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WiFi Scanning

analiti continuously monitors the list of WiFi signals sensed by the devices. This process is called "WiFi Scanning".

analiti will periodically ask the device OS for the list of sensed WiFi signals, and will also react to the OS notifications that a fresh set of sensed WiFi signals is available.

Please note that different Android devices, by different manufacturers and different Android OS versions perform WiFi sensing using different algorithms in order to preserve battery power in different devices states. In addition - different devices have different capabilities (e.g., supported spectrum bands) Thus, different devices may sense a different set of available WiFi signals at the same location and time, and analiti, in turn, will be aware only of the WiFi signals reported by the device it's running on.

Required Permissions

Providing access to the list of WiFi signals sensed by the device to a specific app allows that app to query external databases to determine the actual geo-location of that device. Therefore, to protect user's privacy, the Android OS requires the user to positively grant WiFi scanning apps - such as analiti - with the FINE LOCATION / PRECISE LOCATION permission.

In addition to permissions - the device LOCATION SERVICE must be active for apps to have access to the list of sensed WiFi signals.

For more information see Android's Wi-Fi scanning overview.

Settings

In Settings ► Operational Settings ► WiFi Scanning

WiFi Scanning:

  • Required LOCATION permission (read-only): if enabled, denotes that the required permissions are granted to analiti.
  • Required LOCATION service (read-only): if enabled, denotes that the device's LOCATION SERVICE seems active.
  • WiFi Scan Throttling (read-only): if enabled, denotes that the app scan interval is limited to one scan every 30 seconds.
  • WiFi Scan Interval: if WiFi Scan Throttling is disabled, denotes the time (in seconds) analiti waits before asking the OS to provide a fresh set of WiFi signals, after the last time such a set was received.

RSSI Offsets:

analiti can adjust the RSSI level reported by the OS for every signal sensed. Such adjustments are useful for emulating what another device of a different model might have senses if it was to run analiti in the same location and time.

  • Apply RSSI Offsets: if enabled, the subsequent settings will be used
  • Name (to show when applied): the name shown on the global banner shown when RSSI offsets are being used
  • For 2.4GHz signals: the adjustment in dB
  • For 5GHz signals: the adjustment in dB
  • For 6GHz signals: the adjustment in dB