Wireless device search: overview

The Wireless Device search type takes a wireless identifier — a network ID (BSSID/MAC), an SSID (network name), or a ZIP (area) — and looks it up against WiGLE, the crowdsourced wardriving database of WiFi and Bluetooth networks and their observed geolocations. Reach for it when your lead is a piece of wireless hardware or a network name rather than a username, email, phone number, or image.

Unlike most search types, Wireless Device is single-data-source: every Module runs against one data source — WiGLE. Your choice here is therefore which lookup — which lens on the same WiGLE data — not which data source. See WiGLE for the data source itself.

Wireless Device search type active in the composer, with Bluetooth by BSSID selected and the empty Search Results panel

When to use it

Reach for Wireless Device when you hold a wireless identifier and want to:

• Look up a device by its network ID — retrieve a Bluetooth device’s details and recorded location, or a WiFi network’s details, from its BSSID/MAC (the Bluetooth by BSSID Module, the lead Module, or WiFi by BSSID).
• Search by network name — find the Bluetooth devices or WiFi networks matching a given SSID (the Bluetooth by SSID and WiFi by SSID Modules).
• Sweep an area — list the Bluetooth devices or WiFi networks WiGLE has recorded in a ZIP (the Bluetooth by ZIP and WiFi by ZIP Modules).

This search type exposes six Modules, all backed by WiGLE. For the full breakdown of each — what it searches, its input, and its cost — see Wireless device modules & options.

The end-to-end flow

Wireless Device follows the same search composer flow as every other search in UserSearch — see How UserSearch works for the general model.

1. In the composer header, open the Search type selector and choose Wireless Device. The active search type is drawn in the coral-orange accent colour.
2. Pick a Module from the grid. The grid is single-select: the chosen tile is drawn with a coral-orange border, and selecting one deselects the others. Selecting a tile loads its description, its Cost per search line, and its query form. Bluetooth by BSSID is the default (lead) Module.
3. Enter your identifier in the query field. For the default Module this is a network ID in BSSID/MAC format; switching Modules changes the expected input to an SSID (network name) or a ZIP (area).
4. Confirm the Cost per search line beneath the input. With Bluetooth by BSSID selected it reads $0.40.
5. Select Search Now (the coral-orange button with a magnifier icon) to run the query.

Note

A Wireless Device search can take up to 60 seconds to return — the composer panel flags this, and it is expected for WiGLE-backed lookups. Let the search complete and the results panel populate rather than re-running it.

Caution

Wireless Device does not offer the OneScan multi-source Module — and none is invented here. Because every Module already queries the same single data source (WiGLE), there is nothing for OneScan to aggregate: your only choice is which lookup to run, not which data source. See OneScan explained for how OneScan works in the search types that do offer it.

What it costs

Every Module shows its price on a Cost per search line, denominated in Credits and drawn from your main (Global) search-credits pool. Because each Module runs against a single data source, the pricing class here is fixed — there is no dynamic OneScan cost in this search type.

• Bluetooth by BSSID — $0.40 (fixed). This is the one observed cost data point for the search type.
• The other five Modules — cost not captured. Do not assume they also cost $0.40; always read the Cost per search line shown on the tile before you run.

See Credits & pricing for the full cost model.

Note

Bluetooth by BSSID is called the default here because it is the tile highlighted when the search type opens. Whether that is a fixed out-of-box default or simply your last-used Module is not confirmed — click the Module you want rather than relying on which tile is highlighted.

What you get back

Running a search populates the Search Results panel on the right, with the standard header counters — Found (green), Enriched (orange), and Connections (white) — over a results table whose columns adapt to the Module you ran, plus a Details panel for the selected row. Because every Module runs against WiGLE, the results table’s Data Source column reads WiGLE for whatever you run here.

For how to read and verify those results, see Reading Wireless device results and the general concept Found, Enriched & Connections.

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Related: Wireless device modules & options · Reading Wireless device results · WiGLE · Credits & pricing

Verified against UserSearch v2.0.20