wifi-channel-watcher
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Monitor channel usage of neighboring routers & get an alert if your active channel is not optimal. Troubleshoot wifi without lifting a finger!
Wifi Channel Watcher for GNU/Linux-based desktop environments
Monitor channel usage of neighboring routers / access points and get a desktop alert if your active channel is not optimal (has more than 1 user on it, other than you). Troubleshoot your wifi without lifting a finger!
Additional options:
- Suggest a better, less congested channel
- MAC address/BSSID lookups of neighbors - Useful when troubleshooting rogue access points or evil twin attacks
- MAC address caching - No need to pull lookups from the internet when most neighboring routers are likely static
- Enterprise access point lookup - Useful when you have several access points with the same SSID; reference a list of BSSIDs and easily set custom identifiers (see 'Full Detail' screenshot)
Better Channel Suggestion
Full Detail
Without Custom Access Point Lookups
Minimum Detail
Installation
This script can be cloned and run manually, or added as a service that runs on a scheduled interval.
See detailed install instructions for built-in systemd user service options (no sudo/root needed).
-
After installing dependencies (most Gnome users may already have them), clone the repo to a directory on your hard drive.
git clone https://github.com/angela-d/wifi-channel-watcher.git
That's it.
You can manually run the script any time via command-line:
/your/directory/path/to/wifi-channel-watcher/channel-watch
Upgrading
If you previously cloned this repo (prior to the version(s) mentioned, you'll have to add the new config variables to ~/.config/wifi-channel-watcher/config.conf
in order for your existing config to be read by the script.
You can also simply delete the folder: ~/.config/wifi-channel-watcher
and re-run the script to re-initialize setup (wipe existing config) to take effect, also.
Prior to v1.3.0
- Add the following to your
~/.config/wifi-channel-watcher/config.conf
file:
These options move the channel selections from being hardcoded, to give the user greater control over what channels are considered or ignored.CHANNELS_5G="36|40|44|48|149|153|157" IGNORE_5G="1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|52|56|60|64|100|104|108|112|116|120|124|128|132|136|140|38|46|54|62|102|110|118|126|134|134|142|151|159|42|58|106|122|138|155|161|165" CHANNELS_2G="1|6|11" IGNORE_2G="2|3|4|5|7|8|9|10|12|13|14|16|36|40|44|48|149|153|157|161|165|52|56|60|64|100|104|108|112|116|120|124|128|132|136|140|38|46|54|62|102|110|118|126|134|134|142|151|159|42|58|106|122|138|155"
- See the Customizing wiki for more detail and Channel suggestions wiki to find the best channel assessments for your environment.
Prior to v1.2.0
- Add the v1.3.0 changes above
- Add the new
THRESHOLD
variable to your~/.config/wifi-channel-watcher/config.conf
file:
Threshold is the greater than or equal to value, for how many are on your channel (excluding you) before you get a notification.THRESHOLD="1"
Customizing
All customizations are optional, in most cases, the script will work out of the box.
- Detailed customizing options: Customizing wiki
- Optionally install as a systemd user service Installation wiki