WiFi signal and radio

The Connection segment on the Status tab shows the full picture of your WiFi link: signal, channel, security, generation, and the radio capabilities your AP advertises.

Signal strength

WiFi signal is measured in dBm. The numbers are always negative. Closer to zero is stronger.

Signal	Quality	What to expect
-30 to -50 dBm	Excellent	Full speed, no issues
-50 to -60 dBm	Good	Solid for everything
-60 to -70 dBm	OK	Fine most of the time, may wobble under load
-70 to -80 dBm	Weak	Slower, video calls might drop
Below -80 dBm	Very weak	Unreliable, expect frequent drops

You can see your current signal, channel, channel width, and WiFi generation in the Connection segment of the network map.

WiFi generation, channel, and width

Network Weather parses the raw 802.11 information elements your AP broadcasts to identify what your radio actually supports, not just what Windows reports. From those it derives:

• WiFi generation — WiFi 4 (HT), 5 (VHT), 6 (HE), 6E (HE on 6 GHz), or 7 (EHT, including Multi-Link Operation when present).
• Channel — the primary radio channel. On 2.4 GHz, channels 1, 6, and 11 are the only ones that don't overlap.
• Channel width — 20, 40, 80, 160, or 320 MHz. Wider is faster but more vulnerable to interference.
• Spatial streams — how many parallel data streams your AP can send (1x1, 2x2, 4x4).
• Beamforming, MU-MIMO, TWT, BSS coloring — modern radio features that improve performance in crowded environments.

When the AP exposes vendor-specific info (WPS or Ubiquiti IEs), the app also shows the AP manufacturer, model name, and serial number.

Security type

The Connection segment shows what security your network uses, parsed from the RSN information element:

• WPA2 Personal — common, fine for most homes
• WPA3 Personal — newer, stronger key derivation
• WPA3 / WPA2 transition — both supported on the same SSID for backward compatibility
• WPA3 Enterprise — corporate networks with RADIUS auth
• OWE (Enhanced Open) — encryption without a password (modern open networks)

It also flags Management Frame Protection (MFP) when present, which protects against deauth/disassoc attacks.

Weak signal warnings

If your signal stays weak for an extended period, the app surfaces a finding. The fixes:

• Move closer to your router. The simplest one.
• Add a mesh node or access point to cover the dead spot.
• Check for interference. Microwaves, baby monitors, and some Bluetooth devices clobber 2.4 GHz. If your router supports 5 GHz or 6 GHz, prefer those.
• Switch channels. If neighbors' WiFi overlaps yours, picking a less crowded channel can help. Run Check My Network before and after to verify.

Hotel and airport WiFi

When you connect to a network that needs a web login (hotels, airports, coffee shops), the app detects it and gives you a direct link to the login page in a banner above the topology. The banner also tells you how aggressive the portal is:

• Mild — just an HTTP redirect; DNS works normally.
• Moderate — port filtering or public DNS blocked.
• Brutal — all DNS hijacked to a single portal IP.

It also identifies the portal vendor (ANTlabs, Nomadix, Meraki Splash, Aruba ClearPass, Cisco ISE, and more) so you know what kind of login experience to expect.

In-flight WiFi

When you're on satellite-based airline WiFi (United, Delta, ViaSat, Gogo, Starlink Aviation), the app shows a flight info banner above the topology with flight number, route, altitude, ground speed, ETA, and destination weather. If the satellite link drops, the banner turns red and re-polls every 5 seconds until it recovers.

Switch and port (Ethernet)

If you're plugged in via Ethernet and Npcap is installed, Network Weather can read LLDP frames from your switch to show the switch model and the exact port you're connected to. Useful for tracing bad cabling in a wiring closet.