The following additional features and recommendations can help you use WiFi Explorer more effectively.
Annotations are custom labels you can assign to particular networks. They can be used, for example, to indicate the location of an access point (e.g. 2nd floor) or to help identify or monitor a number of networks with the same name (SSID). To assign a custom label to a network, you must make sure the Annotations column is being displayed.
WiFi Explorer can automatically hide the 2.4 or 5 GHz section of the Spectrum graph if no networks are being displayed for that band. This option allows you to better utilize the available chart area by expanding the graph of the band where networks are being displayed.
WiFi Explorer can be configured to hide the DFS channels, UNII-2 (52 - 64) & UNII-2 Ext (100 - 144), from the Spectrum graph if no DFS networks are found. This option allows you to better utilize the available space to visualize nearby networks and it's particularly useful for people who have small screens (e.g. 11" MacBook Air).
If a DFS network is found, WiFi Explorer will automatically expand the graph so all networks, including DFS networks, are shown.
WiFi Explorer assigns a random color to each network, which is not necessarily the same every time you run the app. If you use WiFi Explorer to monitor or troubleshoot specific networks on a regular basis (e.g. your home network), you can set a specific and permanent color for those networks so it becomes easier to identify them, especially across sessions.
To set the color of a network, select the network, switch to the Network Details tab and click on the colored square at the bottom-right corner of the view, below the graph, then choose a color from the palette. The color you select will be used for that network every time you run the app.
WiFi Explorer provides additional options to improve the accessibility of the app:
The vendors database is used to resolve the name of the manufacturer of the access point based on the first three octets of the BSSID, which constitute the Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI), also known as Company ID. New registrations are added to the vendors database as manufacturers create and distribute new products.
When you open WiFi Explorer, the app automatically checks (once a day) for newer versions of the vendors database. If a new version is found, you will be prompted to download the update.
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