The Wi-Fi community got tired of waiting for the perfect portable field tool, so they built it themselves and gave it away.
WLAN Pi is a pocket-sized, open-source Wi-Fi analysis platform. Client profiling, packet capture, scanning, spectrum, and throughput testing in one device that clips to your phone. It started in 2016 out of #WLPC, founded by Jerry Olla, and the community keeps it current. No per-seat license. The source is open.
You may have heard the old line that it is "a $35 Raspberry Pi." That was true once. Today the hardware is purpose-built: the GO runs Wi-Fi 7 and snaps to your phone, the M4 is the self-contained model with a screen, and the R4 is the build-your-own path where the cheap-DIY spirit still lives. One open-source WLAN Pi OS image runs across all three, so the tools behave the same no matter which you carry.
I back this project 100%.
Here are the things I reach for first:
Need to know what a client can actually do? Run Profiler and read its real 802.11 capabilities in seconds.
Need to read the protocol? Capture packets on-device, pull them into Wireshark.
Need to prove performance? LibreSpeed and Grafana dashboards, right there in the field.
It needs hardware and some setup, and it rewards command-line comfort. It is a tool you learn, not an app you tap. For a working Wi-Fi pro, that trade is worth it every time.
What is the first client you would profile with one, and what do you suspect its spec sheet is lying about?