WinFi Lite is a powerful WiFi Analyzer for Windows

Martin Brinkmann
Sep 3, 2019
Updated • Apr 21, 2023
Windows
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46

WinFi Lite is a new networking program and app for Microsoft Windows devices designed to monitor, analyze, and manage wireless networks. The application is available as a Microsoft Store application and as a classic desktop application.

The desktop application is available on OneDrive and not signed at the time of writing. The author plans to sign it soon though.

The program is listed as beta currently but it works really well already. For this test, I have checked out the desktop version of the application. Both versions share the same functionality.

Tip: check out NetSpot WiFi Analyzer for Android if you want a mobile analyzer. Also, make sure to secure your wireless router. If you use Windows, use WifiHistoryView to display past wireless connections the PC made and this tutorial to remove old wireless networks in Windows 10.

WinFi Lite

winfi lite wireless network windows

The interface of the application provides a wealth of information but in a very organized fashion thanks to the use of colors and tabs. It may still be overwhelming at first as you find lots of buttons, tabs and menus placed in the interface to change what is displayed on the screen.

The program displays the list of wireless networks that it discovered during an initial scan; the list is updated automatically by default but you may click on the pause button in the top left corner next to the wireless network adapter to pause the scans.

Each wireless network is listed with its BSSID, network name, vendor name, RSSI, beacon, rates, bands, channels, amendments, channel utilization, security, uptime, last seen date and a lot more.

A click on any network displays details in the lower panel. The lower panel uses tabs to divide details, signals, spectrum, parameter, and notes.

The application displays graphs when you click on network details that highlights the strength of the selected network. Signals and Spectrum provide a comparison with other networks. The program color codes each network that it found during the scan and all of them are displayed in the graphs so that you can check the use of channels or the signal strength effectively.

winfi lite manage wireless networks

The Parameters tab finally lists details networking parameters such as the supported rates, capability information, or timestamps. There is also a notes tab to add custom text notes.

WinFi Lite supports lots of filtering options to display a subset of networks or information only. You can sort the network table using the program and switch to another supported view mode using the view menu.

The application supports basic and pro view modes, a security report view mode, or network capability and nearby network lists views. Basic, as the name suggests, lists fewer parameters and focuses on important metrics such as signal quality, band, or channel.

wireless networks security

Pro displays more information, and security report changes the layout of the table by grouping networks into security categories. It lists open networks and networks sorted into groups that use encryption for easier identification.

You can create custom profiles using the program's capabilities; ideal if you need an overview of a subset of information only.

A right-click on a network displays options to copy the information or save/open as Pcap.,

The developer added handy features to the application that improves how you use it. You find 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz toggles at the top to quickly display or hide these networks in the listing. There is an option to save the data to JSON files, and to change zounds of parameters in the settings. To name just a few: scan interval in seconds, when unreachable networks are removed from the table, how graphs are displayed, and a lot more.

WinFi Lite keeps track of networks in an archive that you may open at any time. A click on a session  provides an option to replay it in its entirety. The program switches to the table view then and you may use the session slider to go back and forward in time, or play it instead.

Closing Words

WinFi Lite may still be a beta application but it is well designed very powerful wireless network monitor, analyzer, and manager. Cautious users may want to wait until the program is out of beta and signed properly.

Now You: do you use network monitoring applications? (via Deskmodder)

Summary
software image
Author Rating
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3.5 based on 12 votes
Software Name
WinFi Lite
Operating System
Windows
Software Category
Network
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Comments

  1. Dan Donx said on January 15, 2023 at 10:29 am
    Reply

    What mental age of reader are you targeting with the first sentence? 10?

    Why not write an article on how to *avoid* upgrading from W10 to W11. Analogous to those like me who avoided upgrading from 7 to 10 for as long as possible.

    If your paymaster Microsoft permits it, of course.

  2. Dexter said on January 15, 2023 at 11:14 am
    Reply

    5. Rufus
    6. Ventoy

    PS. I hate reading these “SEO optimized” articles.

    1. cdr said on January 15, 2023 at 3:32 pm
      Reply

      I used Rufus to create an installer for a 6th gen intel i5 that had MBR. It upgraded using Setup. No issues except for Win 11 always prompting me to replace my local account. Still using Win 10 Pro on all my other PCs to avoid the bullying.

  3. sv said on January 15, 2023 at 6:40 pm
    Reply

    bit pointless to upgrade for the sake of upgrading as you never know when you’ll get locked out because ms might suddenly not provide updates to unsupported systems.

    ps…. time travelling?
    written. Jan 15, 2023
    Updated • Jan 13, 2023

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on January 16, 2023 at 5:49 am
      Reply

      This happens when you schedule a post in WordPress and update it before setting the publication date.

  4. Anonymous said on January 16, 2023 at 8:24 am
    Reply

    Anyone willing to downgrade to this awful OS must like inflicting themselves with harm.

  5. basingstoke said on January 16, 2023 at 11:18 am
    Reply

    I have become convinced now that anybody who has no qualms with using Windows 11/10 must fit into one of the following brackets:

    1) Too young to remember a time before W10 and W11 (doesn’t know better)

    2) Wants to play the latest games on their PC above anything else (or deeply needs some software which already dropped W7 support)

    3) Doesn’t know too much about how computers work, worried that they’d be absolutely lost and in trouble without the “”latest security””

    4) Microsoft apologist that tries to justify that the latest “features” and “changes” are actually a good thing, that improve Windows

    5) Uses their computer to do a bare minimum of like 3 different things, browse web, check emails, etc, so really doesn’t fuss

    Obviously that doesn’t cover everyone, there’s also the category that:

    6) Actually liked W7 more than 10, and held out as long as possible before switching, begrudgingly uses 10 now

    Have I missed any group off this list?

    1. Heinz Strunk said on September 19, 2023 at 3:57 pm
      Reply

      You have missed in this group just about any professional user that uses business software like CAD programs or ERP Programs which are 99% of all professional users from this list.

      Linux doesn’t help anyone who is not a linux kid and apple is just a fancy facebook machine.

  6. ilev said on August 24, 2023 at 7:34 pm
    Reply

    Microsoft has removed KB5029351 update

    1. EP said on August 24, 2023 at 9:21 pm
      Reply

      only from windows update though
      KB5029351 is still available from the ms update catalog site

  7. Anonymous said on August 24, 2023 at 11:05 pm
    Reply

    1. This update is labaled as PREVIEW if it causes issues to unintelligent people, then they shouldn’t have allowed Preview updates ot install.

    2. I have installed it in a 11 years old computer, and no problems at all.

    3. Making a big drama over a bluescreen for an updated labeled as preview is ridiculous.

    This is probably another BS internet drama where people ran programs and scripts that modified the registry until they broke Windows, just for removing stuff that they weren’t even using just for the sake of it.
    Maybe people should stop playing geeks and actually either use Windows 10 or Windows 11, but don’t try to modify things just for the sake of it.

    Sometimes removing or stopping things (like defender is a perfect example) only need intelligence, not scripts or 3rd party programs that might mess with windows.

  8. john said on August 24, 2023 at 11:17 pm
    Reply

    Windows 11 was a pointless release, it was just created because some of the Windows team wanted to boost sales with some sort of new and improved Windows 10. Instead, Microsoft cannot support one version well let alone two.

    1. John G. said on August 25, 2023 at 12:08 pm
      Reply

      Windows 11 is the worst ugly shame by Microsoft ever. They should release with every new W11 version a complete free version of Starallback inside just to make this sh** OS functionally again.

  9. EP said on August 25, 2023 at 3:10 pm
    Reply

    motherboard maker MSI has recently released a statement regarding the “unsupported processor” blue screen error for their boards using Intel 600/700 series chipsets & to avoid the KB5029351 Win11 update:
    https://www.msi.com/news/detail/MSI-On–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–Error-Message-of-Windows-11-Update-KB5029351-Preview-142215

  10. EP said on August 29, 2023 at 7:32 pm
    Reply

    check out the following recent articles:

    Neowin – Microsoft puts little blame on its Windows update after UNSUPPORTED PROCESSOR BSOD bug:
    https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-puts-little-blame-on-its-windows-update-after-unsupported-processor-bsod-bug/

    BleepingComputer – Microsoft blames ‘unsupported processor’ blue screens on OEM vendors:
    https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-blames-unsupported-processor-blue-screens-on-oem-vendors/

  11. Leonard Britvolli said on August 30, 2023 at 10:33 pm
    Reply

    While there may be changes or updates to the Windows 10 Store for Business and Education in the future, it is premature to conclude that it will be discontinued based solely on rumors.

  12. sembrador said on September 5, 2023 at 9:32 pm
    Reply

    My advice, I left win 15 years ago. Now I’m a happy linux user (linuxmint) but there is Centos, Fedora, Ubuntu depending on your needs.

  13. EP said on September 6, 2023 at 11:55 am
    Reply

    motherboard maker MSI has recently released new BIOS/firmware updates for their Intel 600 & 700 series motherboards to fix the “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR” problem (Sept. 6):

    https://www.msi.com/news/detail/Updated-BIOS-fixes-Error-Message–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–caused-BSOD-on-MSI-s-Intel-700-and-600-Series-Motherboards-142277

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