Internet, Networking, & Security Home Networking How to Measure Your Wi-Fi Signal Strength Multiple Wi-Fi signal strength meter tools by Bradley Mitchell Writer An MIT graduate who brings years of technical experience to articles on SEO, computers, and wireless networking. our editorial process LinkedIn Bradley Mitchell Updated on December 03, 2020 reviewed by Ryan Perian Lifewire Tech Review Board Member Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions. our review board Article reviewed on Aug 22, 2020 Ryan Perian Tweet Share Email The Wireless Connection The Wireless Connection Introduction All About Wireless What Does Wireless Really Mean? 802.11 Standards Explained The Range Of A Wireless Network Dual-Band Wireless Networking Explained How Bluetooth Works With Wireless Measure It: Wi-Fi Signal Strength What Is A Wi-Fi Hotspot? 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How To Connect At Home How to Name Your Wireless Network How to Change Your Wireless Router's Admin Password Change the Wi-Fi Channel Number to Avoid Interference Build a Wireless Home Network Use Wireless Speakers In Home Theater Connect Your Echo & Alexa To Wi-Fi Connect Google Home to Wi-Fi Wirelessly Connect An iPad To Your TV Use a Free Firewall Program How To Connect On The Go How to Find Free Wi-Fi Locations Get 4G or 3G on Your Laptop Connect To Wi-Fi in Your Car Get Wireless Internet Access in a Hotel Use Your Android As A Wi-Fi Hotspot Set Up Personal Hotspot On Your iPhone Connect Nintendo Switch To Bluetooth Headphones Connect To A Wireless Network With Windows Access Your Computer Remotely How to Troubleshoot Wireless Issues 7 Reasons Wi-Fi Connections Drop Disable Automatic Wireless Connections on Windows How to Hack-proof Your Wireless Router How to Fix OS X Bluetooth Wireless Problems What to Do When Google Home Won't Connect To Wi-Fi How to Hide Your Wireless Network Can't Connect To The Internet? Try This What to Do When There's No Internet Connection The Future of Wireless 5G Changes Everything How 4G And 5G Are Different Why 5G Really Is Faster All About 5G Cell Towers 5G Challenges: Why It Isn't Rolling Out Faster Is 5G The High-Speed Replacement for Cable? When 5G Is Coming to the US The 12 Best 5G Phones Coming in 2019 What to Know In Windows, go to Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center. Select the blue Wi-Fi link to see the signal strength. On Mac, the Wi-Fi indicator is located in the upper-right corner of the screen in the menu bar. On Linux systems, use the following command: iwconfig wlan0 | grep -i --color signal. This guide explains how to check Wi-Fi signal strength on a variety of platforms. These instructions apply to currently supported versions of Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android. How to Measure Your Wi-Fi Signal Strength The performance of a Wi-Fi wireless network connection depends on the radio signal strength. On the path between the wireless access point and a connected device, the signal strength in each direction determines the data rate available on that link. Use the following methods to determine the signal strength of your Wi-Fi connection and find ways to improve the Wi-Fi range of your connected devices. Different tools may show different results. These variations are caused by differences in how the utilities collect samples and the timing used to report an overall rating. Bailey Mariner / Lifewire Network bandwidth isn't the same as signal strength. Network bandwidth is the speed you get from your ISP. Signal strength determines the functionality of the hardware connected to the Wi-Fi and the range that an access point has throughout an area. Use a Built-in Operating System Utility Microsoft Windows and other operating systems contain a built-in utility to monitor wireless network connections. This is the quickest and easiest way to measure Wi-Fi strength. In newer versions of Windows, select the network icon on the taskbar to see the wireless network you're connected to. There are five bars that indicate the signal strength of the connection, where one is the poorest connection and five is the best. To find the network connection in modern versions of Windows, open Control Panel and go to Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center, and select the blue Wi-Fi link to see the Wi-Fi strength. On Mac, the Wi-Fi indicator is located in the upper-right corner of the screen in the menu bar. On Linux systems, use the following command to display the signal level in the terminal window: iwconfig wlan0 | grep -i --color signal The output in terminal will be displayed as a dB value. The more negative the value, the worse the signal strength. Anything from -50dBm to -70dBm could be considered great to decent signal strength. Use a Smartphone or Tablet Any mobile device that is internet capable has a section in the settings that shows the strength of the Wi-Fi networks in range. For example, on an iPhone, open the Settings app, then go to Wi-Fi to see the Wi-Fi strength of the network you're on and the signal strength of any network that's in range. A similar method can be used on an Android phone or tablet. Look under a Settings, Wi-Fi, or Network menu. For example, in the settings on a Google Pixel running Android 10, select Network & internet, then select the Wi-Fi you're using, then select the gear icon next to the network you're connected to. There you can see the signal strength. Another option is to download a free app such as Wifi Analyzer for Android, which shows the Wi-Fi strength visually in dBm compared to other nearby networks. Similar options are available for other platforms like iOS. Open Your Wireless Adapter's Utility Program Some manufacturers of wireless network hardware or notebook computers provide software applications that monitor wireless signal strength. These applications report signal strength and quality based on a percentage from zero to 100% and additional detail tailored specifically to the hardware. The operating system utility and the vendor hardware utility may display the same information in different formats. For example, a connection with an excellent 5-bar rating in Windows may show in the vendor software as excellent with a percentage rating anywhere between 80% and 100%. Vendor utilities can often tap into extra hardware instrumentation to precisely calculate radio signal levels as measured in decibels (dB). Wi-Fi Locators Are Another Option A Wi-Fi locator device scans radio frequencies in the local area and detects the signal strength of nearby wireless access points. Wi-Fi locators exist in the form of small hardware gadgets that fit on a keychain. Most Wi-Fi locators use a set of between four and six LEDs to indicate signal strength in units of bars similar to the Windows utility. Unlike the above methods, however, Wi-Fi locator devices do not measure the strength of a connection but instead, only predict the strength of a connection. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit