Wifi Analyzer

Turns your android phone into a Wi-Fi Analyzer!! Shows the Wi-Fi channels around you. Helps you to find a less crowded channel for your wireless router.

Price: Free

AndroidTapp.com Android App Review:

Pros & Cons:

Pros

• Multiple interfaces
• Easy to use and understand
• Small file size

Cons

• Eats battery life

Features:

I used to use a keychain fob to find out if I was near a wireless network. This app allows for me to get this ugly thing off my keychain and find out exactly what’s around me. The first screen you see shows a scrolling line graph of the wireless networks around you and their signal strength. With a quick finger swipe, you see a bar graph with not only the signal strength, but also the channels that the Wi-Fi networks are using, great if you’re trying to find a less crowded channel for your own network. The next screen is a gauge to show you the strength of just one access point, helpful if you’re trying to track those nasty signal drops and dead zones in your house. The screen to the right shows the details of each network including the SSID, MAC address, signal, strength, security type, and channel. The last screen shows you which channel on your current access point is the best choice for the least amount of interference.

All of these screens have helpful options such as sorting, snapshots, and filters. You can also change settings such as the scan interval, the specific channels you’re looking for, keeping the screen on, and letting the program turn on Wi-Fi by itself when you access it.

Usefulness:

As a tech on the go, this piece of software is really a lifesaver. When I need to check my mail, I don’t have to pull out my seven pound laptop just to find that all the wireless points in the area are locked down. (Yes, I know I could use my phone, but sometimes I just don’t have time to write a long email on that tiny keyboard).  When I’m at a clients house it’s a great diagnosing tool to find out where issues with their wireless may exist.

This piece of software, although geared toward the technician, is useful to anyone on the go who needs to find a network while they’re traveling in the wild.

Ease of Use:

WiFi Analyzer has a very easy to use interface. Nothing is overly technical. I don’t feel like every graph would be useful for everyone, but the ones each individual would use would not be hard to decipher and navigate.

Frequently Used:

I use it almost every day. I believe any technician would. However, the average user would most likely use this when they were working offsite and traveling.

Interface:

I can’t think of a way to improve it, but I also don’t design software. There is a unrefined feel to it that I would like to see improved, but I’m not sure exactly what the improvement would be.