Why can it be rather useful to know which channel a wireless network operates on? Because in a WiFi crowded space, where every neighbor has their own network, overlapping channels is the most common reason of a slower connection. You should be able to see which channels networks use, the signal strengths, WiFi encryption methods used, etc. If yo’re in a situation where there’s just too much traffic, it’s better to put a second WAP (Like a WiFi extender) closer to where you use your devices.So what are those WiFi analyzer apps and how does one use them? A WiFi analyzer app detects all available WiFi networks around and should provide you with detailed info on every network it found. Let your WAP (aka your “router”) handle the channel selection. Yes, you can actually make the problem worse! The problem with selecting your own channel is that the WAP won’t automatically switch to another when the one it’s manually configured to use becomes saturated with traffic.

So, what you “capture” today and determine what’s the best channel now might change the next day or even later that afternoon! Bluetooth devices, wireless peripherals, our phones and devices are all crowding the airwaves.

Modern WAPs (wireless access point) auto select the best channel for you based on existing traffic and this can change continually given the explosion of wireless devices which we are using every day.

Unless you’re using a 10+ year old WiFi router that doesn’t handle automatic channel switching well, there’s no need to do this. Trying to find which channel to use is pointless nowadays. There are many apps that you can use from the built in Network Diagnostics to commercial grade WiFi mapping and analyzers.

Wifi analyzer macbook