
If you step a room or two away from the router and find you’re quickly losing the signal, it’s time to consider the age of your router and its placement.
#Test wifi range upgrade
Check for interference, consider changing channels, or upgrade to a router that supports 5 GHz (or even 6Ghz) if your current one doesn’t. For instance, if you can reach the edges of your home and still see a 60 dBm signal (or most of the bars), then any issues you’re having aren’t Wi-Fi-strength related. Once you know how strong your network is, you’ll have a better idea of what to do to improve it. You’ll see dBm measurements in the RSSI entry. Hold the option key and click on the Wi-Fi symbol.
#Test wifi range download
On Mac, you don’t need to download any program or app if you want to measure the connected network. Like on a Mac and iPhone, you’ll find dBm measurements listed under the RSSI entry. Just unzip and double-click the EXE file. The program is free, easy to use, and doesn’t require installation. In the past, we recommended NirSoft’s WifiInfoView to inspect Wi-Fi channels, and it also gets the nod for checking Wi-Fi strength.
#Test wifi range how to
RELATED: How to Generate a Wi-Fi History or WLAN Report in Windows 10 You can read more about this in Stop Clearing Away Your Wi-Fi Signal.įor more information about what materials and obstacles are worst for Wi-Fi signals, see How Much Wi-Fi Signal Loss Is Caused By Building Materials.Īrticle by Jan Pedro Tumusok and Jorunn D.Windows 10 and 11 don’t have a built-in way to view precise signal strength, although the netsh wlan show interface command gives you your signal strength as a percentage. You risk worsening your coverage further, tripping up your neighbors, and in some cases even breaking the law.Ī number of factors influence the signal strength you receive, but single most important thing you can do for your wireless coverage without adding or replacing equipment is not hiding your access point(s) away. If you have measured the received signal strength at a particular spot and deemed it to be too weak, there are a few things you can do, and some things you absolutely should not do.įirst of all: Do not try to boost the signal strength sent from your access point, by replacing the antenna, building your own antenna booster or similar. Getting a Poor Signal? Get Rid of Obstacles This tool will help you visualize the wireless coverage in different parts of your home. If what you are actually trying to do is map the signal strength for an entire house or apartment, we recommend using a heatmapping tool rather than a Wi-Fi scanner. On the list of available networks, find the name of the network you are connected to, and the connection information including RSSI will be displayed immediately below.Press and hold the Alt key while clicking on the Wi-Fi icon on your status menu.
#Test wifi range mac os
If you are on a computer running Mac OS X, you can also get the RSSI without installing any additional applications: The number you are looking for is the RSSI, which means Received Signal Strength Indicator. You can use a Wi-Fi scanner application to measure the received signal strength at a specific location and time. The chances of even connecting are very low at this level. Unreliable signal strength, will not suffice for most services. The minimum for any service depending on a reliable connection and signal strength, such as voice over Wi-Fi and non-HD video streaming. Maximum signal strength, you are probably standing right next to the access point.Īnything down to this level can be considered excellent signal strength.

So what should we consider a good, acceptable, or poor Wi-Fi signal strength? Signal Strength

Wireless signal strength is measured in dBm (decibel milliwatts) and is, somewhat confusingly, expressed only as negative values. A quick overview of the required Wi-Fi signal strength for different online activities.
