Smartphone tools to keep your Wi-Fi network humming

On the Log screen, you'll find a history of any network errors detected by the network health monitor, such as access points with low signal or data rate, rogue access points, or high packet delays. You can tap an entry to review the details and even add your own notes about the issue.

In the app's menu options, you can export the heat map image and monitoring logs via email or methods. Plus, survey projects created with Ekahau Mobile Survey and their Windows-based Ekahau Site Survey software are compatible. So you can perform surveys with a lightweight mobile device and later export the project to a PC or laptop for in-depth analysis and reporting. And vice-versa; you can export projects from a laptop and import them to a mobile device to do further surveying. Plus, you can also move survey projects to different mobile devices as well.

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Alerts from the network health monitoring are shown in the logs.

The last screen is the configuration screen, where you can change the requirements for the network health monitor, scanning preferences, and other project preferences.

One unique feature of Ekahau Mobile Survey is the widget that you can place on one of your Android home screens. It displays the signal level and data rate of your current Wi-Fi connection and also lets you quickly switch the background network health monitoring on and off.

Eric Geier is a freelance tech writer — keep up with his writings on his Facebook Fan Page. He's also the founder of NoWiresSecurity, a cloud-based Wi-Fi security service, and On Spot Techs, an on-site computer services company.