Readings
Every number behind the sentence, with what it means.
Readings (⌘5) is a table of every number Plain Air measured, with four columns: Reading, Now, While this window has been open (a small line, where there’s a series) and What it means. A reading worse than its line is shown in gold.
- Signal: in dBm. A Mac looks for another access point below −75 dBm.
- Link rate: in Mbps. It shifts with every packet; not a speed test. Plain Air never says how fast your line is from the link rate. For that, use Test Speed.
- Above the noise: how far the signal is above the noise, in dB. Under 15 dB is where trouble starts.
- Router: your router’s usual reply, how many replies took over 40 ms, and how many were lost.
- Apple: Apple’s usual reply, and how many of its replies came back.
- Names: how long your DNS server takes to answer a lookup.
- Channel: your channel, band and width.
Signal and link rate are read every 2 seconds while the window is open, and only then.