Appletell | Apple, Mac, iPhone, iPod | News, Rumors, Reviews, How-Tos

Category: Wireless networking
Developer: Bitrino
Requirements: iPhone 2.1 software
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch
File Size: 0.2MB
Version Reviewed: 2.6
Price: $0.99

The iPhone OS Wi-Fi Settings provides the essential information about the wireless networks around you: the name, whether it’s password protected, and relative signal strength (though I’ve found that last one to be wildly inaccurate). Beyond that basic information is a lot more; data which can not only help you pick the best network to connect to, but how to configure your base station.

Consider WifiTrak the “pro” version of the Wi-Fi Settings; in addition to displaying the name of the networks around you, the network strength is expressed numerically (rather than the unreliable three bars of the iPhone’s wifi signal). In addition to displaying the password status, it tells you what kind of encryption it uses and on what channel the station is broadcasting. Finally, the networks are color coded: Green means you are connected to it, or have in the past, red means you can’t, and grey means you haven’t tried (or haven’t been successful) yet. You can click on a network to get the station’s MAC address, along with the channel, strength, and noise.

All of this can help you make the best choice for a strong signal. For example, if there are a lot of stations using channel 6, you may want to use a weaker network that’s all alone on channel 1 because it’ll have less interference. If you’re setting up a wireless router, knowing what channels are crowded can help you create a stronger network.

WiFiTrak’s options let you set how frequently it will scan, whether it should try to automatically connect to an open network, what sound to play, and the networks it remembers and has been told to forget. If there are multiple routers bridging the same SSID, WifiTrack will display those allowing you to pick the one you want. It also displays “private” networks that don’t broadcast their SSID: however it lists them with blank names.

In terms of delivering information, WifiTrak is what the iPhone OS should be, or at least be as an option. Not everyone may know or care that the network their on is a -50 strength WPA2 protected signal, but sometimes that’s exactly the information you need. WifiTrak is an amazing sniffer program, available at a rock-bottom price. Well worth it.