Hey, I get where you’re coming from. A WiFi heat map can really change things up in terms of understanding your coverage. There are several free tools out there that can help you get a good sense of how your WiFi signal is distributed throughout your home.
One well-known and reliable tool is NetSpot
. It’s super user-friendly for mapping out your WiFi coverage. Basically, you walk around your house with a laptop or mobile device while NetSpot makes measurements to create a heatmap. You can see where the signal strength is good and where it’s falling short. It’s available for both Windows and Mac, which is a plus. You can get more info and download it from here: https://www.netspotapp.com
If for some reason NetSpot doesn’t work for you, there are other free alternatives you might want to try like:
- HeatMapper by Ekahau: Another straightforward tool that helps you plan your WiFi deployment.
- WiFi Analyzer: Great for Android users. It doesn’t necessarily do heat mapping, but it’s brilliant for identifying signal strengths and can help you out if you want to do a quicker, albeit less precise, check.
- Acrylic Wi-Fi Home: This tool can scan your wireless networks and provide details about the coverage. While the heat mapping feature may not be as elaborate as NetSpot’s, it’s still useful.
- Vistumbler: On the older side, but still quite functional. It’s more of a scanner and might not give you a detailed heat map but can provide info on signal strength and channels.
But seriously, give NetSpot a whirl first since it might save you the trouble of trying multiple tools. The free version should be sufficient for home use.
Once you have your heat map, you’ll see the weak spots. Depending on the results, you might need to move your router, invest in range extenders, or even look into mesh networking systems to ensure coverage across your entire home. Good luck!