How to Check Wi-Fi Signal Strength
Windows: You’ve already seen the scary stripes – this fun little graphic that shows the power of your wireless connection. While full lanes means you’re probably getting good Wi-Fi speeds, you’ve also likely run into situations where the lanes aren’t quite full and your wireless connection is terrible.
Does having only two out of three stripes mean you are doomed? Why can you still use Netflix on one bar? Are your two bars closer to three or one column? Should you get closer to your router or is everything ok where you are? The mysterious bars are disappointing .
Rather than relying on fancy graphics to help you determine if your wireless connection is better or unstable, I have another suggestion: never look at them again. Instead, launch Command Prompt and look for more accurate data on the quality of your Wi-Fi connection. (You can also use PowerShell. Don’t worry.)
How to use Windows Command Prompt to determine Wi-Fi signal strength
First, you need to launch Command Prompt – no need for advanced, just search for Command Prompt after clicking the Windows Start button. Run it and enter the following:
netsh wlan show interfaces
Assuming you are using a wireless connection, you will receive the following response:
You will need to find the “Signal” line, which will show you the level of your signal as an arbitrary percentage. (I say “arbitrary” because your connection will fail long before you reach 0%.)
I think it’s even better to pull out a third party app and see the actual levels of your connection in dBm , but the signal percentage works as a last resort. Honestly, your wireless signal is good if you see results of 85-90 percent or better; so-so about 50 percent; and problematic sub 30 percent or so.
However, I am just approximating these numbers; you’d better walk to a place in your house or apartment where your Wi-Fi connection is not conducive to work or streaming, and measure the quality of the Wi-Fi signal from there to figure out what speed gives you poor / normal / excellent performance.
How to use PowerShell to determine Wi-Fi signal strength
If, for whatever reason, you prefer to use PowerShell instead of the command line, launch it and enter the following (courtesy of Windows Central ):
(netsh wlan show interfaces) -Match '^\s+Signal' -Replace '^\s+Signal\s+:\s+',''
You will get one shape as shown here:
That’s all! More typing, but better looking results.
Even then, interest is not everything …
While the signal strength metric is a useful data point, it is not the ultimate reason why your internet connection might be slow. There are many other issues that can affect the quality of your downloads and uploads (or latency), and signal strength won’t help you troubleshoot. These include:
- Who else is using your Wi-Fi and what are they doing
- If you are using a Wi-Fi extender connected to the same hotspot as your laptop
- If you have a weak connection between your access point and your router or modem
- If something is wrong with your ISP’s internet connection
The list goes on. That said, if you’re constantly getting low signal strength – but those pesky Wi-Fi bars tout one that should be decent – you might want to reconsider where you placed your router, which bands you’re using (2.4GHz or 5GHz ). and whether your connected device is in line of sight from the access point. So your troubleshooting adventure begins, but we’re always happy to help !