Best Wifi Signal Strength Testing App/Tool

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Earbanean

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#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

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#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

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#3494075 20-May-2026 15:55

I recall the iOS Airport utility had a wifi analyser.

SnoopyDo

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#3494077 20-May-2026 15:58

Unifi's own Wifiman?

Earbanean

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#3494078 20-May-2026 16:01

SnoopyDo:

Unifi's own Wifiman?

Is that a separate App?

SnoopyDo

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#3494081 20-May-2026 16:08

Earbanean:

SnoopyDo:

Unifi's own Wifiman?

Is that a separate App?

Yes

JemS

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#3494103 20-May-2026 17:25

+1 for Wifiman

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Earbanean

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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

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#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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quickymart

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#3507421 30-Jun-2026 21:49

nitro:

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.

I used to use Netspot all the time and it was really good. Tried it again tonight (first time in a while) to troubleshoot a wifi issue, and all the useful functions that used to be free are now paid functions, so I uninstalled it. Will try some of the suggestions in here instead.

SpartanVXL

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#3507424 30-Jun-2026 22:10

So turns out Apple locked down usage of the the wifi chip for scanning, the only real app that has functionality is the Apple Airport Utility app which is for managing Apple Airports, it has a option in app settings to do wifi scans.

Just checked myself since I recall using it back when I had Airports, it scans every 3 seconds in a set period or until turned off and displays basic info like ssid and signal strength in db.

johno1234

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#3507445 1-Jul-2026 01:33

SpartanVXL:

I recall the iOS Airport utility had a wifi analyser.

seems to only work for Apple Airport access points

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johno1234

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#3507446 1-Jul-2026 01:36

nOversight sort of works with iOS in conjunction with their Apple shortcut

Earbanean

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#3507511 1-Jul-2026 09:51

I tried Wifiman and it has worked well for the modest requitements I have. I can walk around out house and go from level to level and watch the signal strength drop and then then the phone flick over to another AP and so on. That's mostly good enough for what I need.

Note, off the back of this testing, I added a fourth AP to our house. We now have two on our largish main level and one each on the upper level and basement. I've then reduced transmit power on all APs to 'Medium' and that gives good roaming with flicking between APs at appropriate places. Prior to adding the fourth AP, at one end of the main level, the phone was connecting to an AP on another floor at a bad signal strength. It then sometimes even flicked over to 2.4 GHz (even with band steering on). Now it holds a good 5 GHz signal everywhere, including a good proportion of the back yard.

SpartanVXL

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#3507538 1-Jul-2026 10:20

johno1234:

SpartanVXL:

I recall the iOS Airport utility had a wifi analyser.

seems to only work for Apple Airport access points

No this isn’t true, you just need to go into app settings and toggle a switch to enable the wifi scanner. I just did this while connected to my mikrotik AP despite not owning Airports for a long time.