Map Your Wi-Fi with a Heatmapper

What is a Wi-Fi Heat Map?

A heat map shows the wireless coverage in an area by use of color, where good wireless coverage will usually appear as green, while weak to no coverage is displayed as red.

The heat maps below show results from the same three-story housing measured with two different wireless setups.

Why heat mapping and not just speed testing?

Heatmappers and speed tests are complementing tools that together give a better overview.

• A heat map visualizes the signal strength in a certain area and provides an indication of where you can expect to achieve the best wireless coverage. If you create multiple maps, you can compare before and after any changes you make. You can also see how conditions change continuously due to external influences.
• A speed test only tells you the maximum achievable speed with the speed test and device you are using, for the exact location you are on at the exact moment you are running the test.

If you take your time and do it right, a heat map and a speed test can tell you where in the home signals are good and bad, as well as the speeds you can achieve where the signal is good or bad.

For more on how to complete a thorough test of a Wi-Fisolution, see Testing Wireless: Reality Check for Wi-Fi solutions.

What tools exist to make heat maps?

We recommend these heatmappers:

• Windows: Ekahau heatmapper http://www.ekahau.com/wifidesign/ekahau-heatmapper
• Mac OS X: NetSpot http://www.netspotapp.com/
• Telstra Wi-Fi Maximizer:
  • iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/telstra-wi-fi-maximiser/id878481426?mt=8
  • Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.telstra.wifidiag&hl=en
• Linux: Wi-Fi sigmap https://code.google.com/p/wifisigmap/

Tips & Tricks

The heatmapper programs are quite intuitive, you just need to be connected to your wireless network and follow the instructions for the program you have chosen.

It is important to make sure measurements are made close to each other so that the measuring ranges overlap.

Article by Jan Pedro Tumusok and Jorunn D. Newth