Customer Reviews

Kensington WiFi Finder Plus

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

It works well for detecting both WiFi & Bluetooth. Convenient having it clip to my computer bag. When I'm on the go it's much better than pulling out your notebook to see if you have coverage. It is a little bigger than I would have wanted, but not too big.

This is the first 'finder' I've ever tried using, so I'm hoping that there are others out there that actually work. For one thing, this product is supposed to locate Bluetooth networks, and it has NEVER worked for me, even right next to my laptop. It also reports that my WiFi network strength is lower than it actually is, again according to the software on my laptop. So if you plan on using this while you wander around 'looking' for WiFi networks, forget about it. If you aren't within about 5 feet of the network's base station, then you'll never see it with the Kensington WiFi Finder Plus. Save your money, this product is not worth the money.

My father has one and loves it, but I can't imagine how many signals he must be missing if he can actually find *one* anywhere.

I have been online for hours in places where the wi-fi finder can't detect a signal. I thought mine was defective so I exchanged it and got the same results. The only place it ever found a signal was in the store itself. I'm going to return this one for good this time.

I purchased the WIFI Finder Plus last week and used it the past five days. As for its main purpose of ID'ing WIFI stations it does a very good job as far as I can tell. With my own home wireless setup it gave good readings around the house and outside I was able to determine usable limits. I checked it out at various neighborhood coffee houses with 'hot spots' and it found them all. Also, it wasn't affected by our cordless phones (2.4 GHz). [BTW,it does pick up Bluetooth but only if the Bluetooth device is active!]

Wow...Some of the customer reviews for stuff I see on Amazon are written in a way that looks a little too commercial. Makes you wander if manufacturers don't pay employee's to come on hear, and boast products via those generic looking responses.

I have had one of these exact models for the last 48 Hour's. I bought it from here.

I've tested it at work, and thought it was flawed till I seen the description on the package where it says "works on most basic access point configurations."

I tested it on my old 802.11b AP at home, and it worked when I disabled WEP. Why that is I have no Idea. From what I read on the IEEE papers for the protocol the security mechanism doesn't require it to switch channels.

I couldn't get it to detect my Linksys AP even on the factory defaults; it's 802.11G.

Sorry to say it didn't detect Bluetooth devices at all. I tested it collaboration with fellow employees on there Bluetooth enabled device's(5 newer devices.) It didn't do a thing.

I think they 'watered down' the chip design on this thing to ignore authenticated systems. They've been doing something similar with U.S. sold RF scanners, and the Analog cellular, and Cordless Phone frequencies for over a decade now. The FCC probably red taped the company's who manufacture these things.

You still can't legally own, or buy a Radio scanner that exceeds 800 Mhz in the US even though all modern telephones are 2.8-5.8Ghz, and use Spread Spectrum frequency hopping "technology."

The Wifi Finder Plus is not very sensitive. It does work, but my notebook computer can connect to many wifi access points that this finder cannot find. So it is pretty much useless. I expected that I would be able to drive down the street and find access points. But not so. If I am within 25 feet or so of an access point it usually shows up with a very weak signal. But not always.

This little 'key fob' device has a 4 bright green LED strength meter and is 7 x 4 x 1 cm in size. I has a classy solid feel rubbery plastic case with a simple silver click switch to switch on the meter and measure the WiFi strength. It measures 'g' and 'b' wireless strength (not 'a') in about 5 seconds. The more green LEDs the more the signal (if there is little or no signal you get a red flashing LED). There's also a single blue LED for detecting local active bluetooth (never tried that, but being such short range this device would probably only be useful to see if you have a bluetooth transmission fault). The meter supposedly 'filters out' other signals like mobile/cordless phones and microwave interference. More importantly it seems to work very well with my home D-Link wireless 'g' router/PCI card PC/Centrino Laptop network.

This WIFI Finder is really useful if you have a home network PC in a weak signal location as it helps you quickly find a better site for the wireless router or PC antenna. It's far faster and easier than using Windows XP to show the signal strength (and you don't have to lift the PC up and down). You can move about the house in minutes mapping where the high and low signal areas are. The WIFI finder batteries seem to last ages as well. I have replaced all my WIFI antennas on the router and PCI cards with more powerful D-Link DWL 50ATs and use a Hawking RP/RJ SMA 2.13m antenna extension cable to relocate the WIFI antenna to the nearest high signal area - found with this Kensington WIFI Finder. In most cases this is about 4 foot above the PC monitor. Now my home wireless g network runs at full speed all the time with few drop outs. The PC would connect at reduced speed with a 'zero' flashing red LED, but the connection was often very slow and always very unreliable (so treat the red LED as a warning, not an indication of zero signal). Also use Windows or your cards network utility to check what it thinks of the signal quality and strength (the WiFi Finder seems to measure strength not quality).

So this Kensington WIFI Finder Plus was a great buy for me and our four home networked PC's. It's also easy to take along and find local hotspots when on the move with a notebook (if there are any) - although other reviews suggest the WiFi Finder is a bit fussy about low signals for this - I only ever use this device in relative's houses when accessing their home wireless 'g' network. I have never tried using the Finder with an older 'b' wireless system though.

The Kensington WiFi Finder Plus is a solid performer and does what I needed it for. I've never tried the built in BlueTooth Finder, but that's simply because I've never used any BlueTooth devices.

Regardless, the WiFi Finder is not going to give you as powerful signal as your wireless device. If you get one LED to light up on this keychain, it can equal about 3-4 bars. 2 LEDs for me equates to a full 5 bars on my laptop typically. This is not foolproof, however, as at times it will show no signal at all given its lack of power, when it is quite possible to connect.

Basically, it is a good product if you're looking to see if you're in or in close proximity to a hotspot, but not necessarily for if you're driving or walking past somewhere and wish to know if you'll have wireless connectivity inside. Buy it for specific uses but don't expect it to show signals like your laptop will.

Kensington WiFi Finder does not work as advertised at all. I wasted and enormous amount of time looking for hot spots using this device at school and at work, it failed to detect every single hot spot I visited in public areas. I even tested inside the first Public Library to ever introduce WiFi in Southern California and it failed to detect a WiFi signal that is strong enough to fry your brain. This device reminds me a lot of those old police radar detectors that some speeders place on their dashboards, it simply does not work. Don't buy it, don't waste your money. Mine has been returned already. Read the other reviews and you will see that this is not an isolated incident.

Wouldn't detect or indicate WiFi location, even when siting on top of a known good site.