FREE STANDALONE WI-FI SENSOR 0.4.0 BETA
USB Wi-Fi capture.
One small Mac app.
Put your A8000 or A9000 to work. Capture straight from the adapter with no Linux involved — from two radios at once if you have them — or turn your Mac into a WLANPi-compatible sensor for WiFi Explorer Pro and Airtool.
Free download for MacApple Silicon · macOS 26 or 27
21.4 MB DMG · Developer ID signed & Apple notarized
Free to use. No account, activation or beta code needed.
AirRetriever talks to your A8000 or A9000 directly. No Linux, no adapter assignment, no root. Tick the radios you want, pick a band and channel, and capture on 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz.
Two adapters can capture at the same time into one pcapng file, each as its own interface — so a two-radio capture records which radio heard every frame. Save wherever you like.
A small Linux sensor is built into the app. Start it, click Share as WLANPi, and your Mac appears over SSH and Bonjour to the tools you already use — WiFi Explorer Pro passive scans and Airtool live captures are both verified with the A9000.
This mode hands the adapter over to the Linux sensor, which macOS only allows on 27, and captures from one radio at a time.
Drivers, firmware and the Linux sensor all ship in the app. Drag it to Applications. There is no separate VM runtime, driver package, Homebrew formula or system service to install.
BEFORE YOU DOWNLOAD
Apple Silicon with macOS 26 or 27. Driver mode runs on both; VM mode and WLANPi sharing need macOS 27. Intel Macs and Windows are not supported.
NETGEAR A8000 (Wi-Fi 6E) or A9000 (Wi-Fi 7). Driver mode can use several at once; VM mode takes one adapter and one capture client at a time.
Both adapters have captured real traffic on all three bands, including Wi-Fi 7 frames at 160 MHz. Broader hardware testing continues; 320 MHz is not supported.
GET CONNECTED
Driver mode needs no setup beyond plugging the adapter in. VM mode has an extra assignment step, and needs macOS 27.
Open the DMG, drag AirRetriever to Applications, then open it from Applications. Plug in your A8000 or A9000 — it appears on its own row within a couple of seconds.
Leave Engine on Native (no Linux). Tick each adapter you want to capture from, then choose its band, channel and width. The centre channel is worked out for you, and 6 GHz channels where access points actually beacon are marked PSC.
Click Start Capture, then Stop Capture. Every ticked adapter becomes its own interface in a single .pcapng file. Use Change… to choose where captures are saved, and Show Captures to reveal the file.
Set Engine to Linux VM (WLANPi compatible), then click Enable USB Adapter Menu. If offered, click Enable Compatibility & USB Menu for the current macOS beta.
In the macOS menu bar, click the cable icon called Virtual Machine Accessories. Select Wireless_Device, then Use with AirRetriever. Both models can appear under that same USB name; AirRetriever identifies the model after assignment.
Select your radio and click Start Sensor. Enter the two-letter uppercase country code for your physical location, such as US. Allow a few seconds for firmware to load; use Refresh Capabilities if needed. From here you can capture, or share the sensor with WiFi Explorer Pro and Airtool below.
WLANPI COMPATIBILITY · macOS 27
Sharing runs through the built-in Linux sensor, so it needs VM mode on macOS 27. Start the sensor, set your country, and click Share as WLANPi. Allow local network access if macOS asks. Then add a remote sensor in your capture app:
| Name | AirRetriever |
|---|---|
| Address | 127.0.0.1 |
| SSH port | 8022 |
| Username | wlanpi |
| Password | wlanpi |
| Interface | wlan0 or automatic selection |
Bonjour advertises AirRetriever automatically. The tested WiFi Explorer Pro 3.10.4 and Airtool 2.7.6 discovered entries default to port 22, so add a sensor with port 8022.
Connecting from another computer? Use the hosting Mac's hostname or IP address instead of 127.0.0.1.
Use one capture client at a time. Sharing exposes the guest login to your LAN with passwordless sudo inside the sensor. Shut Down or quit AirRetriever to end sharing and release the radio.
A FEW USEFUL DETAILS
No. AirRetriever is a standalone app. You can capture directly, share with a compatible remote capture tool, or open its files in PCAPAI, Wireshark or another analyzer — driver mode writes .pcapng and VM mode writes .pcap, both standard radiotap. The current PCAPAI app does not include AirRetriever.
Wherever you choose. The folder is shown beneath the capture controls; click Change… to pick another, or Show Captures to reveal the last file. The default stays ~/Library/Application Support/WLAN Commander Sensor VM PoC/, whose original name preserves existing captures and the per-install SSH identity. AirRetriever does not upload captures.
The DMG is about 21.4 MB, including Linux. Driver mode runs no VM at all. In VM mode the Linux sensor is configured with two virtual CPUs and 512 MiB RAM. Quitting the app stops everything.
Quit AirRetriever and move it from Applications to Trash. Your captures and SSH identity are retained. You can remove the support folder separately if you also want to erase those files.
Released September 10, 2026 · Apple Silicon · macOS 26 or 27
Adds driver mode: capture straight from the adapter, from several radios at once, into one pcapng. App and DMG are signed, notarized and stapled for offline verification.
Third-party license notices are available in AirRetriever's Help menu.