A laptop on a side table at the end of a hallway, a Wi-Fi router on a bookshelf in the next room

Find better Wi-Fi

Walk to a stronger Wi-Fi spot.

Signal radar scores your connection as you move, nearby-network scans show who shares your channel, and Kilobat names a quieter one. No floor plan needed, just your laptop.

Download for Mac ↓
brew install seifip/kilobat/kilobat
  • Free forever
  • Pro $19 once
  • 14-day refunds
  • macOS 14+
  • Open-source CLI
Pro

Getting warmer. Keep going.

This Mac−48 dBm
Router2 ms
Internet24 ms
DNS212 ms

DNS lookups are slow. Compare Cloudflare or Google DNS, then restore Automatic if it does not help.

Sound familiar?

Signal radar

Warmer. Warmer. Found it.

Radar samples signal and noise several times a second and turns them into one score. Walk a few steps and pause: it tells you when you’re getting warmer, and when the last spot was stronger. Save spots by name to compare the desk with the sofa.

  • A signal guide, not a compass: it measures strength, not direction or distance.
  • Stronger Wi-Fi isn’t always faster internet, so Kilobat pairs radar with a router and internet check.
Terminal
# A live signal score while you walk
$ kilobat radar --watch
# Save this spot to compare it later
$ kilobat spots save "Desk by the window"
# Every spot you saved
$ kilobat spots

What’s really wrong with your Wi-Fi.

The Wi-Fi menu shows signal bars. Kilobat shows what’s behind them.

  1. Full bars, slow anyway

    Noise or a crowded channel: every neighbour on the same one.

    Nearby-network scans with signal, channel, band and width, and the least crowded channel. Pro

  2. Fine until you sit down

    Walls, distance and the 2.4 GHz band.

    Radar scores each spot; the Wi-Fi menu shows band and link rate. Pro

  3. Drops when your headphones connect

    Bluetooth devices share 2.4 GHz with your Wi-Fi.

    The Wi-Fi menu lists your Bluetooth devices and whether they share the band. Free

  4. Short stutters every few seconds

    AirDrop scanning hops the radio between channels.

    The stutter test finds the beat; one AirDrop row says who can send to you. Free

  5. The router seems slow to answer

    The access point itself is overloaded.

    Router latency and loss, apart from the internet’s. Free

Free

A better Wi-Fi menu.

Kilobat’s Wi-Fi menu sits beside the menu-bar icon: AirDrop, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi switches, signal for each network, your Bluetooth devices in search and on the keyboard, the network’s data cost, saved passwords and a QR code for when guests ask.

Free
Wi-Fi
The BatcaveInternet responding · −48 dBmUnmetered auto

Bluetooth · 2 connected

AirPods ProConnected
Magic KeyboardConnected
Apple WatchNot connected
The Batcave · scan to join

A better Wi-Fi menu. AirDrop, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi switches, your Bluetooth devices in search, and a QR code for when guests ask for the password.

Channels

Pick the quietest channel.

Scan nearby networks to see their signal, channel, band and width. Channel crowding estimates which channel is least busy, so you know what to set in your router.

Terminal
# Nearby networks, channels and widths
$ kilobat scan
# Congestion per channel, and the quietest
$ kilobat channels
# Bluetooth devices that share 2.4 GHz
$ kilobat bluetooth

For floor-plan surveys and heatmaps, a dedicated tool like NetSpot goes further. See Kilobat vs NetSpot.

Networks per channelNearby
  1. Channel 692.4
  2. Channel 172.4
  3. Channel 1152.4
  4. Channel 3645
  5. Channel 4425
  6. Channel 149Quietest15

An example from an apartment block. Your neighbours will differ.

What’s free, and what Pro adds

Free, for good

  • The Wi-Fi menu: switches, passwords, QR sharing
  • Bluetooth and AirDrop on the same radio
  • Stutter and speed tests
  • kilobat scan, channels and radar in the CLI

Pro, $19 once

  • Signal radar with saved spots, in the app
  • Nearby-network scans and channel crowding, in the app
  • Wi-Fi health: router, internet and DNS over time

Pro is $19 once for two Macs, with a 7-day free trial and 14-day refunds. Free for students.

Questions

Why does Kilobat ask for Location access?

macOS requires Location access before any app can read Wi-Fi network names or scan nearby networks. Your location is not sent anywhere.

Is radar free?

In the app, radar, scans and channel crowding are part of Pro, $19 once, with a 7-day free trial. The open-source CLI’s radar, scan and channels are free.

Can it tell me where the router is?

No. Radar measures signal strength, not direction or distance. Walk, pause and let it tell you whether you’re getting warmer.

Kilobat for…

Slow internetWi-Fi, router, provider or DNS: find the weak link.GamersPing to CS2, Dota 2, Deadlock and Fortnite servers, lag spikes named, ping on stream.Video callsA report card after every call that says why it froze.Digital nomadsCafé Wi-Fi, hotspots and captive portals, checked in seconds.

Find the spot where it just works.

Download for Mac ↓
brew install seifip/kilobat/kilobat