Best Wifi Signal Strength Testing App/Tool

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Earbanean

1158 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 395

#324754 20-May-2026 15:30

I have 3 Unifi access points in the house and want to optimise the transmit power settings as best as possible. What's a good app or tool (iOS or Win 11) for testing signal strength and roaming? Also, what min dBm is a good level to aim for?

nitro

785 posts

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+1 received by user: 346

#3494073 20-May-2026 15:44

i have previously used Ekahau Heatmapper (Win), but there doesn't seem to be a free version anymore (not even for mobile). NetSpot is being mentioned as an alternative, but I haven't used that one so can't say what the limitations are for the free version.

SpartanVXL

1529 posts

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#3494075 20-May-2026 15:55

I recall the iOS Airport utility had a wifi analyser.

SnoopyDo

25 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 24

#3494077 20-May-2026 15:58

Unifi's own Wifiman?

Earbanean

1158 posts

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#3494078 20-May-2026 16:01

SnoopyDo:

Unifi's own Wifiman?

Is that a separate App?

SnoopyDo

25 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 24

#3494081 20-May-2026 16:08

Earbanean:

SnoopyDo:

Unifi's own Wifiman?

Is that a separate App?

Yes

JemS

93 posts

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#3494103 20-May-2026 17:25

+1 for Wifiman

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Earbanean

1158 posts

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#3494108 20-May-2026 18:11

Wifiman appeals to me mild OCD with same brand thing. Does anyone have thoughts around good dBm levels to be targeting with power settings on the AP radios? I was sort of thinking no lower than down to about -65 or -70, if that's achievable.

raytaylor

4088 posts

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Trusted

#3500046 3-Jun-2026 22:33

Wifi Analyzer on an android phone. Not an ios device - they limit the amount of scanning that can be done per minute or something like that.
There is a setting in the developer menu on androids that allows them to scan more frequently.

You can buy proper tools for thousands of dollars but in general you want your signal to be between -55 and -65 in most primary use areas (lounge sofa, sitting in bed, kitchen) and then secondary use areas it can go down to -74 (toilet, garage, place where an IOT device such as irrigation controller or smart wifi light bulb exists)

Then just let the client devices roam as they please.

Only if you find there is an area of the house where you want to encourage a device to rescan and connect to a closer AP should you then turn the power level down further. This is because many devices wont roam across unless the signal falls below a certain threshold such as -74db or if the signal to noise ratio falls below ~-15db.
Devices will typically try to maintain a constant connection rather than roaming sooner due to the momentary loss of connection that switching AP causes.

Ray Taylor

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