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inSSIDer 5 is alive!

We recently announced the release of inSSIDer 5, the latest version of inSSIDer that supercharges network scanning by providing, for the first time, visibility into connected clients, their capabilities, and how much airtime they utilize. ????

As a subscriber to the MetaGeek product updates email list, you may be interested in the new major version of inSSIDer, what it has to offer, and how you can get started. 

inSSIDer 5 peers more deeply into wireless network environments, providing you with additional insights to work with and makes it a cinch to: 

• See a breakdown of channel utilization and identify exactly what is hogging channel airtime, whether that be a device on your network or your neighbor's network.
• Physically locate APs and client devices (phones, laptops, game consoles, printers, etc.) using the rapid signal strength updates
• See AP and client capabilities to determine how you can optimize the WiFi experience

We hope you enjoy the latest updates to inSSIDer! And don’t worry, we are keeping them coming. ????

Yours in WiFi,

WiFi Lessons: Why channel 1, 6, or 11?

When you're setting up a new access point, you're faced with a common question: on which channel should you establish this new network? You have the "choice" of channels 1-11*, and channels 4 and 9 look wide open. Even a few Google searches turn up suggestions to simply pick an open channel for superior throughput.

But did you know picking a channel other than 1, 6, or 11 can not only severely hamper your own network's performance, but it can have detrimental effects on surrounding networks as well? Click below to read more!

What’s new in your wireless environment?

Answer that question with ease with the latest update to inSSIDer, available to all MetaGeek Plus and Pro subscribers. 

inSSIDer now shows you exactly which networks and BSSIDs have never been seen before at a site. This makes identifying rogue devices a breeze. It also keeps you informed of how your network landscape is changing over time so you can reassess your network’s channel plan or enable high density settings on your cloud controller. 

To see how you can get rollin' with detecting new networks in your environment, check out the video walkthrough below. 

• Improved packet capture performance
• Improved utilization calculation
• Radio over-time signal strengths are now color coded 
• Restart as an admin by selecting your avatar and selecting that option

We hope you enjoy the latest updates to inSSIDer! And don’t worry, we will keep them coming. ????

Yours in WiFi,

WiFi Lessons: Signal strength basics

Whether you're casually browsing social media, streaming video, uploading photos, or video conferencing, you'll find "one size fits all" doesn't apply to WiFi signal strength and connection speed. 

What's worse, signal strength and connection speed are only partially related. You can have a strong signal but poor performance, or you can have a weak signal but adequate performance. So what gives? 

That's the question we answer with today's lesson. Click below to read more!

Dark Mode is Back ???? 

Did you miss the absence of dark mode in inSSIDer? IT'S BACK! 

Select the Dark Mode option under View to put inSSIDer back in black. ????

• Bonded channels now show a solid outline over the primary 20 MHz channel and a dotted line to represent the bonded channels. This visually clarifies which channel is the primary one.
• Radio and Client details are now grouped by category to make locating important data points quick and easy.
• Graphing animation is now super smoooooth (like butter).
• Identity details, such as MAC address and vendor, can now be highlighted and copied to your clipboard. 

We hope you enjoy the latest updates to inSSIDer! And don’t worry, we will keep them coming. ????

Your WiFi friend,

WiFi Lessons: ZigBee/WiFi coexistence

Since ZigBee and WiFi exist in the 2.4 GHz band, interference is inevitable without the right channel plan. If you do deploy both technologies in the same environment, it's usually the ZigBee network that takes the biggest performance hit.

This reality begs the question: how do you deploy ZigBee and WiFi together, while ensuring peaceful coexistence? That's the topic of today's lesson!

WiFi Lessons: Adjacent and co-channel interference

We all know WiFi is a crowded space ... especially in the 2.4 GHz network. With potentially dozens of networks and non-WiFi devices competing for the same space, it's important to configure your network to avoid as much interference as possible. That means navigating the most common types of interference - adjacent and co-channel interference.

So, how do you identify and reduce or eliminate this type of interference? That's the question we answer with today's lesson. Click below to read more!

WiFi Lessons: Understanding RSSI

Received Signal Strength Indicator, or RSSI, is already a bit of a misnomer at face value. With a value that might range from 0-255, where 100 is "superb" on one access point but pretty terrible on another, it's easy to see why RSSI generates lots of confusion in the WiFi community.

So how should you consider RSSI in your network, and is there a better way to measure signal strength? Those are the questions we answer with today's lesson. Click below to read more!

WiFi Lessons: Dead spots and slow zones

You know the drill – you've measured your coverage area, considered throughput needs in each space, and deployed your network strategically to meet the needs of each user. But someone is complaining of a dead spot or inexplicably slow wireless speeds, even though they appear to be well within your coverage area. What gives?

That's the question we answer with today's lesson. Click below to read more!

inSSIDer 5.1 Levels Up Client Traffic Analytics ??

inSSIDer just got pumped up a couple more notches with the release of inSSIDer 5.1 and is continuing to bridge the gap between simple WiFi scanner, spectrum analyzer, and advanced protocol analyzer. In fact, it’s fast becoming an all-in-one professional WiFi analysis tool. ????  
 

New in inSSIDer 5.1:

• [PLUS], [PLUS PRO]: Displays real-time MCS rate, number of spatial streams, and channel width at which clients and APs are communicating. This lets you know if actual WiFi communication matches capabilities, if a quality connection is being maintained, and if expected bonded channel data transmissions are taking place.

• [PLUS PRO]: The client-level treepie graph and corresponding frame types table will quickly show you how clients are utilizing airtime and will help you spot issues with clients connecting to the wireless network, causing bottlenecks, or experiencing hidden node issues.
   
• [PLUS PRO]: See a list of ALL nearby clients, including those that are connected to a network; connected to your network; and unassociated but looking to join a network, so you can see talkative neighboring clients or see why clients are failing to connect.

If you currently subscribe to MetaGeek Plus and would like to upgrade to MetaGeek Plus Pro, sign into your MetaGeek account > select Licenses on the main navigation > locate your Plus plan and select Manage Subscription > select option to Upgrade to Pro. Or, send an email to support@metageek.com and we’ll be happy to help you out!

We hope you enjoy the latest updates to inSSIDer! And don’t worry, we will keep them coming. ????

Your WiFi friend,

WiFi Lessons: Man in the Middle Attacks

We all know that unsecured public networks are risky. Hackers spoof SSIDs to look like legitimate networks, users connect to those networks, and hackers spy on the transmitted data.

Most of the time, the user has no idea if an SSID is legitimate or not, but as the network manager, you need to know so you can protect yourself and your users.

In today’s lesson, you’ll learn how to use AP aliasing in inSSIDer or Chanalyzer to make sure that you – as a user or manager – know which networks are safe, and which ones might be of a more nefarious variety.

Join MetaGeek Casey next week on Thursday, June 4 for a Chanalyzer Deep Dive webinar. You'll learn how to use Chanalyzer to:

• Locate and identify sources of interference
• Find and eliminate WiFi dead spots
• Record, pause, and rewind spectrum data
• Build professional, customized reports

We''ll also give you a chance to ask questions and have them answered live on the webinar, and have an open chat for attendees to talk shop, connect, and learn from each other.

Want to watch the webinar but can''t attend live? No problem! Register anyway, and a recording of the webinar will be emailed to you the following day. 

Here''s that registration link again, and hope to see you there!

By now, you've probably gotten dozens of emails from companies whose products and services you use regularly (or used once, 4 years ago, and somehow still ended up on their email list ?????) outlining their response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic.

Here at MetaGeek, we're grateful we can continue to serve our customers while still practicing WHO- and CDC-recommended precautionary measures, like increased personal hygiene and social distancing, to help flatten the curve of COVID-19 infections.

Since we don't get to see customers face-to-face very often, even during business as usual, we think the most helpful type of email we can send you to you right now is one that helps you get work done. For most information workers, that means having a stable WiFi network, whether that's at a traditional office or a home office.

Many of us that work in the technology sector, MetaGeek employees included, have the immense privilege of being able to work remotely when needed. When we work from home, however, it puts much higher demands on our WiFi networks than would be present in daily life. Video conferences need to be crisp and clear, stable connectivity is a must, and loss of connectivity can bring work to a grinding halt.

That's why MetaGeek has put together a page of Work-From-Home WiFi resources to keep your network up and running during a time when a stable WiFi network is not just a luxury, but a business requirement.

Are you curious about packet analysis but don't know where to start? Did you just score some MetaGeek gear for 50% off in our online store, and want to learn how to use what you just bought? Or maybe you've downloaded inSSIDer, but want to learn some power-user moves? We can help!

Join Ryan and Casey from MetaGeek this Thursday, May 7 for a hands-on packet analysis webinar, where they'll show you how to see what's going on with your network traffic.
 

In Thursday''s webinar, you'll learn how to:

• Capture packets on Windows with MetaGeek tools
• Use inSSIDer with MetaGeek Plus Pro to easily get the right configuration for packet captures.
• Use inSSIDer to capture a 4-way handshake.
• Use Eye P.A. for packet-level analysis of the packet capture from inSSIDer.
• Use Eye P.A. to quickly drill-down to the relevant packets in a .pcap packet capture.
• Use Wireshark with Eye P.A. for deep analysis of packets.

We''ll also give you a chance to ask questions and have them answered live on the webinar, and have an open chat for attendees to talk shop, connect, and learn from each other.

Here''s that registration link again, and hope to see you there!

Join MetaGeek on Wednesday, October 7 for a Rampart Home webinar!

Ryan and Casey will do a walk-through of the Rampart Home subscription and its companion app, Rampart Agent. Learn who Rampart Home is for, how to use it, and how it helps your home WiFi. We''ll cover:

• Rampart Agent widget
• Daily Network Check
• WiFi Audit
• Throughput testing
• Analysis in the Rampart webapp at my.metageek.com
• Rampart deployment for IT teams

??????? We''ll also give you a chance to ask questions and have them answered live on the webinar, because if you have a question, others probably do too.

??????? But wait, what if I can't attend live?
No problem! If you can't attend but want to watch a replay later, go ahead and register to get on the list. We will send a replay the day after the webinar to all registrants. 
 

Here''s that registration link again, and hope to see you there!

Chanalyzer just got a major update!

Yep, you read that right. You can now use Chanalyzer with Wi-Spy Air hardware! This makes Wi-Spy Air truly a cross-platform tool that can be used on either your iOS/Android mobile device, AND your Windows laptop.

If you already own Chanalyzer, you can update to version 5.11.0.3 by going to Help > Check for Updates. 

Note: your MetaCare software maintenance plan must be current to get updates. If MetaCare is expired on your Chanalyzer license, log in to your MetaGeek account to re-up.

Let us know how you like the new Chanalyzer version! Drop us a line anytime; we read every email.

Last week, I was in the middle of a Zoom conference call with some colleagues, and it happened.

The dreaded pop-up banner has been plaguing information workers a lot over the last month as we've transitioned to working from home full-time.

You know what I''m talking about. You're in the middle of a Zoom meeting trying to articulate a complex idea, present a new strategy, or onboard an important client, and it pops up.

The foreboding gray bar with rounded edges and white text that appears across the top of your Zoom window. You know the one. It looks a little something like...

Uh oh. What do you do?

Sure, you can move closer to the router, but what if you're already right next to it? What then? Your groundbreaking product idea isn't going to pitch itself, and you need a non-robot voice and non-choppy video to get your point across. 

Well, the good news is that there is quite a bit you can do on your own to make sure you have the best possible WiFi in your home office, with a little training and some free tools, and we're going to walk you through it step-by-step.

Next Thursday, on April 23, Casey and Ryan from MetaGeek are teaching a webinar on making your home WiFi videoconference ready, pitch deck ready, and yes, even Tiger King ready.*

We''ll also give you a chance to ask questions and have them answered live on the webinar, and have an open chat for attendees to connect and learn from each other.

Please feel free to forward this invite to family, friends and co-workers so everyone can enjoy great WiFi.

Here''s that registration link again, and see you on April 23!

Join MetaGeek Casey on Thursday, July 2 for a MetaGeek Product Selection webinar.

We will discuss how the hardware from the MetaGeek Complete bundle complements a MetaGeek Plus and Pro subscription, as well as specific use cases and examples for MetaGeek software.

We will look at:

• When to use Chanalyzer (home automation, ZigBee, non-WiFi interference)
• When to use inSSIDer and a MetaGeek Plus subscription to troubleshoot WiFi client behavior
• Advanced packet capture analysis with Eye P.A.
• When to consider Wi-Spy Air and the convenience of your mobile device, "there when you need it"

We''ll also give you a chance to ask questions and have them answered live on the webinar, and have an open chat for attendees to talk shop, connect, and learn from each other.

Want to watch the webinar but can''t attend live? No problem! Register anyway, and a recording of the webinar will be emailed to you the following day. 

Here''s that registration link again, and hope to see you there!

With all the -ing (working, schooling, meeting, learning, chatting, connecting) you're doing from home these days, it's putting a lot of stress on your home WiFi network.

If you're working from home, you need reliable WiFi to get your work done.

If you have students at home, they need to be able to attend online classes and participate in video discussions.

You still need social connections and bonding, and this might include FaceTime with long-distance relatives or winding down with Family Movie Night at the end of a stressful week.

Sometimes, you need WiFi for all 3 of these at the same time. But when you go to use your WiFi connection, you get something like this: 

Since you're reading this email, you''re on the MetaGeek mailing list so you might know a bit about WiFi already.

But...what if you're not a WiFi expert? Or even if you work in WiFi, why should you have to spend your free time at home troubleshooting it?

What if you and your household need WiFi to JUST WORK?

Yeah, us too.

The need for reliable WiFi at home (whether or not you're a WiFi expert) has been building for a long time, but it's been especially painful over the last few months. So we've been working on a tool, and developing it...

one frozen screen...

one choppy video.

one "your internet connection is unstable".

one audio-only Google Meet.

one "buffering" Netflix icon at a time.

Today, that tool is ready, and you can use it to banish the neverending buffering icon to the annals of history. It's called Rampart Home, and with it you can answer these 3 important questions:

1. What's wrong with my WiFi network and how do I fix it? (WiFi Audit)
2. What's happening right now with my home WiFi? (Real-time Stats)
3. I'm about to start my workday. Will my WiFi be able to handle whatever I throw at it today? (Daily Check)

To read more about the journey to developing Rampart Home, read MetaGeek founder Ryan Woodings' blog post.

If you've been on the MetaGeek mailing list for very long, you know that we hardly ever run sales or promotions. We're a small team, we price our products fairly, and we don't want to adopt the model of artificially raising the price of retail products just to slash prices and give the appearance of a good deal. That works for big box retailers, but it's just not our jam.

THAT BEING SAID...

If there's any time to do a sale that we "normally wouldn't do",  it's right now, while individuals, communities and economies worldwide are reeling from the Coronavirus pandemic. We don't want to look back on this and think that there was something we could have done to help our customers but didn't. So we're pulling the trigger on this. 

MetaGeek CEO Brian Tuttle wrote a blog post with some more context on what we're doing and why, but tl;dr: we're running a sale that gets you 50% off almost everything we sell. 

Here's what's included in the CRUSH-CORONA-50 sale. Click the links below to apply the code automatically.

If you've been thinking of investing in professional tools to level up your WiFi game, now's the time. As our CEO mentioned in his post: times are tough, and money is tight, and we are all ready to get back to work. We don't know exactly when that will be, but we want you to be ready when it happens.

There's a lot of uncertainty right now, but if you have MetaGeek tools, you can at least check "worry about WiFi" off of your list.

Stay safe, y'all.

Yours in WiFi,

At MetaGeek, we've noticed that teachers and students in our lives have been really struggling with the Wi-Fi connectivity part of distance learning during the pandemic, especially since other household members are likely working from home and also using the same Wi-Fi connection.

While we can't fix ALL the challenges that come along with pandemic-era distance learning, we can at least make sure that Wi-Fi is one less thing to worry about. 

Awhile back, we launched a tool called Rampart Home that helps users fix bad/slow WiFi at home. Rampart Home assesses your Wi-Fi network and tells you what might be slowing it down so you can fix it. 

Rampart Home is normally a paid subscription, but we're giving away 90 days free to teachers and students as part of the Rampart for Education campaign.

• teacher
• student
• parent of a student

Or, if you don''t personally qualify for Rampart for Education, maybe you have friends or family that would qualify. Or maybe you just believe in the importance of education and want to help get the word out. If that''s the case, then then please help share this the program with with your social circles:

This isn''t a sales email; we''re not trying to sell anything, and there are no gimmicks or strings attached. Participants don''t even have to enter a credit card. We just want to help people have a stable Wi-Fi connection for distance learning.

Help us spread the word if you can!

Join MetaGeek Casey on Thursday, August 27 for a WiFi 6 webinar!

Casey will analyze WiFi 6 throughput tests from both a spectrum and protocol perspective using inSSIDer and MetaGeek Plus. Using a WiFi 6 device and AP, we will unveil the market's current ability to troubleshoot WiFi 6 from both a layer 1 and layer 2 perspective. 

We'll take a look at how WiFi 6 throughput tests appear in:

• Chanalyzer - OFDMA spectrum signature and network details
• inSSIDer with MetaGeek Plus - OFDMA spectrum signature, network AND client details
• Eye P.A. - WiFi 6 packets captured using an 802.11ac adapter 
• Air Viewer - OFDMA spectrum signature, network AND client details, all from a mobile device

We''ll also give you a chance to ask questions and have them answered live on the webinar, because if you have a question, others probably do too!

?? But wait, what if I can't attend live?
No problem! If you can't attend but want to watch a replay later, go ahead and register to get on the list. We will send a replay the day after the webinar to all registrants.

Here''s that registration link again, and hope to see you there!

Long time, no see, dear reader! A lotttt has been happening at MetaGeek HQ since our last WiFi Digest newsletter. Too much to list it all out here, actually, so before we dig into what's happening in industry news this month, here's a quick highlight reel of MetaGeek-specific updates:

• #crush-corona-50: We're offering 50% off almost everything in our store so you can gear up with professional tools when you get back to work.
• Chanalyzer v5.11 is here, and now it has Wi-Spy Air support and full tinker-power on the Wi-Spy DBx
• Eye P.A. v2.3 is also here, and it parses packets super fast now (and blows Eye P.A. v2.2 out of the water)
• inSSIDer was updated to v5.3 this week, making it the latest in a list of massive improvements to inSSIDer over the past year.

The WiFi Digest articles linked below are all topics on the MetaGeek Community, so if you want to weigh in with a reply, bookmark the topic, or even post your own topic (yes!), just click on the headlines below.

?? And without further ado, here's the WiFi Digest ??

Save 25% on all things Eye P.A. through August 8

Happy Eye P.A. (IPA) Day! The first Thursday every August is celebrated by craft beer lovers as IPA Day, but here at MetaGeek the holiday is known as "Eye P.A. Day" in honor of our visual packet analysis software.

In celebration of Eye (I) P.A. Day, we're honoring the beer and the software by offering a sweet (ok, fine, a hoppy) discount on all things Eye P.A.! During the promotion (August 3 through August 8) you can enjoy 25% off:

• Eye P.A. Essential bundle
• Eye P.A. standalone software
• MetaCare renewals for Eye P.A.

To celebrate along with us, use code ipaday20 to get 25% off Eye P.A. products in the MetaGeek online store. To renew your MetaCare for Eye P.A., log in to your account at my.metageek.com or follow the instructions here. 

For a full breakdown of what''s included in the sale and how to redeem your 25% off coupon, check out the blog post below ??

The sale goes through August 8, so don''t wait too long!

Yours in WiFi,

TL;DR: The MetaGeek "Crush Corona" sale is ending June 30, so get your 50% off while you can.

When we launched this sale at the end of April, it was to lend a helping hand to our customers who might be struggling through budget cuts or reduced work hours due to COVID-19. We figured it would provide some folks with a little bit of relief, and help them invest in themselves as WiFi professionals with some kick-ass professional tools.

If you've already purchased: GOOD ON YOU for investing in yourself, your WiFi education, and your career and taking advantage of a good deal when you saw it. ??

If you've not yet purchased: DO IT NOW. The sale ends June 30 at midnight.  We're not in the commodities business (you know what I'm talking about - the Black Friday-style pattern of slowly raising prices, only to slash them to make a lower price look impressive, then starting the cycle over again) so we're not planning on doing a sale of this magnitude again.

As a reminder, here's what's included in the CRUSH-CORONA-50 sale. Click the links below to apply the code automatically.

Questions? You can read the full sale details here, or reply to this email for help.

Yours in WiFi,