Wi-Fi Spectrum Planner
A visual, hands-on way to learn how walls, furniture and frequency affect your Wi-Fi — and to find better spots for your access points.
Drop access points on a floor plan and instantly see a color signal heatmap (red = strong, blue = weak). Add walls and household objects to watch them cast real RF "shadows", compare the 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz bands, and check how much of each room actually gets a usable signal. Everything updates live as you move things around.
Getting started
- Pick Place access point, choose a band setup & power on the left, then click on the canvas to drop it. Numbers 1, 2, 3… mark each AP.
- Use Draw wall to click a start and end point. Pick the material (drywall, brick, concrete…) — denser materials block more, especially at 5/6 GHz.
- Use Place obstacle to add furniture and appliances (fridges, fish tanks and people block surprisingly well).
- Switch to Select / move to drag anything, drag wall endpoints to resize, or edit it in the right-hand inspector.
- Hover anywhere to read the live signal-at-cursor for every AP. Watch the AP coverage bars (bottom-right) to see the share of floor each AP covers well.
- Import background (left panel) to trace over a photo or export of your real floor plan, and use Heatmap opacity to blend it. Save / Load keeps your layout (it also auto-saves).
Visualization modes
Signal — best signal strength from any AP, as a thermal heatmap. Use the band dropdown (Best / 2.4 / 5 / 6 GHz) to focus on one band.
Interference — red where two or more APs overlap on the same / overlapping channel. On 2.4 GHz, channels 1, 6 and 11 don't overlap.
Zones — colours the floor by which AP serves it best, so you can see hand-off areas.
Antenna & AP placement best practices
- Go central and high. Mount the AP near the middle of the area it serves and up high (wall near the ceiling or on top of a shelf). An AP in a corner or on the floor wastes much of its coverage into walls and the ground.
- Get it out in the open. Inside a media cabinet, behind a TV, or in a closet costs you a lot of signal. A few feet of clear air makes a real difference.
- Stay away from metal and water. Fridges, metal shelving, mirrors, water heaters and fish tanks are the worst blockers — keep the AP and its main coverage path clear of them.
- Distance it from interferers. Keep ~1 m from microwaves, cordless phones and baby monitors, which clobber 2.4 GHz.
- Aim the antennas. Vertical antennas spread signal sideways (best for one floor); for two storeys, angle one antenna horizontally to push signal up/down. Most phones/laptops hold their antennas vertically, so vertical usually wins on a single floor.
- One AP per floor. Signal does pass through floors but loses a lot — for multi-storey homes, an AP per level (near the stairwell) beats one powerful AP.
- Overlap, but don't pile up. With multiple APs / mesh, aim for light overlap (~15–20%) for smooth roaming, and put neighbours on non-overlapping channels (2.4 GHz: 1, 6, 11) so they don't fight each other — check the Interference view.
- Match the band to the job. Use 2.4 GHz for range and through-wall reach, 5/6 GHz for speed in the same room. Don't expect 6 GHz to travel far or punch through walls.
Keyboard shortcuts
A Place access point
W Draw wall
O Place obstacle
V / S Select & move
G Toggle grid snap
Shift Lock wall to 0/45/90°
⌘/Ctrl+Z Undo
Delete Remove selected
Esc Cancel / deselect
Good to know
Higher frequencies are faster but blocked more easily — 6 GHz barely leaves the room a 2.4 GHz signal would fill. Coverage and attenuation values are reasonable approximations from a path-loss model, not a calibrated survey, so treat them as a learning aid rather than gospel. See the Frequency guide tab for the per-band and per-material numbers.
Support this project
This tool is free. If it helped you, a tip keeps it growing — thank you! 🙏
