Select your diagnostic objective, operating system, and venue environment to generate custom scanner commands, benchmark thresholds, and actionable remediation steps.
Open Terminal. Run the airport utility command to output a structured table of nearby SSIDs, BSSIDs, exact RSSI in dBm, channel width, security flags, and country codes. Option-click the WiFi icon in the macOS menu bar for live BSSID & Tx Rate stats.
Diagnostic Target Benchmarks for Channel Congestion & Co-Channel Interference (CCI)
2.4 GHz Non-Overlapping Channels
Channels 1, 6, or 11 only (20 MHz)
Warning: Channels 2-5, 7-10 or 40 MHz bonding
5 GHz Channel Utilization
< 35% during peak hours
Warning: > 60% channel saturation
Co-Channel AP Count at -82 dBm
< 2 APs on same channel
Warning: >= 3 APs sharing airtime
Site Survey Checklist
Survey 2.4 GHz spectrum to ensure strict adherence to channels 1, 6, and 11.
Verify 5 GHz channel width is set to 20 MHz or 40 MHz rather than 80/160 MHz in dense zones.
Audit Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) channels (52-144) for radar detection events (CAC/evacuation).
Measure non-802.11 RF noise floor from microwaves, Bluetooth beacons, and motion sensors.
Recommended Remediation Playbook
Adjust Radio Resource Management (RRM) or Dynamic Channel Assignment (DCA) thresholds to redistribute frequencies.
Lower AP transmit power (EIRP) on 2.4 GHz to 9-12 dBm and 5 GHz to 14-17 dBm to shrink cell overlap.
Disable 2.4 GHz radios on select access points (e.g. 50% density) to eliminate self-induced co-channel contention.