Ubiquiti WiFiMan Wizard: A Portable Spectrum Analyzer for Home and Professional Use

Any professional WiFi installation includes a site survey, where the installation location is scanned and the RF environment is probed. This is done for several reasons, including measuring in-band interference from nearby WiFi networks that are not part of the project’s infrastructure, and other sources of noise and interference, such as leaky microwave ovens spilling 2.4 GHz into the nearby environment.

The Problem
Unifi access points include a handy RF Scan tool, but this is a very short scan from the perspective of the access point, which is usually immobile, which results in poor accuracy. Android phones can also use the WiFiMan App, which allows for scanning the RF environment and speed testing using a global test server network, but can drain the smartphone battery very quickly.

The Device
The WiFiMan Wizard is a compact, self-powered WiFi scanning tool that can be attached via a sturdy keyring or MagSafe to an iPhone. With this device, you can expect up to 240 minutes of scanning time directly from the device.

The WiFiMan Wizard is a must-have for installers who want to use tools within the UniFi range to ensure a great survey prior to installation to win their customers’ business and optimise their infrastructure. It is portable, practical, and best of all, like most of Ubiquiti’s tools and services, it is license-free! We give it a thumbs up, especially if you’re attending a UniFi installer course in the near future.

Like smartphones, the WM-W has a low-gain omnidirectional antenna system, to closely match the RF signals most smartphones expect to receive and therefore, provides an accurate representation of signal strength from the perspective of roaming clients.

The device also uses Bluetooth low energy to report back to the WiFi Man App, giving you accurate spectrum analysis and RF environment metrics to assist with device selection and placement, WiFi cell and channel planning, as well as roaming threshold data. It also operates in both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz ranges, covering the unlicensed spectrum in the corresponding frequency bands, providing insights for both clients and IoT devices. The device is a passive receiver, meaning it will not interrupt your WiFi environment during a scan for maintenance scans, unlike the RF scan tool on Unifi access points. The device can be charged via USB-C at 5 V/1 A, supporting PC/laptop and adapter charging, allowing for multiple uses in a large RF environment.