inSSIDer

Pros Free. Easy-to-use interface. Lots of help and tutorials. Supports Windows, Mac OS X, and Android.

Cons May not be robust enough for wireless networking professionals or larger deployments. Bottom Line InSSIDer is a useful tool for helping wireless networking novices understand and tweak their Wi-Fi networks, thanks to its easy-to-understand interface and abundance of help and tutorials.

By Samara Lynn

inSSIDer is an excellent Wi-Fi analyzer that can be installed on Windows and Mac machines, and there is a version for Android, as well. inSSIDer ($19.99) displays information about the wireless networks in your proximity, including access points' MAC addresses, encryption type, signal strength, and channel. inSSIDer offers several new features since we last reviewed the software, including support for 802.11ac. Wi-Fi professionals may find the software a bit too light on features and might be more interested in a more robust program such as WiFiBuilder or Wireshark, but, for everyone else, inSSIDer is one of the most-powerful and easy-to-use Wi-Fi optimizers around.

Features and Interface
I tested inSSIDer on a Windows 7 laptop, and it was a quick, lightweight install. Unlike some other free networking utilities I've used, inSSIDer has given me no problems with memory leaks, nor has it interfered with Windows wireless settings or any other installed software.

Opening the interface displays the wireless adapter information of the client machine on which inSSIDer is installed. The program's UI is divided between a pane that displays real-time information about wireless networks in proximity and another screen that shows handy information, including tips and a user guide.

The user guide has illustrations and plain-language explanations about the features in the software. You don't just get a user guide, though. The interface also includes links to free webinars for those who want to dive deeper into the wireless world—from diagnosing RF interference to performing basic wireless-packet analysis. There are also links to tools that help users find interference issues and reduce Wi-Fi saturation, as well as advice on selecting the right wireless channel.

Clicking on the Network tab pulls up the real-time information about all nearby wireless networks. By default, the software stars the network to which you are connected. The software helps you optimize that network and prominently displays details about this network, so you can view information such as how many other access points are using the same channel. For performance improvement, you could use this information to place your starred network on a less-crowded channel. This may be one of the most-useful troubleshooting features in the software.

You also get details on all networks in proximity, including signal strength (some tools refer to this as RSSI), channel, security, and MAC address of each access point. A handy graph details a wireless network's signal strength over time.

Right-clicking on any listed network opens a menu that lets you quickly select the information you want to see about that network: SSID, signal, channel, maximum rate, network type, and even the access point's vendor. Your entire view of available networks can also be sorted by the same parameters.

inSSIDer will also calculate a Link score based on information such as channel overlap and signal strength for each wireless network. You can see how tweaking channel settings or even relocating an access point or router influences the score—the higher the score, the better the network performance you should receive.

A Fun, Useful Tool
What's great about inSSIDer is that it can actually help improve your connectivity. For instance, say you are trying to find the best location to place an access point or router. Position the device and then fire up inSSIDER to see the signal strength. This is really useful if you are trying to setup a Wi-Fi network in a place with lots of thick walls, glass or mirrors, or multiple floors.

You can also use inSSIDer to tweak your wireless channel. In the U.S., there are 11 Wi-Fi channels. The channels recommended for access points are 1, 6, and 11, because they don't overlap. So if inSSIDer shows you many wireless networks in your area using channel 11, for example, you know to change your access point or router to operate on channel 1 or channel 6 to tweak performance. 

Yes, it may be lightweight for those who deploy wireless networks professionally, but anyone managing a home or small business wireless network will certainly benefit from the information inSSIDer provides. inSSIDer handily wins our Editors' Choice for networking utilities, and it should be part of every individual and small-business networking toolkit. 

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inSSIDer (for Android)

Pros Powerful, affordable wireless network optimization.

Cons No manual scan of wireless networks in range. Wi-Fi re-scan of all networks occurs whenever phone comes out of hibernation. No information on setting up filters. Bottom Line Even though inSSIDer for Android is lacking a few of the capabilities of the desktop version, you still get the same important Wi-Fi-optimization information. If you use Android devices, it's worth adding to your digital tool belt.

By Samara Lynn

On Windows and Mac desktops, inSSIDer is a must-have tool for gaining insight into wireless networks. It's long been a PCMag favorite for its ability to display information such as an access point's MAC address, encryption level, signal strength, and channel information—all key to optimizing wireless performance. inSSIDer's Android app ($9.99) doesn't offer the entire set of tools the desktop version does, but it's still a very handy utility for your Android devices, and it's far better than much of the junk that passes for Wi-Fi utilities in the Google Play Store.

Download and Install
At $9.99, the most immediately remarkable thing about inSSIDer is its price. Yes, that's expensive for an app. However, in comparison to some of the free apps we've looked at that purport to give you the same networking insight—CloudCheck (for Android) is a recent, disappointing example—with inSSIDer, you're paying a premium rate for premium app. Once you've gotten past the sticker shock, installation is a snap. The download is a 13MB file, and running it requires Android 4.0 or higher. For testing, I installed it on my HTC One , which took just seconds.

Interface
The app's home screen shows all wireless networks in range. There are many access points near my workspace at PC Labs, and I was impressed by how quickly inSSIDer could perform a complete scan from my phone. I did notice scanning happened automatically when I started the app. I would prefer a manual option to begin scanning only when I want it.

By default, the networks are grouped by radio; specifically, by each access point's MAC address (called the BSSID). The channel, network name (SSID), any enabled encryption, and signal strength of each are also shown. Wireless networks can also be grouped by SSID by tapping a drop-down symbol at the top of the screen.

Tapping on a network calls up other menu options across the top of the screen; from here you can drill down for more information about that specific network. Across the top of the screen are two other menu options, 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Tapping each pulls up a signal-strength graph in the respective networks in the area. This is a quick way see which access points have the most dominant (or weakest) signals.

You can also filter access points, although I didn't have much luck with this feature. I tapped the filter icon and a text box appeared, but the app did not explain what I should do next to create a filter. In fact, there isn't any help at all within the app.

Furthermore, most of the help on developer Metageeks' site applies to the desktop software, which has more features. It would be nice if there was some Android-app specific help on the site, and even nicer if there was some help built into the app itself.

I entered the first three letters of a nearby SSID into the filter text box. Instead of seeing information on all access points in proximity, I only saw data on that particular access point. I tried entering an IP address, then a subnet, but the filter returned an empty list of access points, both times. This feature needs more attention.

Optimizing Wi-Fi
The killer application of inSSIDer is using all the information it gathers to optimize your Wi-Fi performance. Tapping on a network lets you drill down into its information and check signal strength. inSSIDer will tell you which channel that network's access point is operating on. The utility even shows the recommended channel you should connect to.

Even better, the app tells you how many networks in proximity are on the same channel. Look for the Overlapping field in the Details screen. The Co-Channel field tells you about co-channel interference from neighboring networks.

So if you have a network on channel 6 and you want to improve wireless strength, you can try another non-overlapping channel, such as 1 or 11. You can then re-scan the environment with inSSIDer and see if signal strength improves. I rescanned by closing and reopening the app.

The time graph shows your wireless radio versus the aggregate of the co-channel networks and the overlapping networks. Knowing this information helps you tweak settings on your access point.

For those who use the inSSIDer desktop software, it's important to note that the Android app is not as packed with features. For example, the Android app lacks Link Score, one of my favorite features in the desktop version. This is a rating inSSIDer's desktop software gives wireless signals. Scoring is based on information such as channel overlap and signal strength for each network. You can see how tweaking channel settings or even relocating an access point or router influences the score—the higher the score, the better the network performance you should get.

Still, a Wi-Fi Winner
Even without Link Score and a few other features found in the desktop version, you still get excellent information for optimizing your Wi-Fi connections with inSSIDer for Android, and that earns it our Editors' Choice nod. This utility is well worth adding to your digital tool belt if you want quick access to wireless environmental information without the steep learning curve or the expense of tools designed for professionals. 

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