WiFi Signal 4.0 Demystified

WiFi Signal 4.0 introduces several features for monitoring and troubleshooting Wi-Fi connections, including new tools for tracking association and roaming behavior. The release also includes interface improvements, dark mode support, and a fully customizable status display. By popular demand, you can even hide the signal strength indicator to save valuable space in the system menu bar. I like the dark mode appearance so much that I switched to the dark menu bar myself.

Many home users may not need every new feature, so I have worked to keep the app simple and approachable. At the same time, WiFi Signal remains flexible enough to serve as a serious tool for WLAN professionals. Here are the main additions in WiFi Signal 4.0.

New Preferences Window

The app’s menu is now simpler because most options have moved to a new Preferences window. The window contains three tabs: General, Status, and Notifications. General includes most of the options previously found in the menu, while Status and Notifications control the menu bar display and user notifications.

Fully Configurable Status Display

Space in the system menu bar is limited, especially on smaller screens. WiFi Signal 4.0 lets you choose which information appears there, how it is formatted, and in what order. To configure the display pattern, open Preferences > Status.

Your display pattern can be as compact or detailed as you prefer. For example, it can show only a raw signal-strength value or include a broader set of connection details. If you consider the signal strength indicator—the familiar bars—unnecessary or redundant, you can hide it when using a custom pattern.

User Notifications

WiFi Signal 4.0 can notify you when your Mac joins or disconnects from a network, roams to another access point, or detects a change in the access point’s channel configuration. It can also alert you when signal strength or SNR falls below a threshold you specify.

Each notification provides enough information to explain what happened without becoming a distraction. As with notifications from other apps, you can review previous alerts in Notification Center. You can also suppress notifications while the Mac is asleep, preventing alerts when it wakes briefly for network access.

Event Logging

Notifications are useful for immediate awareness, but they may not provide enough detail for troubleshooting. WiFi Signal 4.0 therefore includes event logging and retains up to 30 days of history. Each entry records the Wi-Fi connection details captured when the event occurred, including the BSSID, network name, channel, channel width, signal strength, noise, and SNR.

WiFi Signal records the following event types:

• Join Events: Generated when the Mac joins a network.
• Roam Events: Generated when the Mac roams to another access point with the same SSID. The event details include the new BSSID and channel information.
• Rate Events: Generated when the Wi-Fi connection’s data rate changes during the current association. WiFi Signal does not create a Rate event when the change results from joining a network or roaming to another access point.
• Channel Events: Generated when the associated access point’s channel configuration changes. These events are uncommon. If changing an access point’s channel causes the Mac to disconnect and reassociate, WiFi Signal records Disconnect and Join events instead.
• Disconnect Events: Generated when the Mac disconnects from a network. WiFi Signal does not create a Disconnect event when the Mac immediately associates with another access point on the same network; it records a Roam event instead.

The Events window displays the log in a table. Although the table provides many columns, only a small selection is visible by default. Control-click, or right-click, the table header to enable additional columns. You can also filter events by type or date and export their details to a CSV file.

As usual, this release includes bug fixes and performance improvements. In particular, when channel recommendations are enabled, WiFi Signal analyzes the surrounding Wi-Fi environment only while the interface is idle. This change helps avoid disruptions and increased latency caused by off-channel scanning.

I hope you find WiFi Signal 4.0 useful. If you have a few minutes, please consider sharing your thoughts by leaving a review in the Mac App Store. Reviews make a significant difference to an independent developer. If you encounter a problem or have a question, please send me a message so I can help.