How to determine Wi-Fi signal strength on Windows 10
You can check the Wi-Fi signal strength to find out the connection performance, and in this guide, you’ll learn the steps to perform this task on Windows 10.
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On Windows 10, when you connect a device to the internet to work from home or office using a Wi-Fi adapter, the quality of the signal will dictate the overall performance of the connection. In part, it’s because wireless technology uses radio waves to connect a device to the access point, and similar to other radio signals, it has limited range and problems with interference as well as traveling through solid objects (such as walls).
Understanding the signal strength of the Wi-Fi connection on your laptop or desktop PC can help to determine if the slow connectivity is a signal problem and not an issue with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or wireless access point (usually, your router).
You may be able to find many third-party tools, butWindows 10includes several ways to check the signal strength of a wireless connection from the taskbar and using the Settings app, Control Panel, taskbar, Command Prompt, and even using PowerShell.
In this Windows 10 guide, you’ll learn five ways to determine the signal strength of your Wi-Fi connection.
How to check Wi-Fi signal strength using taskbar
To determine the signal strength of a Wi-Fi connection on Windows 10, use these steps:
When looking at the wireless icon, one solid bar indicates that the signal is weak, two bars mean the signal is acceptable, and three and four bars represent the best signal you can get.
How to check Wi-Fi signal strength using Settings
To find out the wireless signal strength using Settings, use these steps:
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Alternatively, you can also check the signal strength from the Wi-Fi settings page.
Check signal quality from Wi-Fi settings
To check the wireless signal from the Wi-Fi settings, use these steps:
Once you complete the steps, you’ll have a better understanding of wireless connection quality to the access point.
How to check Wi-Fi signal strength using Control Panel
To find out the signal quality of a wireless connection using Control Panel, use these steps:
After you complete the steps, you’ll know if you have a strong or weak Wi-Fi connection.
How to check Wi-Fi signal strength using Command Prompt
To check the signal strength of a Wi-Fi connection using Command Prompt, use these steps:
Once you complete the steps, you’ll quickly find out the quality of the Wi-Fi signal.
How to check Wi-Fi signal strength using PowerShell
To view the signal strength of a Wi-Fi connection using PowerShell, use these steps:
Once you complete the steps, if you see a signal quality between80and100percent, then the connection is reliable. If you see a signal above70percent, it’s still good for light web browsing and managing emails. Anything below60percent means that you have a weak signal, and you should consider moving the device closer to the access point or relocating the access point to the middle of the house or office.
If you’re trying to determine the perfect placement on the house or office for the best signal, run the above command where you typically use your computer, then move around to another place or room, and re-run the command to find out the signal strength in the new location.
In the case that you’re viewing the Wi-Fi icon to find out the performance of the connection, consider that each bar (including the dot) represents around 25 percent of signal strength. This means that three and four bars indicate a good signal quality and anything below indicates a weak signal.
Mauro Huculak has been a Windows How-To Expert contributor for WindowsCentral.com for nearly a decade and has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides. He also has an IT background and has achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and CompTIA. He has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years.
