INTRODUCTION

    I was at the airport a while back and I wanted to get online, but I didn’t see any kind of business nearby offering WiFi. I turned on my laptop to see if I could see any networks nearby, but nothing showed up in the list. I wondered if I should look around or ask around, but I just decided it was too much work for an uncertain result and decided that I didn’t need to get online as much as I thought I did. The Kensington WiFi Finder Plus is a little key chain device that detects WiFi and BT signals. In my scenario it might have given me just enough info to decide that the search was more likely to be "worth it" all without having to remove my laptop from the bag first! Read on to see how the WiFi Finder Plus performed!

WHAT’S HOT

    The WiFI Finder Plus is a very quick and easy way to detect the presence of WiFi and Bluetooth signals and traffic. You don’t need to prepare or setup anything – one push of the button tells you all there is to know. The LEDs show you relative WiFi signal strength and a blue LED lights up to indicate Bluetooth activity. In addition, there’s a small flashlight included on the backside of the device.

PRODUCT FEATURES

    The Kensington WiFi Finder Plus is small, attaches to your key chain or laptop bag, operates on (2) CR2016 batteries, and it’s very easy to operate. There is only one button. Press the button and The green LEDs will scan back and forth looking for WiFi and Bluetooth signals (both of which operate on the same frequency of 2.4MHz). Once a signal is found, the LEDs will freeze with the number of lit LEDs indicating the relative WiFi signal strength (or show a single red LED if no WiFi network is present).

Here’s a front side shot showing the LED status lights.

The Kensington WiFi Finder Plus in use

Here’s a view of the top showing the flashlight.

The back side reveals the battery and flashlight button.

    Also on the device is a blue LED that will light up if Bluetooth activity is detected in the area. Note there must be actual Bluetooth activity – not just a device in "discoverable" mode – but more on that later. If you press and hold the button, the device will perform the scan and then the LEDs will adjust every second or two, while you continue to hold, and show you "instantaneous" signal strength. Although the WiFi Finder Plus is simple to operate, operation wasn’t entirely smooth. Read on to find out what happened when I put it to some real world tests.

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HELP SUPPORT

    The only instructions included with the device are printed on the back of the packaging the WiFi Finder plus came in. It gives basic information about the operation of this device. Not much is needed since it’s operation is simple. Having said that, the detection of Bluetooth is not as obvious, since actual Bluetooth activity is required (rather than just devices in "discoverable" mode). This should have been stated in the instructions and would have saved me some grief.

BUGS AND WISHES

   
With a device this simple, you expect it to simply do what it does an do it fairly well. This devices does what it does and does it so-so. In my initial test unit, I thought the Bluetooth detection didn’t work. I’d press the button and never see the Bluetooth light come on, even though my laptop could see a number of Bluetooth devices (I was testing at my day job). This didn’t make sense so I reported the difficulty. I was rewarded with a second device. That device appeared to have the same problem. I then scanned the Kensington web site for more information. There I found out that it only showed Bluetooth activity – not simply a signal. This is an important distinction and should have been pointed on in the packaging and instructions. As a result I wasted time trying to resolve a problem that never existed.

    With two devices in hand, I was also able to do some comparisons and I discovered something else that bothered me – the two devices rarely came up with the same results when pressed in close proximity to each other. At first I thought there might be some interference, but that didn’t make sense. I decided to do some additional testing and I discovered that the same device, same location, multiple presses does not yield consistent results. From my office, where my laptop shows a strong 4-5 bar signal strength, I press the device once and get 3 bars. Press again and I get only 2 bars. Press again and I get 1 bar. Press again and I get 4 bars. Thinking I had a faulty device (again) I tried the other unit – the same inconsistency existed. I was able to perform this test over and over with the same inconsistent results. The Bluetooth, by the way, consistently shows activity, when there is activity, but that portion is a single light – no strength indication. The bottom line, for me, is that this device can show the presence of a WiFi signal, but it isn’t very good at showing the strength of that signal.

Three sample presses taken at the same place – each press only a few seconds apart, showing different results for each press

    The built-in flashlight was kind of cool, but was dim and yellowish. A nice white LED would have been more effective, I think.

    For me, the device is missing one key feature. Knowing that there is a signal isn’t enough -even if the strength was accurate. I also want to know the name(s) of the access points/networks in the area (if they are being broadcast). If I can’t see the SSID, then I wonder what’s the point of knowing there’s a signal?

PURCHASING

   
The Kensington WiFi Finder Plus is available from Kensington for $29.99.

PROS

• 
  

  Easy operation

• 
  

  Shows WiFi and Bluetooth activity

• 
  

  In nice key chain format for easy portability

• Has a nifty (albeit weak) flashlight on the back side

CONS

• 
  

  Unreliable signal strength indication

• 
  

  No SSID (network/access point) indication

• Limited Bluetooth functionality

Value
Ease of Use
Features
Overall

What
do these ratings mean?

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OVERALL IMPRE

SSION

    As a cool device to show off, the Kensington WiFi Finder Plus is an interesting product, but I’m not convinced it is terribly useful for a real world road warrior. The lack of a display for SSID limits it’s usefulness and makes it more of a "toy", although adding an SSID display would probably increase the price significantly. The Bluetooth indication is also of limited usefulness, since it requires activity (like that of an established Bluetooth network or an ongoing file transfer, etc.) to activate the indicator. This is understandable, since discoverable devices beacon, rather than send a solid signal, but still, the value of the Bluetooth indicator is limited.The WiFi Finder Plus is interesting as a demonstration of the technology, but needs more to be of real use.