Wi-Fi troubleshooting is tricky, because a wireless signal is not tangible. You can't see when it's broken, though you might suspect something in your wireless network is amiss when you have slow performance or connection drops. This is annoying enough in a home environment, but wireless slowdowns can be serious productivity and morale killers in a Wi-Fi-heavy business. To combat these issues, Metageek, creators of the handy inSSIDer wireless troubleshooting app, has outdone itself with Wi-Spy + Chanalyzer 5 (from $749; $1,149, as tested). This high-end app/hardware combo not only displays a wireless environment in visually stunning layouts, it also provides useful information on the causes of interference and just about everything else happening with Wi-Fi in your network. Best of all, you can jump right into the program and use it successfully without having to be a wireless guru.

Hardware and Software Solution
Wi-Spy is a two-fold product. The hardware component is the Wi-Spy DBx, a portable USB spectrum analyzer that inspects the wireless signals in your environment. This small device measures just 3.0 by 1.0 by 0.5 inches (HWD) and ships with a clip so you can attach it to a monitor. It's a much more convenient spectrum analyzer than WifiBuilder, which employs an actual access point to analyze Wi-Fi. The two solutions have different approaches, but both serve the same purpose—pinpointing Wi-Fi issues. WiFiBuilder is also a little more complicated, however, and I'll go with carrying a USB adapter over an access point any day!