Wi-Fi networks are the most used internet networks by individuals and organisations across the world. Most devices available today are enabled with Wi-Fi connectivity. Smartphones, televisions, smartwatches, cameras, audio systems, and many other devices are enabled with Wi-Fi connectivity.
Many businesses use BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies which allow their employees to connect freely to their Wi-Fi networks. When multiple devices connect to a network, they tend to slow down the network making the browser speeds crawl. Users can experience problems like slow browsing speeds and downloads.
Therefore, it becomes essential to test the Wi-Fi networks and troubleshoot them for errors. There are both software and hardware tools for testing a Wi-Fi network. Let us explore the best tools for Wi-Fi testing in this post.
Airmagnet Wi-Fi analyzer Pro.
It is a comprehensive Wi-Fi network analyzer software tool manufactured by NetAlly. The tool helps the technicians to analyze the real-time wireless traffic on a network. In addition to the traffic, it provides an overview of network connectivity, coverage, throughput, performance and security issues.
The software also helps the users generate reports for regulatory compliance. The tool offers various useful features like traffic analyzer, automatic troubleshooting, interference detection, and WLAN client roaming analysis.
WiFiInfoview by NirSoft.
The WiFiInfoview is a free Wi-Fi network scanner. It surveys the Wi-Fi network connected to your computer and provides you with a wide array of information. It provides information like SSID, signal quality, channel number, hardware address (MAC), frequency speed and hardware information.
The software comes with a summary mode that groups the information of wireless networks by the PHY type, channel number and speed. Users can download the Wi-Fi infoview from their official website.
Netspot.
Netspot is another wireless scanner and analyzer. The software is a Wi-Fi survey and analysis tool for Windows and Mac operating systems. Using the Netspot tool, users can scan the 802.11 Wi-Fi coverage, perform site surveys and see all the results on a dashboard. Netspot also helps you to create Wi-Fi heat maps which helps you to detect the zones and signal leaks.
Inssider
Inssider is another highly reliable Wi-Fi analyzer tool. It is specially made for businesses and enterprises. It offers you the information like a channel, MAC address, signal strength, and type of encryption for each access point on the wireless network. You can also check the link score for every connection. Higher the link score, the better it is for your network. Inssider is easy to install and use, and the company also offers free links and webinars for its users.
NetCut
If you want a professional solution for the wireless network of your business or enterprise you can consider NetCut. Although it was created for backend tasks, you can use it for debugging and network analysis. By using NetCut, you can monitor the LAN activity, and it also displays the IP and MAC addresses of the devices connected to your network.
Not only this but you can also kick off someone from your network or restore their access as per your wish. Some uses can experience problems in the beginning while using this tool as it uses machine-translated documentation. It offers you an extra layer of protection to protect your systems from MAC and ARP address spoofing.
Wi-Fi Analyzer.
Unlike NetCut and NetSpot, which are made for commercial use, the Wi-Fi analyzer is specially made for home users. Wi-Fi analyzer is made for Windows 10 users and available at the Microsoft store. There are two versions of Wi-Fi analyzer – Basic and Pro. The basic version has everything that you need to inspect your wireless network. The app analyses your network and converts the data into an easily understandable visualization. The tool also suggests you about the best channel you can use to minimize congestion. Wi-Fi analyzer can be the best tool for beginners and home users.
Wireshark
Some uses don’t want to use a paid tool and prefer free tools. If you want an open-source and free Wi-Fi analyzer tool, you can use Wireshark. However, despite a free tool, it is somewhat complicated to use. New users will require some training before using Wireshark. Networking professionals usually use it, but with some training home users can also use it to analyze their wireless network.
Covertel offers telecommunication and networking solutions to businesses and government organizations in Australia. They have corporations, defence and government organizations as their clients. If you have a business in Australia, you can contact them for services like network monitoring and testing. Visit their website to check their range of services.
Final Words
These were some best tools for wi-fi testing for domestic and commercial use. If you want to analyze and troubleshoot your wireless network at home, you can use any free or premium Wi-Fi tester tool. However, for businesses and enterprises, paid and premium tools are recommended. Hiring a professional company like Covertel can help business with all types of networking solutions and support.