Wireless networks are handy – if you know how to tame the signals. If you don’t, neighboring networks might disrupt your own Wi-Fi network. A WiFi analyzer such as the free WinFi Lite maps all those wireless signals nicely. You can analyze Wi-Fi networks as follows.
WinFi Lite was specifically developed for Windows 10. At the time of writing, the tool is (temporarily?) No longer available in the Microsoft Store, but luckily the developer offers a download link for the desktop version 1.0. Download WinFi Lite here. We can already tell you that WinFi Lite is one of the most comprehensive WiFi analyzers that we know of. “Lite” is therefore very modest.
After a quick installation you will find WinFi Lite in the Windows Start menu. Immediately after the start, the tool starts scanning for wireless signals. A wealth of information appears to be available; it can be intimidating. The time to create some clarity.
Working with columns
If your PC is equipped with several WiFi adapters: select the desired copy in the top left. At the top right you will find the buttons 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz: with this you only get to see the wireless networks on that specific frequency band. click on ALL for all networks. Keep in mind that many routers are of the dual band type, which can often broadcast simultaneously on both frequencies.
The number of information columns depends, among other things, on the chosen display. You set that at the top right. For example, you can opt for Basic, Pro and Default View. An orange sphere in the column Network Name indicates the network to which your PC is currently connected.
By the way, many more columns are possible; we counted no fewer than 65. However, you can decide yourself which one you want to make visible. Click on the gear icon and on + Columns. You now only have to place a check next to the column names that you consider useful. Are not all columns visible: via the scroll bar at the bottom of the window you can still see them.
You can also drag columns to another location. To switch quickly between different views, you can place such a view in a profile. Click on the arrow at the top right, choose Create New Profile and enter a profile name; the profile appears in the list.
Scanning
By default, WinFi Lite scans for wireless networks every three seconds. To pause this scanning process, press on the top left Pause-button. Press again and the scanning process continues. You can also adjust the scanning frequency. click on Settings, open the section Data Grid and choose a suitable frequency Scan Interval (from 0 to 10 seconds). Note that Unreachable APs default is set to Remove After 3 min. This means that networks that were (still) active or detectable just now are no longer visible after three minutes. However, you can also set this option to Don’t show or no longer display the unreachable networks after 15 minutes.
We recommend that you check the box Show Tooltips to leave: when you move the mouse pointer over certain concepts, you will receive useful information.
Signal quality
If you have several wireless access points with the same network name, they will appear Network Name or ssid (service set identifier) ​​normally also several times in WinFi Lite. You can use the column to find out which item belongs to which access point BSSID visible. This stands for “basic service set identifier” and is little more than the mac address that is unique for each network adapter of the access point.
Of course you want to know how the signal from your wireless router or access point is. There are different columns that provide you with the necessary information. The least technical is Signal Quality. This expresses the signal quality in the form of a percentage: from unworkable (0%) to excellent (100%). However, keep in mind that even a high percentage does not necessarily mean a guaranteed data throughput for your wireless clients. After all, there may be disturbing signals that do not come from your WiFi network, but from another network or, for example, from a baby monitor.
The network capacity can also play a role. You will get an idea of ​​the latter with the column Channel Utilization Graph. The more clients access your access point and the more data traffic, the higher this usage percentage. When this percentage is 75% or higher, you can take into account more data outages and delays.
If you want it to be a bit more technical for you, then certainly also make the columns RSSI and SNR visible. Rssi stands for “received signal strength indicator” and is expressed in WinFi Lite as a dBm value (decibel-milliwatts). Bear in mind that these are negative values, for example, -65 dBm indicating a worse value than -25 dBm. With a value from around -70 dBm you do not have to rely on a network connection of any quality. For example, if you move your laptop closer to the access point, that value will undoubtedly improve.
The SNR (signal to noise ratio) column is closely related to the RSSI data. The higher the snr value, expressed in decibels (dB), the stronger the Wi-Fi signal exceeds any background noise. If the percentage is lower than approximately 25 dB, you do not have to expect much from the WiFi signal.
Wifi channels
When your access points operate in the 2.4 GHz band, channel selection can be of great importance, especially when multiple access points – or potentially interfering devices – are detected, such as those from neighboring networks. You have to know that the number of usable channels within that band is usually limited to 11. In addition, neighboring channels overlap.
To avoid such an overlap – and therefore possible interference from, for example, other Wi-Fi networks – it is best to set your wireless router or access point to a channel that is at least five numbers away from that of neighboring networks. In practice, that means a choice between channels 1, 6 and 11. So check the column carefully CH (channel) and adjust the channel of your router or access point where necessary.
Archive
WinFi Lite also allows you to monitor the performance of wireless networks over a longer period. You just let WinFi Lite run and scan for a while (minimized). After the test period, press the button at the top Archive and click on the desired session. Then press Replay so that you end up in the trusted program window. Via the play button you get an image of the successive scans. Click on the double arrow button to navigate through these scan rounds faster.
There are even more options and possibilities in WinFi Lite, but most of them are mainly focused on more specialized Wi-Fi analyzes. With the above information you can go a long way!
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