AirCheck G3 vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG comparison

AirCheck G3 and NetAlly EtherScope nXG are both solutions in the Network Troubleshooting category. AirCheck G3 is ranked #5 with an average rating of 10.0, while NetAlly EtherScope nXG is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.2. AirCheck G3 holds a 7.3% mindshare in NT, compared to NetAlly EtherScope nXG’s 13.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of AirCheck G3 users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NetAlly EtherScope nXG users who would recommend it.

AirCheck G3

Read 13 AirCheck G3 reviews

995 Views
322 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Read 23 NetAlly EtherScope nXG reviews

4,346 Views
571 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

AirCheck G3

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 11, 2024

AirCheck G3 and NetAlly EtherScope nXG are two prominent network testing tools. User reviews suggest that while NetAlly EtherScope nXG boasts superior features, AirCheck G3 offers more competitive pricing and support, making it an attractive option for those looking for value.

Features: AirCheck G3 offers handheld portability, quick diagnostics capabilities, and ease of use. NetAlly EtherScope nXG stands out with advanced analysis tools, multiple network interface support, and comprehensive testing options.

Room for Improvement: AirCheck G3 needs software updates and enhanced reporting tools. NetAlly EtherScope nXG could benefit from better battery life and reduced complexity in advanced settings.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AirCheck G3 is praised for straightforward deployment and responsive customer service. NetAlly EtherScope nXG, while more complex to deploy, also receives positive feedback for its customer service.

Pricing and ROI: AirCheck G3 is noted for reasonable setup costs and satisfactory ROI. NetAlly EtherScope nXG, though more expensive, justifies its price with advanced capabilities that users feel provide high value.

To learn more, read our detailed AirCheck G3 vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG Report (Updated: October 2024).

Buyer's Guide

AirCheck G3 vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG

October 2024

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Helped 816,636 peers since 2012

Categories and Ranking

AirCheck G3

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

5th

Average Rating

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Ranking in Network Troubleshooting

1st

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Diagnostics (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of AirCheck G3 is 7.3%, down from 9.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetAlly EtherScope nXG is 13.9%, down from 15.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Troubleshooting

Featured Reviews

David-Prusynski

Senior Network Engineer at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees

A portable, rugged device that reduces resolution time and saves thousands of dollars

It would be nice if I could import an AP list with a MAC address. When it looks at access points, it should tell me the AP name instead of the MAC address. When you get a MAC address, you can eventually find out where you want to go. However, a lot of times, if I just have an AP name, I know that's in this area or that's over there. I would like that function because AirMagnet, which is the precursor of this, had that ability where you could basically import a list of APs and MAC addresses, and then it could display those instead of just a MAC address. That'd be a nice function. We should be able to put an AP to MAC address in Excel and export it as a CSV file and then import it. That'd be nice to have because I have that information for all my hospitals. The one I'm doing this weekend has got 550 access points. It is much easier for me to look at an AP name than to get a MAC address. Currently, I have to go to a different spreadsheet and try to find that MAC address. If I had the AP name, it would be like, "Okay. Yep. See it. Done." They are doing spectrum analysis in G3, which I would love to have in G2. That's a nice tool to have, and from what I heard, that's the same price. I'd like to have that. The other function I would love to see is the ability to test fiber. I know the $10,000 version has the ability to test fiber, but I would love this lower-cost device to be able to test fiber.

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Doug Dickerson

Manager at Northwestern

Handheld form factor, intuitive interface that is easy to use, helps us quickly troubleshoot network problems

It would be helpful if this product interfaced with AirWave. The battery life should be improved. The real negative to the product is the horrible battery life. We had hoped for it to be able to deliver configurations to our network switches, and I think they're developing something for that. However, it doesn't do that now. We were hoping that we would, as we replace or refresh network components, be able to use this tool to push a config file to the switch. For example, the Aruba switches that we're deploying come with a Bluetooth function where we can push configs from our phones. It would be much more convenient to use this device, rather than using our personal cell phones to do it. I think that the capability is there, but it just hasn't been figured out yet.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The ability to push data to Link-Live is really important. On the main screen, you can see all the system parameters, and then you can also go and see all the current systems that are operating. They all have different SSIDs or system identifiers, and you can see all SSIDs that are operating in a certain area. Being able to see that and being able to dive into each one and figure out what frequency it is operating under is valuable."

"The information provided by the solution for resolving connectivity and performance problems is very thorough. The reporting functionality is extremely good as I can pass that information on with little input. The device will identify issues and problems, e.g., the diagnostic material. When you have Internet access, it sends the information to your email address, which is very useful."

"AirCheck made a lot of children and caregivers quite happy. While I might not have resolved everything, I have reduced the problems that we had every night. During the day, they would do visible checks and not always rely on the monitors, but every night, they had at least three or four of those alarms. I was able to reduce it to once or twice a week since those appliances are still limited in their wireless capability."

"The AirMapper Site Survey on the AirCheck G2 is the most valuable feature. It is really nice to be able to upload the maps remotely to the website, and then have the analyst upload the results so we can review the data."

"I like the cloud functionality. That's very useful because somebody can go onsite, someone who is not really skilled, and I can see the test results from the office."

"The solution saves us a factor of 10 in time. If a typical WiFI ticket would cost me two hours with AirCheck, then it would cost me 20 hours without it. At 20 hours, you start to refuse to do tickets because it is just too expensive."

"It is a pretty rock-solid device that is well-built."

"The auto-test, channel scanner, packet capture, and Link-Live integration are all crucial features we use regularly. The wired cable tester is also indispensable. We frequently run into problems during cable testing that are hard to pin down. When tracking down a cable problem, you usually need to plug something into the cable and ensure the cable plant is reliable."

More AirCheck G3 pros

"The most valuable features are LANBERT, Discovery, and AirMapper. AirMapper is the best. Both Discovery and AirMapper are very easy to use because you can view all the problems on a single screen. If you quickly need more details about your network, then AirMapper is the best."

"It has reduced our internal troubleshooting time. In the cases where we could not internally solve the troubleshooting, we would have had to contact an external vendor to test cable, rerun it, etc. NetAlly EtherScope has let us eliminate that in most cases so we can resolve an issue on our own without having to call a third-party out to identify the problem. It has reduced our troubleshooting time for network cabling issues by a good 75 percent."

"I like EtherScope's WiFi scanning, heat map, and load testing. It's an excellent tool that sets you straight, so you don't need to beat around the bush or wait for other people. It's easy to share the reports with other people."

"One of the key measurements that we use out of the device is the channel utilization measurement, how much traffic is on the air in a given channel. That's the most valuable feature for us. The ability to make a very fast measurement of how much traffic is on the air is a key value. Otherwise we'd have to do a packet capture and do some analysis. It speeds up our testing."

"It cuts the time down in half. You don't need to get a laptop out and do different testing. We can just grab this one tool, bring it, and do all our network testing, surveying, and reviews to figure out what the problems are with just one device, instead of having to use multiple people and devices to do that. You cut down time by 50% because you won't normally need multiple people onsite. A lot of times, you can do everything with one person and one tool."

"The solution’s AirMapper Site Survey app is extremely easy to use. We give it to the technicians and send them out to go do that function. We hand it to the technician who goes onsite, then they take a photo of the overall area of a floor plan and are able to go do that site survey without almost any instruction from any engineer. So, it is very usable for beginner-type techs."

"In terms of the solution's full line rate 10-gigabit capability, my other 10 Gb test equipment is much bigger, bulkier, and heavier. One of my ways of assessing the nXG was to compare it with what I knew to be tried and true on 10-gig to make sure that they matched, and they did. It very quickly got my trust. The fact that it can do 10 Gb, without dropping a packet from what I've seen so far — and we used it a lot in that first three months — tells a pretty good story."

"I love the AutoTest feature... AutoTest allows us to find out what port it is on the switch and to trace it back to a particular patch panel. We can then document it, if necessary, or use that information for connecting a device or for re-VLANing a switch to the appropriate VLAN."

More NetAlly EtherScope nXG pros

Cons

"If it was capable of downloading MIBs onto the device, then we could identify the manufacturer. Sometimes, when I am troubleshooting, there is a Mac address. For example, there is a rogue device and it just gives us a Mac address, which is fine. It gives us something, which is better than nothing. It would be nice if it was able to download a MIB where we could associate it with that Mac address and the manufacturer."

"NetAlly has been behind the curve on visualization, Wi-Fi design, and heat maps for a little while now. They're perfectly aware of this deficiency, but what they offer is good enough for a lot of people. It's not suitable for larger shops, but it works in a pinch. The AirMapper and subsequent AirMagnet integration is an afterthought."

"We use .1x authentication, so I need to download the certificate onto the device. It would be nice to have this functionality through the cloud as well. Right now, you need to do it through the software by connecting your laptop physically to the AirCheck. This is one thing that is a bit slow."

"I would love to have a button that pretends that you're an iPhone 5 or an Android Samsung, then tell me what you think the experience is. This is a very difficult thing to do because each of these things has different radios in them and behaves differently. Now, I can go into the user's office, and say, "The tool says everything's green. The WiFI infrastructure is fine, but their iPhone experience sucks." Is it a problem with their particular iPhone or is it a problem with any iPhone model? If I could have this solution emulate an iPhone model so I can walk into that room, and say, "My tools pretending to be your iPhone and it works fine. It must be your particular iPhone that we have a problem with." I found mobile phones in general have lousy radios and the coverage isn't strong enough, but it would be a nice feature."

"The biggest improvement would be an easier upload over wireless to Link-Live. Currently, the device has to be patched into the Ethernet. The wireless upload has been giving us some issues."

"I would like them to modify the interface. The button to change profiles is fairly small. When you have interventions, it is not always possible to have a ballpoint pen or perfect precision touch with it, since sometimes you need to touch it quite a lot when your hands are very dirty. I would like a special pen that is compatible with that responsive screen. That would make it easier."

"It would be nice if I could import an AP list with a MAC address. When it looks at access points, it should tell me the AP name instead of the MAC address. When you get a MAC address, you could eventually find out where you want to go. However, a lot of times, if I just have an AP name, I know that's in this area or that's over there. I would like that function because AirMagnet, which is the precursor of this, had that ability where you could basically import a list of APs and MAC addresses, and then it could display those instead of just a MAC address."

"We use these out in the field, and because they're not allowed on our network, we usually have to have the person take them home and provide backhaul to them. In other words, they are not allowed through our firewalls to dump the data. So, we have to have them go to a separate wired network to dump the data. There could be an option to put an LTE and have a phone engine in it so that you can buy a SIM card for it and have it use cellular to download the data. That is something that would be nice to have. That's a little kink in this system right now. Other than using the Ethernet port to download data, it'd be nice if we could use either LTE or some other way to get the data that was collected by AirCheck G2 to our Link-Live portal."

More AirCheck G3 cons

"The only improvement I can come up with is the battery life. If they could improve the battery life, that would be great."

"When it works, I love the AirMapper Site Survey app. Currently, my device has a hardware bug that the manufacturer and I are working on actively, to get it fixed or replaced. The 5 gigahertz radio on my device is flaky at best... It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the product itself, as much as it is some kind of unique hardware problem."

"The small screen is a little bit of a handicap. It would be nice if we could, for instance, connect a larger screen to the device, but it's very user-friendly. You're only limited by the size of the screen. That's the only negative aspect of doing surveys with this device."

"The largest complaint that we get is the battery life on the unit. If you are using it heavily, you get about five hours of usage out of it. In an eight hour day, that is not perfect for us. We would like more battery usage. The battery thing is annoying."

"The main area for improvement that stands out is the lack of a microburst dashboard, which some other vendors offer. However, NetAlly has carved out its niche by focusing on comprehensive network analysis up to layer seven, including automatic network mapping with tools like CyberScope. While there may be some features missing compared to competitors, NetAlly remains strong in its specialized market, providing robust solutions like EtherScope for detailed customer scans, despite being on the pricier side."

"There are some inconsistencies in how it uploads the test results to the cloud, but it might just need a minor improvement on the software side. When you don't have an internet connection on the EtherScope when you do the testing, it saves the results into memory. When it has an internet connection, it uploads those results, but it doesn't work all the time. Sometimes, you need to manually push it."

"The only issue that I have ever had is the battery life. It does drain a little bit quickly... While it's true that by the time I'm finished with my assessment it's usually dead, I have usually finished what I need to do and everything has been pushed to Link-Live. But occasionally, I might need a backup battery if I need to do something for multiple hours."

"We have had to use a battery pack unit, bringing it with us, when we are doing long testing or a lot of testing. It is like a mini computer, so it does use a lot of battery life."

More NetAlly EtherScope nXG cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For a few thousand dollars, you save yourself a ton of time. It's a great deal."

"The price is fairly expensive, if you are a single individual. For me, it's well worth the cost of the unit. Depending on the nature of the work that you're doing, the upfront costs can be expensive. Typically, what happens in an environment is a department might have one device as opposed to technicians having them individually."

"The product has a pretty good price."

"It costs $3,000. It would be nice if its cost was less. I could then buy more. Currently, when we buy one, we make sure that where we need it is big enough, or if it is too small, when a person has a job, they have to get a temporary one mailed to them to use, which becomes a little less convenient."

"If you find a feature you need, you have to call them and add it, but you should be able to use the product. You spend money on and invested in multiple devices and can't even use half of the features. They should negotiate with large enterprises who buy large numbers of units to provide NetAlly support for all of them at a nominal fee."

"Because I work in a big company, it is a no-brainer. If I were a consultant, I would still buy it, but it would be a huge investment. Overall, it's a good tool to have."

"It is definitely well worth the price. It is approximately $2,500. It pays for itself since it eliminates troubleshooting costs and labor due to all the money you would spend kind of troubleshooting the device if you didn't have any of these tools with you."

"The upfront cost of the solution is around $4,000."

More AirCheck G3 pricing and cost advice

"The stuff is expensive. I really do wish the price would come down. I don't really call support. I haven't had a problem. But it's really expensive and every year I have to pay them a ton of money. I don't want to make up reasons to justify that cost, but I'm not using the support."

"As a business owner, it was a high price. However, it was well worth it. We have gotten our money out of it and continue to get our money out of it. For the price and usability, it is definitely worth it. The Wi-Fi survey capabilities alone justifies the price. Having all the other tools in it really adds to that."

"Depending on the company, it could be somewhat costly. But just two of these devices can save you thousands upon thousands of dollars."

"It's the best 10Gig network tester for the price on the market."

"If you're in the networking world, this product makes great sense very quickly, if you're going to use it more than a few times a week... If you are just looking at a handheld device unit for specific, wireless or wired testing and not much else, the cost may be a little more prohibitive than what you have in your budget."

"The pricing was a little bit high, but I understand that when you are getting multiple tools."

"It is worth it. The cost benefit of Link-Live is massive because it is included with the cost of the device and the licensing. A lot of people miss that part of it. It is not just the device that you get but it is the ability to look at all of that data later on. You're not having to do all of that on the device. You can just be there, use the device, and then look at the data from the comfort of your office or home afterward."

"It is relatively high-priced and it should certainly not get any more expensive. I would like it to be $1,000 less, and I think everyone would say that. And of course, maintenance is also a recurring cost."

More NetAlly EtherScope nXG pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

16%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

Computer Software Company

19%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AirCheck G3?

The airCheck is the real-time spectrum analyzer to see clients that could be connecting to our network, not just rogue networks out there, but rogue clients and other interference in that particula...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AirCheck G3?

The upfront cost of the solution is around $4,000. This cost does not include service contracts for support.

See all answers

What needs improvement with AirCheck G3?

The solution doesn't have much functional information online. Most of the information online is regurgitated from marketing brochures. I purchased the solution for a job and sold it afterward becau...

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What do you like most about NetAlly EtherScope nXG?

Being able to do a Wi-Fi walk-around survey with a handheld tool is one of the most valuable features of NetAlly EtherScope nXG.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetAlly EtherScope nXG?

In terms of pricing, EtherScope isn't cheap. It's a significant investment, and not a budget option.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetAlly EtherScope nXG?

The main area for improvement that stands out is the lack of a microburst dashboard, which some other vendors offer. However, NetAlly has carved out its niche by focusing on comprehensive network a...

See all answers

Comparisons

LinkRunner vs AirCheck G3

Compared 31% of the time

iTrinegy NE-ONE Network Emulator vs AirCheck G3

Compared 26% of the time

AirMagnet Survey vs AirCheck G3

Compared 22% of the time

More AirCheck G3 Competitors

LinkRunner vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Compared 60% of the time

LinkSprinter vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Compared 13% of the time

AirMagnet Survey vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Compared 12% of the time

More NetAlly EtherScope nXG Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AirCheck G3

November 2024

Download AirCheck G3 product report

Buyer's Guide

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

November 2024

Download NetAlly EtherScope nXG product report

Also Known As

AirCheck G2, AirCheck

EtherScope nXG, EtherScope, netAlly EtherScope, OptiView XG

Learn More

NetAlly

Overview

AirCheck G3 is the most cost-effective hardware-enabled site survey solution for Wi-Fi 6/6E networks. It provides network professionals of any skill level with complete and accurate information to survey and validate Wi-Fi deployments and changes, resolve connectivity and performance problems quickly, speed up closure of trouble tickets, and ensure your Wi-Fi network meets end users’ needs.

The new and improved battery life of 10 hours (3 - 4 hours charge) lasts you and your teams throughout the day.

AirCheck G3 Product Info

Multi-technology, all-in-one handheld network tester that enables engineers and technicians to get more done faster, from deployment to maintenance and documentation of their ever-changing Wi-Fi and Ethernet access networks.

The Etherscope nXG is the the industry’s first handheld analyzer for Wi-Fi 6/6E surveying (with AirMapper™ Site Survey), troubleshooting, and analysis.

Buyer's Guide

AirCheck G3 vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG

October 2024

Free Report: AirCheck G3 vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Find out what your peers are saying about AirCheck G3 vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.

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