in some spots, or web pages don’t load as quickly.
Your Mac says you have a WiFi connection, but nothing is happening. We’ve all been there: your Mac says you’re connected to the internet, and your router indicates everything is fine – but pages won’t load and email isn’t coming through.
You have multiple WiFi signals available. Sometimes there are multiple signals available to you, but knowing which is best can be a guessing game. With a WiFi scanner, Mac devices can analyze signal strength and reliability with ease. When your device knows WiFi signal strength Mac lets you switch signals easily; and a WiFi scanner tells you in real-time if something changes with an internet connection.

Best WiFi Analyzers for macOS

Okay, now that you know why you want a WiFi analyzer for your Mac – which are the best?

There’s no single solution. Everyone’s needs are unique, and finding the right WiFi analyzer may take a bit of trial and error – but don’t worry, we’ve got some great advice for you. Here are some excellent services and apps for analyzing and troubleshooting your Mac’s WiFi connectivity.

Mac Wireless Diagnostics Tool

Your Mac has a built-in wireless diagnostics tool that does a serviceable job of monitoring your WiFi signal. It’s a bit hidden, though, so carefully follow the instructions below to use it:

Hold down the option key on your Mac keyboard, and select the WiFi icon in your Mac’s menu bar (Note: You can also press command+space and enter “wireless diagnostics” into Siri Spotlight Search to open your Mac’s wireless diagnostics tool.)
Select “Open Wireless Diagnostics” from the menu
In the ensuing popup window, select “Continue”

Your Mac will analyze your WiFi signal strength, and discover if it is working properly. If it isn’t working as your Mac feels it should, it will produce a report of all the things wrong with it at the time the tool was run, and create a summary of topics you should read up on (like “best practices”) or items that may fix your signal.

As you can imagine, this is limiting. Not only does the report only examine a snippet of time, it takes a long while to produce a report, which doesn’t give you a real-time look at how your WiFi signal is performing. By the time your Mac is done creating a report on why the WiFi signal is poor, that same signal could have improved!

There are some impressive apps that do a much better job of analyzing, troubleshooting, and diagnosing your Mac’s WiFi in real-time.

NetSpot

When you’re analyzing a WiFi signal, chances are you’re met with a lot of data that’s difficult to make sense of. NetSpot has all of that data, too, but has one of the best visual representations of your Mac’s WiFi signal strength we’ve ever seen.

NetSpot’s main menu shows you a network’s name, channel, band, and other items like its signal-to-noise ratio. These are all really handy bits of data when you know what you’re looking for, but sometimes a visual aide is better.

Selecting a WiFi signal and selecting ‘details’ on the bottom left of the NetSpot window brings up a real-time visual representation of that signal’s strength. You can also select multiple WiFi signals to compare them side by side on this evolving graphic; a great option for those with multiple signals or channels available in their home!

Another excellent feature of NetSpot is its ability to map your home, and discover dead spots for WiFi coverage. Rather than assuming why your signal strength is diminished in an area, NetSpot lets you know exactly where it’s not as great throughout your home!

WiFi Explorer

Where NetSpot has unique windows for visual graphics and data, WiFi Explorer keeps it all in one window so you don’t have to navigate. It uses familiar sidebar options for discovering more about a signal, or navigating the app – but its main information window is where all the data is displayed.

You will see all of the data you’re looking for, like channel, signal strength, bands, and even the maximum speeds the band is capable of. Selecting a new WiFi signal automatically triggers the visual graphics at the bottom of the window to display that signal’s data in a morphing graph. You can even select bars on the center graph to change the view in the signal-strength app on the left side; a great option for those with mesh networks who are experiencing poor signal performance when they shouldn't be.

iStumbler

iStumbler is another great app for discovering which WiFi networks are available to you, and getting detailed information on their signal strength, including the signal to noise ratio for each signal. The app also has a great map view that shows you where routers are placed, providing a holistic view of how WiFi in your area is laid out, and where you may find the best signal.

WiFi Scanner

Another native Mac app, WiFi Scanner is much like WiFi Explorer in that it provides a single window that displays all the information about available WiFi signals in your area. It also has graphs to view when you’re more interested in visual aids and allows you to toggle the information seen on-screen to suit your needs.

Monitor your Network connections

Sometimes you don’t need a ton of info, but you need to know why your WiFi is underperforming quickly. That’s where iStat Menus steps in. It lives in your menu bar, and provides quick-glance access to information like CPU performance, battery health, and yes – network performance.

iStat Menus has drop-down menus that provide high-level information about your WiFi signal, and hovering over items can surface even more sub-menus with additional data. Though it lives in your menu bar, iStat Menus can actually give some pretty granular detail on how your WiFi is performing. The menu bar icons show you upload and download speeds, too.

Conclusion

WiFi shouldn’t be a mystery. We tend to think of it as a thing that should ‘just work’ but it often doesn’t. Simple fixes like unplugging the modem and router for a short time may work, but they’re not indicative of what the problems are.

Instead, find a WiFi analyzer app that suits your needs, and offers the features you want. So often, simply switching to a better WiFi signal is the fix you need.