Installing the app

WiFi Heatmapper comes as a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux. It has everything it needs built in: no Node.js, no terminal, no npm.

The desktop apps are new and have barely been tested. They are built automatically for every release, but so far only the macOS build has been used on a real computer, and only on one Mac. See what has been tested and please tell us how it went, good or bad. If the app gives you trouble, running from source still works exactly as before.

#macOS

Needs macOS 13.5 (Ventura) or later; on an older Mac, run it from source with Node.js 22. Download from the latest release:

Not sure which? Apple menu → About This Mac → "Chip" says Apple M-something or Intel.

Open the .dmg and drag WiFi Heatmapper to Applications.

Or use Homebrew, which also installs iperf3:

brew install --cask hnykda/tap/wifi-heatmapper

#The first time you open it

The app is not signed by Apple (that needs a paid developer account), so macOS stops it the first time:

1. Open WiFi Heatmapper. macOS says it could not verify that the app is free of malware. Click Done.
2. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway next to WiFi Heatmapper. Confirm with your password.

Or, in Terminal: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/WiFi Heatmapper.app"

You will have to do this again after each update, for the same reason.

#Location access

macOS only tells apps the name of your Wi-Fi network if they have Location access. In the app's Settings tab, click Allow Location access; macOS asks whether WiFi Heatmapper Helper may use your location. Click Allow. The helper is the small part of the app that reads the Wi-Fi signal. It never looks up where you are.

If you say no, everything still works, but surveys record the network name as unknown. Updates keep the permission, so you are asked only once. You can change your mind in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services.

You do not need a sudo password in the app.

#Where your data is

Surveys and floor plans: ~/Library/Application Support/com.github.hnykda.wifi-heatmapper/data Log: ~/Library/Logs/com.github.hnykda.wifi-heatmapper/server.log

Deleting the app leaves these in place. brew uninstall --zap --cask wifi-heatmapper removes them.

#Windows

Windows 10 or 11, x64. Download from the latest release:

Pick one and stick with it: installing one after the other can put the app in an unexpected folder.

The installers are not signed, so Windows SmartScreen says it protected your PC: click More info, then Run anyway.

#Location access

On Windows 11 24H2 and later, Windows only shares Wi-Fi details with apps that may use your location. Open Settings → Privacy & security → Location and turn on Location services and Let desktop apps access your location. Windows does not ask by itself here; if this is off, the app tells you when you measure.

#iperf3

Install it so it is on your PATH, for example scoop install iperf3 or choco install iperf3. The app finds iperf3 installed by winget, Scoop or Chocolatey.

#Where your data is

Surveys and floor plans: %LOCALAPPDATA%\com.github.hnykda.wifi-heatmapper\data Log: %LOCALAPPDATA%\com.github.hnykda.wifi-heatmapper\logs\server.log

Uninstalling leaves these in place.

#Linux

Builds are for x64 and 64-bit ARM (Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 with a 64-bit OS). Download from the latest release:

Install the .deb, then start WiFi Heatmapper from the app menu:

sudo apt install ./WiFi.Heatmapper_*.deb

Or run the AppImage:

chmod +x WiFi.Heatmapper_*.AppImage
./WiFi.Heatmapper_*.AppImage

AppImages need FUSE 2. On Ubuntu 24.04 and later install it with sudo apt install libfuse2t64 (older Ubuntu: libfuse2).

The app reads the signal with iw; nmcli is optional and only lists nearby networks (the .deb suggests both). On most systems that works without a password; if it doesn't, Settings asks for your sudo password, which is kept in memory only.

Surveys and floor plans: ~/.local/share/com.github.hnykda.wifi-heatmapper/data Log: ~/.local/share/com.github.hnykda.wifi-heatmapper/logs/server.log

#iperf3 for speed tests

Signal strength works out of the box. To also measure speed you need iperf3 on this computer and on a second computer on your network, ideally wired, running iperf3 -s. Homebrew and the .deb install it for you on this computer. See measuring speed.

#What has been tested

Honest status for the first desktop release. "CI" means GitHub's build machines: the app is built there, and on Windows and Linux it is also installed, started with fake measurements and checked automatically. Nobody has used it there, and those machines have no Wi-Fi.

Not tested anywhere yet: a full survey with a real iperf3 server in the desktop app, the Windows app on a real PC (its window, SmartScreen, Wi-Fi), Windows 10 and Windows on ARM, Linux on real hardware (GNOME, KDE, Wayland), Intel Macs, and updating from one release to the next.

#Tell us how it went

Even "it worked" helps. Open an issue with the desktop app report template: your OS and version, which file you installed, and what worked or didn't. Attach the log from the paths above if something went wrong.