Wi-Fi scanning is extremely useful for performing site surveys (in other words, plotting signal strength and other measurements on a map), for spot-checking coverage, performing channel planning, and checking access point security and configurations. While every operating system (Android, macOS, and Windows) handles Wi-Fi scanning differently, results are usually only returned once about every 4 seconds.Īdditionally, the results that the operating system returns are only the contents of the Beacons and Probe Responses. The operating system then checks each Wi-Fi channel Beacons (and in some cases, Probe Responses) from access points, and then reports back to the Wi-Fi scanner. Wi-Fi scanners work by asking their host operating system (such as Windows) for a list of nearby access points. While Chanalyzer 6 does feature graphical Wi-Fi scanning views, the way that it collects data is significantly different from a Wi-Fi scanner. Capturing packets to perform deeper protocol analysisĬhanalyzer 6 focuses on being information-dense to help Wi-Fi network engineers gather as much data as possible, all with a clean user interface that is easy to read and navigate.Viewing packet exchanges between clients and access points.Discovering and monitoring client device behaviors.Identifying clients and access points that are consuming air time on the channel.The result is a fast and detailed 'Swiss Army Knife' Wi-Fi tool that can be used for a variety of tasks, such as: Combining Wi-Fi scanning and spectrum analysis (Chanalyzer).

Airtime-based, visual packet analysis (from Eye P.A.).Graphical Wi-Fi scanning (from inSSIDer 2).IndexĬhanalyzer 6 (formerly Tonic) is a blend of MetaGeek's best ideas, including: Note: This user guide is a work-in-progress, and will reach completion over the coming weeks.

Wifi packet capture tool