Iccz
Distinguished Member
There have been a lot of questions regarding the stability of wireless connections over the last few months/years. Because of this I figured it would be helpful to many if we had a thread that outlined the starting points for diagnosing wireless issues, I will also include some background information which you may or may not wish to read - it will not essentially help problem solving but it might help understanding.
At present this thread is only dealing with Windows software. If any Mac users are reading this and wish to offer input then please let me know.
Also please let me know if anything needs correcting or editing in any of these posts. Thanks.
The biggest problem is that wireless networking has become very common as well as popular and along with this has come the expectation that it will just work, sadly this is not always the case. For wireless networking to work, and to work well there are a number of requirements that must be met.
Background information.
As I said I will share a little background on the key points to wireless networking and the technologies involved, reading this part will mean that you will be on the same page as me when explaining things further on, but as I said before it's not essential reading.
There are 3 main types of wireless networking that you should know about, they are: B, G and N. Wireless networking usually communicates in the 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands but mostly 2.4. Most networks offer 11 channels but sometimes you can get up to 14. The channels are divisions of the 2.4 GHz range, these channels overlap each other though. Channel 1 uses the lowest frequency and it increases along with the channel number - there are 3 main channels which do not overlap with each other these are 1, 6 and 11 - because of this these are the three most used channels.
The range of wireless networking equipment should never be taken at face value, the figures that are specified are generally perfect world and they do not give for the various types of interference which almost all users will have such as Electromagnetic interference (EMI), Walls and channel bleed to name some.
Wireless security is not something I plan on covering here but I figure it's worth mentioning that WEP security is easily hacked and some versions of WPA can also be hacked - contrary to what appears to be popular belief that WPA is 100% safe.
Common problems.
There are a number of common problems that get raised and they are:
1) Connected but not working - usually this is a case of not actually having network access.
2) Unable to connect - usually this is a case of configuration, passwords are case sensative and sometimes you might have WPA2 instead of WPA1.
3) Slow network - usually this is down to interference, low signal strength or access point saturation.
4) Intermittent connection - this is usually down to the same points as above but mostly interference.
Free tools for testing.
I will be going into detail on how to use inSSIDer after this post and may include details for the other apps at some point in the future.
Windows Tools.
inSSIDer - This is a tool that many members here will mention if someone has a wireless issue.
Chanalyzer - This is a tool brought to you by the same people who make inSSIDer, this app gives you visualisations of your wireless landscape.
Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector - This is a tool which is very similar to inSSIDer but provides a different layout, the information is similar but some people prefer to use a different layout.
Ekahau HeatMapper - Slightly more advanced is HeatMapper which can provide you with a good site audit of signal strength and access points on a graphic map of your site. Not really very useful for home use but worth mentioning.
Mac Tools.
KisMAC - A free Wi-Fi scanner app, often recommended here for Mac users.
AirRadar - Used to be free but now I believe it is an app you buy, old versions may still be free although I do not know.
At present this thread is only dealing with Windows software. If any Mac users are reading this and wish to offer input then please let me know.
Also please let me know if anything needs correcting or editing in any of these posts. Thanks.
The biggest problem is that wireless networking has become very common as well as popular and along with this has come the expectation that it will just work, sadly this is not always the case. For wireless networking to work, and to work well there are a number of requirements that must be met.
Background information.
As I said I will share a little background on the key points to wireless networking and the technologies involved, reading this part will mean that you will be on the same page as me when explaining things further on, but as I said before it's not essential reading.
There are 3 main types of wireless networking that you should know about, they are: B, G and N. Wireless networking usually communicates in the 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands but mostly 2.4. Most networks offer 11 channels but sometimes you can get up to 14. The channels are divisions of the 2.4 GHz range, these channels overlap each other though. Channel 1 uses the lowest frequency and it increases along with the channel number - there are 3 main channels which do not overlap with each other these are 1, 6 and 11 - because of this these are the three most used channels.
The range of wireless networking equipment should never be taken at face value, the figures that are specified are generally perfect world and they do not give for the various types of interference which almost all users will have such as Electromagnetic interference (EMI), Walls and channel bleed to name some.
Wireless security is not something I plan on covering here but I figure it's worth mentioning that WEP security is easily hacked and some versions of WPA can also be hacked - contrary to what appears to be popular belief that WPA is 100% safe.
Common problems.
There are a number of common problems that get raised and they are:
1) Connected but not working - usually this is a case of not actually having network access.
2) Unable to connect - usually this is a case of configuration, passwords are case sensative and sometimes you might have WPA2 instead of WPA1.
3) Slow network - usually this is down to interference, low signal strength or access point saturation.
4) Intermittent connection - this is usually down to the same points as above but mostly interference.
Free tools for testing.
I will be going into detail on how to use inSSIDer after this post and may include details for the other apps at some point in the future.
Windows Tools.
inSSIDer - This is a tool that many members here will mention if someone has a wireless issue.
Chanalyzer - This is a tool brought to you by the same people who make inSSIDer, this app gives you visualisations of your wireless landscape.
Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector - This is a tool which is very similar to inSSIDer but provides a different layout, the information is similar but some people prefer to use a different layout.
Ekahau HeatMapper - Slightly more advanced is HeatMapper which can provide you with a good site audit of signal strength and access points on a graphic map of your site. Not really very useful for home use but worth mentioning.
Mac Tools.
KisMAC - A free Wi-Fi scanner app, often recommended here for Mac users.
AirRadar - Used to be free but now I believe it is an app you buy, old versions may still be free although I do not know.
Last edited: