Your First Scan
S01E03 — "Press the button. Watch the world appear."
TL;DR Tap Start. Devices appear. Tap any row for details. Long-press for actions. Filter by BLE/Wi-Fi and signal strength. That's the core loop.
Starting a scan
- Open NearTrace
- Tap Start in the control bar at the top
- Devices start appearing in the list, sorted by signal strength (strongest first)
The scan runs continuously until you tap Stop. Tap Clear to wipe the current session's device list without stopping the scan.
Reading the device list
Each row shows:
- Left accent stripe — colour-coded by radio type (blue = BLE, green = Wi-Fi)
- Device icon — guessed from vendor data and advertisement type
- Name — the device's advertised name, or a vendor inference (e.g. "Apple · AirPods Pro 2")
- MAC address — the hardware identifier. May rotate on Apple/Google devices every ~15 minutes for privacy
- RSSI counter — signal strength in dBm. Higher (closer to 0) = stronger
- Badge bar — radio type, BT version, Find My detection, Wi-Fi generation, and more
Signal strength presets
Use the signal range selector to filter by distance:
| Preset | Approx. range |
|---|---|
| Under my nose | 0–1 m |
| Handy | 1–3 m |
| Far-sighted | 3–10 m |
| Wally | Weak signals only |
| Wormhole | Everything |
| Custom | You decide |
Tap a device
Opens the device detail page: map view, full advertisement decode, photo, plugins (port scan, mDNS, SSDP, vulnerability check), export options.