“NetSpot is everyone’s wireless scanner!”
Over the years I’ve used NetSpot primarily for its heat mapping capabilities during wireless deployments for client environments. While I wouldn’t claim to use it on a daily basis, it has remained my go-to tool when I need to produce a polished, professional analysis—particularly when creating visual reports I can confidently present to clients.
I bought this to set up 3 WAPs for my parents, whose house has very thick stone walls that almost completely block wifi. The instantaneous measurement tool and the survey tool were both very useful, and I eventually found an acceptable layout. In particular, being able to overlay the floor plan on an interpolated heatmap of signal strength was key.
That said, I bought the cheapest version (since it was a small-scale one-off) and the features they lock behind the second paywall often feel more like arbitrary withholding to annoy you (e.g. the ability to name discovered MAC addresses) rather than legitimately separated upsells (e.g. the predictive planning features). This is annoying if you have 3 floors, but since the third floor for me was small and less important, I chose to guess at wifi coverage instead of shelling out way more for the second pricing tier.
I had hoped the survey heatmap would reveal radio shadows that I could plan around, but they were not obvious. I do not know if this is a shortcoming of the tool or just the confusing nature of many stone walls, but I did notice the interpolation in the heatmap making obviously wrong inferences (i.e. guessing at a strong signal on the far side of a measurement taken in a dead zone), so I can’t rule out that it was the tool.
On the whole a worthy purchase, but I think my usage was about the practical limit of the basic feature set. I would not the home version for any location with more than 3 WAPs, more than 2 floors, or significant environmental interference or attenuation. The data point limit and the snapshot limit were non-issues for my usage.
This is one of the best software for WiFi survey. I have been in the industry for over 20 yrs now and this is on of the most easiest ones to use. Works great when trying to troubleshoot existing sites. Or creating a new site survey to install. Customer service is top notch and responds fast to your requests for assistance and questions.
A NETSPOT user for many years on MAC, I now use the PC version and appreciate the accessibility of the software for excellent customer results. (mobile app is great too). The addition of a terminal model by support was done in less than 48 hours, perfect service. I recommend.
I have been using Netspot for years now and it has changed my business. Now with the Planning feature, it has made quoting much easier and without the need for site visits saving me time and money. Go Pro of go broke… well worth the money.
I have been using Netspot for the last 8 years to test, survey and plan wifi systems in homes, offices and hotels. It provides the same stats you get with much more expensive systems. A great pro tool for wifi installers.
Paid for the pro edition even though just managing home network well worth the money
The map scale adjustment function gave results that exceeded my expectations.
I used NetSpot to confirm dead spots in my house so that I could justify the cost to fix them. Invaluable tool!
