From online gaming and shopping to streaming movies and social media. You need reliable Wi-Fi throughout your house for a variety of reasons, and being trapped with a slow or erratic connection can cause serious issues.
Unfortunately, we lack the technology to see the radio waves that convey our valuable wireless internet access around our homes, but you can easily check where your router's signal is strongest. This can be useful for setting up your devices in the best settings, identifying problems, such as an improperly placed fish tank, as well as making sure you're getting the wifi speeds you're paying for. Any gadget can be used to assess the wireless signal strength, and we've chosen the most straightforward methods for each.
Wi-Fi strength, which describes the strength of the radio signal between your device and your network, is not the same as Wi-Fi speed. Better download and upload speeds are possible with powerful Wi-Fi, but it also affects other things like the signal's stability.
Connection strength is represented by RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator), which is expressed in decibel milliwatts, or dBm, while reading statistics. The dBm value will be preceded by a minus sign, so don't be alarmed: An excellent Wi-Fi signal is anything that is -50 dBm or higher; however, if your signal is at or below -80 dBm, you should be having issues.
How to check the Wi-Fi signal strength on an Android smartphone
The first indication of how strong your Wi-Fi signal is on an Android device is the little Wi-Fi icon to the right of the status bar, though the icon is so small that it doesn't really tell you much. A signal strength reading will be the first choice when you open Settings, touch Network and Internet, select Internet, and then tap the name of your Wi-Fi network.
Even so, this reading is still rather ambiguous because it only includes terms like "fair" or "outstanding." You can use a third-party tool like Wifi Speed Test to obtain even more information. All of the Wi-Fi networks that are accessible to you are listed on the Access Points tab, along with details like their signal strength. Additionally, they are color-coded according to the traffic light system so you can quickly identify which ones are the best.
How to check the Wi-Fi signal strength on an iOS device
The Wi-Fi indicator to the right of the status bar on an iPhone will give you a general indication of how strong your connection is right now. However, since there are only three bars, the accuracy isn't very high. Unfortunately, that is also the extent of the native iOS options available to you. Even if you explore the Wi-Fi menu in Settings, all you will see are the three bars, which signify Wi-Fi signal strength.
The free AirPort Utility program from Apple can be used to gauge signal strength. Although it isn't overflowing with features and the firm hasn't updated it in a while, it will display the current signal strength in dBm for every Wi-Fi network your device can discover. To view signal strength by Wi-Fi channel, tap on a network.
However, iOS no longer allows third-party apps to access this data. But there are many apps that can be useful if you want to gain additional information about your network. For instance, the iWifi app can assess Wi-Fi speed and ping to gauge how quickly the network reacts. The majority of the app's functions are all free, but you may pay $4 per month to get rid of the adverts and more precise readings.
How to check the Wi-Fi signal strength on a Windows computers
If you're using a Windows computer and want to check the strength of your Wi-Fi signal, you'll find a small strength indicator down on the taskbar's far right side. It features four bars, which stand for the network your device is currently connected to's four different connectivity tiers. By heading to Settings, selecting Network & internet, and then WiFi, you may get strength measurements for more networks.
By looking for and opening the PowerShell program from the Start menu, you can also acquire a more comprehensive reading of the signal strength. Signal strength is a percentage you may discover near the bottom of the list of statistics about the Wi-Fi network you're presently connected to when you type netsh wlan show interfaces and press Enter.
The free inSSIDer is among the greatest available third-party tools, and it's also completely free to use. When you first launch the application, the Networks page displays a list of all available Wi-Fi networks along with a signal strength measurement in dBm. Additionally, the signal intensity is color coded for simple reading.
How to check the Wi-Fi signal strength on a Mac
The classic Wi-Fi status indicator that you may be familiar with from iOS is present when checking the Wi-Fi signal strength on macOS. It is located up on the right side of the menu bar and displays three bars to indicate the signal strength. To identify other networks and assess signal strength, click the symbol, then select Wi-Fi settings.
You would assume that there wouldn't be additional information available natively, similar to iOS. However, there is a secret method available in macOS to check the Wi-Fi network's signal strength that you are currently connected to: You may view a variety of information, including signal strength, by clicking the Wi-Fi indicator on the menu bar while holding down the Option key. Real-time updates will also be made to the reading.
For desktop devices, Wifiry is an alternative to the aforesaid iWifi app, which is available for both macOS and iOS. It has additional features like a five-dot signal strength meter you can put in the menu bar and costs $3 one-time, but it provides you thorough readings for all Wi-Fi networks around your Mac (not just the one you're connected to).
