The 2.4 GHz frequency range, which most routers operate on, is divided into several channels.Įach of these channels has a WiFi channel width of just 20 MHz, but the individual channels are spaced only 5 MHz apart. This happens because the WiFi frequency range is inherently limited. Now, common household appliances and even our cars require an Internet connection to download updates from remote servers, upload diagnostic information, and make available all the features they come with.Īs more people than ever connect to the Internet wirelessly, the density of WiFi networks increases and it becomes difficult to achieve decent download and upload speeds. It’s no longer just our personal electronic devices that connect to the Internet. For trying out a router around the house, is way better than pen & paper.Why Do I Need to Use a Wireless Channel Scanner? Netgear WiFi Analytics is perfect for setting up a WiFi network, in the absence of professional equipment. The last two screens are graphical visualizations of channel and signal strength (or triangles and snakes without apples). Netgear also recommends the best channel configuration that you should tune to. The Network Status and Channel Interference display what networks are in reach and whether they interfere on any of the available channels. In this way you can easily convert this data into a mental/visual representation of how the waves behave. The readings will be noted in their respective entries.

You can set up entries for different areas of your home (or office if you like) and perform tests for each.

There isn't much else an app can do, however, Netgear features a very useful notepad. You can also set for how many seconds the app should scan. The main screen gauges the signal with a much higher detail. Netgear Wifi Analytics provides a bit more insight into how WiFi signals work locally. However, there must be an easier method to do it than walking around with pen and paper while staring at your phone's WiFi signal strength lines. Deciding on a better position for the router is not generally that hard. Too many corners may prevent the totally safe waves from reaching the most important areas of your home, such as the bathroom or bedroom. Walls can be too big an obstacle for short range radio waves such as ones emitted from WiFi routers.

Netgear wifi channel scanner