Wireless Packet Capture Tutorial

Note

This document is automatically translated using AI. Please excuse any detailed errors. The official English version is still in progress.

During wireless debugging, when connection failures, disconnections, authentication anomalies, or unstable network performance occur and logs cannot explain the specific reasons, packet capture can provide necessary underlying information to help identify the source of the problem.

Wireless packet capture can be divided into two categories:

TCP/IP Packet Capture: Captures data from the network layer and transport layer, such as DHCP, TCP, UDP protocols, etc. It is suitable for analyzing whether application layer communication is normal, whether data is successfully sent or retransmitted abnormally.
Wi-Fi Air Sniffing: Captures 802.11 frames, records authentication, association, encryption negotiation, and frame transmission and reception. It is suitable for analyzing wireless links, handshake processes, channel interference, and frame retransmission issues.

In addition, Wi-Fi air interface packets also contain some upper-layer protocol fields, such as DHCP, TCP, or UDP. Therefore, in most scenarios, capturing packets through the Wi-Fi air interface can obtain link and upper-layer protocol information, which is a key method for locating wireless issues and verifying communication correctness.

This article will introduce detailed tutorials on using Wireshark and Omnipeek to capture Wi-Fi air packets under different systems (Windows and Linux).

Wireshark

Wireshark is suitable for Windows and Linux systems, with comprehensive functions, good at protocol analysis and regular debugging, supports cross-platform use, and is suitable for most development scenarios.

Omnipeek

Omnipeek only supports Windows systems, and is stronger in real-time monitoring of wireless networks, multi-source data analysis, and visual statistics, suitable for professional analysis in complex network environments.

Omnipeek Official User Guide

The Omnipeek official tutorial covers a wide range. If you want to get started with Wi-Fi packet capture more directly, you can refer to third-party tutorials, such as:

Note

The following content is available in Chinese only.

Omnipeek Packet Capture Tutorial on Windows

Note

Omnipeek is commercial software, and a license must be purchased for use. Based on general development and debugging needs, this tutorial recommends using Wireshark for Wi-Fi packet capture.