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Category: Utilities
Developer: Lars Bergstrom
Requirements: iPhone 2.2 software
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod Touch
File Size: 0.1MB
Version Reviewed: 2.1
Price: Free

There are three ways for you to connect to a network with your iPhone. In order of speed from slowest to fastest, they are EDGE, 3G, and WiFi. If you have an iPod Touch you only have the WiFi option available to you. WiFi is a wireless standard that was developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). 802.11 is the original wireless specification. Extensions of the 802.11 standard were given the same number with a letter suffix (A, B, C, D and so on, all the way to N as of today). Enter the WiFinder from Lars Bergstrom. WiFinder does exactly what it’s name implies. It finds WiFi networks for your device to connect to.

As you can see from the screenshot above, when you launch the WiFinder on your iPhone or iPod Touch, it will automatically start to scan without any user input. By default, it will rescan for networks every 10 seconds. What you see displayed is listed in kind of an arbitrary way. Listed first is the “open” or non-encrypted networks. Under the “open” networks, WiFinder will list “locked” or encrypted networks. Where WiFinder goes above and beyond the typical scanner is that is tries to log on to each network it finds. If it is successful, the normal red icon on the left side of the screen will turn green, meaning you can connect to this network and surf without any input from you. In my testing, this turned out to be accurate 100% of the time out of five attempts.

WiFinder does have a few settings that you can change. You can turn auto scan on and off, set the rescan interval, and turn notifications on and off. Lars has done an excellent job with this application, and has included a 1-touch connection feature that works without flaw. They way it works is that once you have your list of available networks (which is the default screen after launch), simply tap on a network, and you will get details on that network and a “connect” button. Tap the “connect” button, and you are then connected. It does not get much easier than that, folks. I have not seen this application report anything incorrectly, nor has it not allowed me to connect to networks that are open. I would have to say it is near perfect in its detection of networks. The only issue I have been able to find is that it will display the same network more than once, sometimes. I am not sure what causes this, and was not able to find an information on it. I have contacted Lars for some insight on that. Stay tuned for an update.

After running WiFinder through its paces, I like the application, and still have not seen it access anything incorrectly, allowing me to connect to any “open” network. Its limitations are that it will not allow you to connect to “locked” networks even if you have the password. For that, you have to go through your OS. Other than that, I am impressed with WiFinder, and definitely recommend it as a free app.