![]() ![]() Since its first release, WiFi Explorer incorporated features that were not included in the last available version of WiFi Analyzer, such as support for 5 GHz networks and 40 MHz channel widths. WiFi Explorer began as a desktop alternative to WiFi Analyzer, an iPhone app for wireless network scanning that was pulled out from Apple's App Store in March, 2010, due to the use of private frameworks. WiFi Explorer is a wireless network scanner tool for macOS that can help users identify channel conflicts, overlapping and network configuration issues that may be affecting the connectivity and performance of Wi-Fi networks. I definitely recommend Wi-Fi Explorer (I have the Pro version) as a day to day Wi-Fi professional tool - there is a lot more to it than mentioned here.English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish Low data-rates equal poor performance for modern Internet access. ![]() This would most certainly result in counter-productive results as this is not the intended use of data-rate configuration. I remember seeing a tweet where someone detected the hotel was rate-shaping clients by restricting association data-rates to 1 and 2 Mbps. The Access Point even provides details about the channel utilisation which is useful if high contention is suspected.īy looking at the IEs with Wi-Fi Explorer you could check what data-rates a BSSID was configured to support. I am able to see there are currently 2 stations (including myself) connected. In my screenshot example above I have expanded the QBSS Load details of the BSSID to which I was associated. Within the Advanced Details tab the IEs are brought to you in a expandable tree of wonder. In the simple view it lists the nearby Wi-Fi networks that your Mac can detect. Wi-Fi Explorer is a brilliant application brought to us by Adrian Granados. But there is another way to inspect the IEs if you have an Apple Mac. ![]() Sometimes it's a bit too much to get right into the weeds of wireless frame capture and analysis. Information Elements (IEs) hold key information about the capabilities or configuration of a particular BSSID. When you study for Certified Wireless Analysis Professional you learn about many of the Information Elements in the 802.11 standard. With the right filters you can visualise relative re-transmission rates on a channel in your location. If you're familiar with 802.11 protocol analysis you might try capturing Wi-Fi frames in a tool like Wireshark or Omnipeek. Having a shiny Wi-Fi 5 or 6 (802.11ac or 802.11ax) capable infrastructure won't help anyone if the pipe out is smaller than a soda straw. The Internet bandwidth must be sufficient on any network to cater to the users requirements. Something beyond the Wi-Fi shaped his connection to 350 Kbps (possibly the Internet back-haul). Keith Parsons found an example of a hotel where he was able to connect to a Wi-Fi network with good 802.11 metrics - high MCS rate, 2 spatial streams and an outstanding signal to noise ratio - yet speed tests were terrible. This is a software capability as it is bringing features to older model mobile devices without the requirement of new chipsets or hardware. The other impressive inclusion is support for WPA3. The iPhone 11 is released with iOS13 pre-installed so it is probably a pre-requisite as well. This is less of a software thing and more a hardware reliant capability - the Wi-Fi chipset in the device must be sufficiently new enough and include the specifications to connect using Wi-Fi 6 features. ![]() Arguably the most exciting one for Wi-Fi is the inclusion of 802.11ax (aka Wi-Fi 6) in all of the iPhone 11 models. There are two big announcements this year from Apple in terms of Wi-Fi capabilities. This means that when they release a new feature as long as it can be supported within the hardware it is installed on it is generally available. Apple design and manufacture the hardware as well as the operating system of their mobile phones and tablet devices. This is largely because the mobile device market from Apple's perspective is the least fragmented. In June 2019, during the Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple announced iOS 13.Īpple are considered an important device manufacturer in the Wi-Fi Professionals community as a marker for the uptake of new 802.11 standards. It is as anticipated by the developer community as much as the release of the new model iPhone is anticipated by the consumers. Apple releases a new version of it’s mobile operating system annually. ![]()
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