title: NetSpot
text: # NetSpot
  
  NetSpot is a software tool for wireless network assessment, scanning, and surveys, analyzing Wi-Fi coverage and performance. It runs on Mac OS X 10.6+ and Windows 7, 8 and 10. Netspot supports 802.11n, 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g wireless networks and uses the standard Wi-Fi network adapter and its Airport interface to map radio signal strength and other wireless network parameters, and build reports on that. NetSpot was released in August 2011.
  
  ## Functions
  
  NetSpot provides all professional wireless site survey features for Wi-Fi and maps coverage of a living area, office space, buildings, etc. It provides visual data to help analyze radio signal leaks, discover noise sources, map channel use, optimize access point locations. Also, the application can perform Wi-Fi network planning: the data that are collected help to select channels and placements for new hotspots. Survey reports can be generated in PDF format.
  
  ## Usual uses
  
  * Mapping Wi-Fi
  * Mapping Wi-Fi signal strength
  * Optimizing networks
  * Trouble-shooting networks
  * Visualizing wireless networks
  * Diagnosing signal problems
  * Analyzing wireless network coverage
  
  ## Release history
  
  | Version | Platform | Release date | Notes and significant changes |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | 1.0.216, | Macintosh | August 2011 | Initial public release |
  | 1.1.259 | Macintosh | November 2011 | Ability to draw a map inside of NetSpot New visualization: Signal to interference ratio |
  | 1.2.308 | Macintosh | December 2011 | New improved advanced algorithm for APs' location detection Detection of different networks transmitted by the same AP, their signals are ignored when building an interference map |
  | 1.3.335 | Macintosh | July 2012 | New project wizard OS X Mountain Lion compatibility |
  | 2.0 | Macintosh | October 2012 | New Wireless Discover Mode Manually relocate APs Pro and Enterprise versions introduced. |
  | 2.1 | Macintosh | May 2013 | New visualizations: Frequency Band Coverage, PHY Mode (a/b/g/n) Coverage The Scan Interval can be adjusted in Discover mode New Advanced Export to generate customizable PDF reports Frequency data can now be viewed in Discover mode |
  | 2.2 | Macintosh | August 2013 | Full support of IEEE 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard Alternative detailed view of data points indicators OS X 10.9 Mavericks compatibility |
  | 2.10.953 | Macintosh | October 2018 | New localization: Japanese The color scheme in the sidebar is more contrasting and visual now When switching among surveys, selected visualization is kept Corrected measurement values in some of the visualizations Note: macOS Mojave 10.14 will require users to enable location services to run NetSpot. Available on Setapp |
  | 1.0 | Android | November 2018 | The 1.0 version only has a Discover mode at this time: new beautiful and easy-to-use interface, all necessary features at hand… and it is free. |
  | 1.1 | Android | September 2019 | Chromebook support* has been added Nice and sleek improvements throughout the interface The app is now using the latest SDK The issue with name filters not being applied in some cases is fixed The app has been optimized for even better performance on tablets |
  | 2.11 | Macintosh, Windows | October 2019 | Support for macOS 10.15 Catalina updated OUI lists for better AP vendor identification fixed: Dark mode is currently disabled until NetSpot 3 fixed: The animation shown during scanning fixed: Issues while working with the high-resolution maps |
  | 2.12 | Macintosh, Windows | February 2020 | macOS: Support for 802.11ax (aka WiFi 6). Support for WPA3. The vendors list has been updated. Fixed: Details graphs for networks broadcasting on 5 GHz. Windows: Support for 802.11ax (aka WiFi 6). Support for WPA3. Improved: General performance of the app during the active scan. The vendors list has been updated. Fixed: The app crashing with WLAN service disabled. Fixed: A minor bug while moving the second scan point. Fixed: A minor bug with two survey starting points on the map. |
  