inSSIDer is a Wi-Fi network scanner application for Microsoft Windows and OS X developed by MetaGeek, LLC. It has received awards such as a 2008 Infoworld Bossie Award for "Best of Open Source Software in Networking", but as of inSSIDer 3, it is no longer open-source.
inSSIDer began as a replacement for NetStumbler, a popular Windows Wi-Fi scanner, which had not been actively developed for several years and reputedly did not work with modern 64-bit operating systems or versions of Windows higher than Windows XP. The project was inspired by Charles Putney on The Code Project.
Gathers information from wireless card and software
Helps choose the best wireless channel available
Wi-Fi network information such as SSID, MAC, vendor, data rate, signal strength, and security
Graphs signal strength over time
Shows which Wi-Fi network channels overlap
Version 4 improvements:
Adds ESSID/Radio grouping
Coloring rules for co-channel and adjacent-channel interference
Link icon
802.11ac support
Expanded filtering capabilities
Version 4 changes:
No longer free
inSSIDer 4 for home/non-commercial use
inSSIDer Office for commercial use
Version 3.0.6.42 improvements:
Allows "starring" of networks
Introduces "Link Score" and "Max Rate"
Revamped filtering capabilities
Version 3.0 changes:
No longer open source
Home edition for non-commercial use
Office edition for commercial use
Removed KML and GPS support
Version 2.0 is a complete re-write of inSSIDer, featuring the following new features:
A new more stable codebase
A news tab to replace the ad
More stable GPX and KML logging
New Time Graph
Stale access points fade out over time
Graphs are now in tabs
Separate graphs for 2.4 and 5 GHz channels
A filtering system that allows you to only show networks that meet certain criteria
Great for hunting down hotspots
A GPS status tab
Shows detailed GPS data (like location, speed, altitude, etc.)
Also shows signal levels of satellites in view (up to 12)
Fullscreen mode
Mini mode
Mini mode is designed for extremely small screens that may otherwise feel cramped with the full interface
All points of data are in tabs
Default reduced number of columns visible in data grid
5 GHz channel view is broken into 2 graphs for lower (33-64) and upper (100-165) channels
Switching between full and mini mode preserves scan data and scan state
You can be scanning in Full mode and switch to mini to keep scanning without interruption
Better paring of 802.11n data
Shows actual extended data rate
Channel graphs show 40 MHz secondary channel, if any
4.2.0.12 (January 19, 2015)
4.0.0.0 (December ??, 2013)
3.1.2.1 (December 18, 2013)
3.0.7.48 (June 13, 2013)
3.0.6.42 (May 20, 2013)
3.0.5.80 (March 22, 2013)
3.0.4.37 Beta (March 7, 2013)
3.0.3.53 Beta (February 2013)
2.1.6.1394 (October 25, 2012)
2.1.5.1393 (June 26, 2012)
2.1.4.1391 (June 1, 2012)
2.1.1.13 (February 28, 2012)
2.1.0.1379 (January 30, 2012)
2.0.7.0126 (February 1, 2011)
2.0.5.1111 (December 4, 2010)
1.2.3.1014 (October 20, 2009)
Version 3.0: Microsoft Windows Vista or higher
Version 2.1: Microsoft Windows XP SP2
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 or higher
OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 or higher
