HE.NET Network Tools vs Air Observer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HE.NET Network Tools
A comprehensive suite of network diagnostic tools for professionals. It offers features like ARP/NDP lookup, DNS queries, IP calculations, bandwidth testing, and port scanning. Securely manage two-factor authentication codes and view network routing tables.
- ARP/NDP lookup
- DNS lookup
- IP Calculator
- iperf bandwidth test
- Port Scan
- SSL/TLS Information
- Two-factor authentication code storage
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This suite of networks tools implements most of the network diagnostics that you need as a Network Engineer or System Administrator. Please help us improve it by giving us feedback. + ARP / NDP: Lookup local devices found on your network using either ARP (IPv4) or NDP (IPv6). + Bonjour Browser: See what DNS-SD/Bonjour services are available on your network + DNS lookup: Search for a servers DNS zone records such as SOA, NS, A, AAAA, MX, PTR. + Interface Information: Get information regarding your device's current network state. + IP Calculator: Calculate the Netmask, Wildcard, Network, Host range, and Broadcast for a given subnet. + iperf: Check bandwidth against remote iperf services. + One Time Password: Securely store and view your TOTP and HOTP (two-factor authentication) codes. TOTP codes are available on the Apple Watch. + Ping: Send ICMP packets to a single IPv4/IPv6 address. + Ping Sweep: Send ICMP packets to an entire subnet range. + Traceroute: Find the route packets take to reach your destination. + Progressive Traceroute: Get detailed statistics for a given route. + Port Scan: Scan a list of TCP ports on any server. + Routing Table: See your local device's routing table. + SSL/TLS Information: Check available ciphers, protocols and what's being used when connecting to a remove service. + Whois: Get information regarding network resources. + NO ADS! Note: Recent iOS releases secure certain low-level network information, and as such will not be available in-app, such as MAC addresses for other network devices.
Air Observer
This app helps diagnose Wi-Fi connection issues on iOS devices. It measures local Wi-Fi health and wide area connection to a server, helping users understand signal strength and potential interference.
- Diagnose Wi-Fi connection health
- Measure local Wi-Fi signal strength
- Assess wide area connection to server
- Identify wireless interference
- Differentiate Wi-Fi vs. Internet issues
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AirO is intended for technical and not-too-technical owners of Wi-Fi capable iOS devices. It displays the health of the Wi-Fi (“Local Area”) connection, and measures the characteristics of a “Wide Area” connection to a server deeper in the network. It can be used to answer questions like: • What’s wrong with my Wi-Fi today? • How strong is my Wi-Fi signal? • Is there evidence of wireless interference? • Is the problem in the Wi-Fi connection, or out on the Internet (or corporate network)? • Is the overall connection to the data center good enough to run my corporate apps?
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Air Observer at 5.0 against HE.NET Network Tools's 4.0. Air Observer also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 78%). HE.NET Network Tools's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 28 months) and ratings volume (70 vs 4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Air Observer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HE.NET Network Tools has 70 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of HE.NET Network Tools's written reviews are positive against 100% of Air Observer's.
HE.NET Network Tools ships an update every 2 months, Air Observer every 28 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HE.NET Network Tools | Air Observer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (70 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 77.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 70 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 28 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hurricane Electric, LLC | Peter Thornycroft |
Customer experience
HE.NET Network Tools
Air Observer
Bugs and requests
HE.NET Network Tools
Reported bugs
12 issues- Interface Information crashes app immediately
- iperf3 fails with 'operation not permitted' error
- iperf2 crashes on iOS 8+
- DNS lookups not responding after updates
- iperf3 only runs for 1 second despite longer duration settings
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- iperf3 fails to start intermittently
- App crashes when selecting tools from menu
- Crashes on iOS 11 and later versions
- Neighbor Discovery crashes on iPhone 6
- Dark mode text hard to read on iPhone
- App crashes on iPad for multiple functions
- Ping and basic tools crash on iOS 11+
Requested features
12 requests- Vision Pro compatibility and controls
- SRV record lookup in DNS tool
- IPv6 subnet calculator
- WOL (Wake-on-LAN) magic packet support
- MTR (My Traceroute) tool
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- Telnet command for port testing
- Stop/pause button for running tests
- Multiple iperf test execution
- Configurable iperf parameters and bandwidth limits
- LAN device scanning capability
- Dark mode text color options
- Apple Watch app with full functionality
Air Observer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
HE.NET Network Tools
No in-app purchases
Air Observer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is HE.NET Network Tools free?
Is Air Observer free?
Which has better reviews, HE.NET Network Tools or Air Observer?
Do HE.NET Network Tools or Air Observer have ads?
Which is updated more often, HE.NET Network Tools or Air Observer?
Other comparisons
