Visualize the spectrum
Microwave oven blocking Wi-Fi download on channel 11
As the 2.4 GHz ISM Band becomes more popular (and more congested) interference from non-Wifi devices can seriously degrade Wi-Fi performance. Other Wi-Fi tools, such as NetStumbler and Kismet only provide information about other Wi-Fi devices, but do not show interference from cordless phones, microwaves, Bluetooth devices, Zigbee, and other 2.4 GHz devices. Wi-Spy™ is the only currently available tool under $2500 that shows you signal strength across the entire 2.4 GHz Band at the radio frequency (RF) level instead of just guessing.
Pick a quiet channel for your access point
Microwave oven causing retransmissions, but not blocking Wi-Fi download on channel 1
Wi-Spy shows you at a glance what Wi-Fi channels are quiet and what channels you should avoid if possible. This makes it easy to pick a quiet channel for your access point instead of picking your favorite number between 1 and 11.
Notice in the image above that the Wi-Fi download stalls while the microwave oven is cooking and remains stalled for about 20 seconds after the microwave stops. When the access point is moved to channel 1 the microwave oven causes Wi-Fi retransmissions (indicated by the more intense WI-Fi traffic while the microwave oven is cooking), but the Wi-Fi download never stalls.