How to Check Wi-Fi Signal Strength and Connection Speed in Windows 11 Using netsh

The standard Windows 11 taskbar Wi-Fi icon provides a basic visual bar gauge that indicates general wireless signal strength. While sufficient for casual connectivity checks, four visual bars offer little actionable diagnostic insight when diagnosing packet loss, evaluating Wi-Fi range extender dead zones, or diagnosing connection drops during video conference calls. In Windows 11, the native Network Shell (netsh) command provides exact numerical metrics—including signal percentage, radio band type, transmission rate, and router access point BSSID.

Querying Wireless Interface Details via Windows Terminal

You can execute the Wi-Fi query directly inside Command Prompt or PowerShell without elevated administrative permissions:

1. Press Windows Key + X and select Terminal (or press Windows Key + R, type cmd, and press Enter).
2. In the terminal prompt, type the following command:

   netsh wlan show interfaces

3. Press Enter.

Interpreting the netsh Wireless Report

The command queries the wireless network adapter driver and outputs a detailed telemetry block:

There is 1 interface on the system:

    Name                   : Wi-Fi
    Description            : Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6E AX211 160MHz
    State                  : connected
    SSID                   : Office_Network_5G
    BSSID                  : 00:1a:2b:3c:4d:5e
    Network type           : Infrastructure
    Radio type             : 802.11ax
    Authentication         : WPA3-Personal
    Cipher                 : CCMP
    Connection mode        : Profile
    Channel                : 36
    Receive rate (Mbps)    : 1201
    Transmit rate (Mbps)   : 1201
    Signal                 : 96%

Critical Metrics for Wireless Troubleshooting

When auditing your home or office wireless connection, focus on these primary fields:

• Signal Percentage: Unlike the imprecise 4-bar taskbar icon, the Signal field delivers a granular 0% to 100% rating. A signal reading above 75% ensures optimal throughput, whereas readings below 50% frequently introduce high latency and jitter.
• Receive and Transmit Rates: The Receive rate and Transmit rate (in Mbps) reflect the current physical link speed negotiated between your computer’s Wi-Fi card and the wireless router. If your broadband connection is 500 Mbps but your transmit rate is negotiated at only 72 Mbps, the Wi-Fi link is bottlenecking your download speeds.
• Radio Type: Identifies the active Wi-Fi protocol generation—such as 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5), 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6), or 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7).
• Channel and BSSID: The BSSID corresponds to the specific MAC address of the physical access point your laptop is communicating with. In mesh environments with multiple repeaters, the BSSID confirms whether your device has roamed to the nearest access point.