Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

NetAlly EtherScope nXG pros and cons

Vendor: NetAlly

4.4 out of 5

23 reviews
100% willing to recommend

Pros & Cons summary

NetAlly EtherScope nXG offers comprehensive network analysis with auto tests, wireless assessments, iPerf, traffic testing, and packet captures for efficient troubleshooting. It simplifies network assessments, especially WiFi, and is essential for remote troubleshooting, reducing the need for extensive training and third-party interventions. Though it enhances productivity with tools like AirMapper Site Survey, it needs improvements in battery life, reporting, and cloud-based result uploads.

Buyer's Guide

Get pricing advice, tips, use cases and valuable features from real users of this product.

Prominent pros & cons

PROS

NetAlly EtherScope nXG offers comprehensive network testing capabilities in one tool, including WiFi troubleshooting, network validation, and cabling validation.

It provides detailed insights into channel utilization and traffic on air without needing extensive manual data collection and analysis.

The device enhances productivity by enabling remote troubleshooting and monitoring, which allows network issues to be resolved without the need for extensive travel or onsite visits.

Its lightweight and portable design compares favorably to more cumbersome equipment, making it ideal for fieldwork.

NetAlly EtherScope nXG significantly reduces troubleshooting time for network cabling issues, decreasing reliance on external vendors for testing and problem resolution.

CONS

Battery life needs improvement, often requiring the use of a power cord or a backup battery during extensive use.

Airtime utilization measurements can incorrectly classify traffic as non-802.11, leading to inaccuracies.

There are issues with the device's 5 gigahertz radio, potentially due to hardware problems.

Remote reboot capability is lacking, necessitating manual intervention when the device locks up.

Inconsistencies in uploading test results to the cloud may require manual intervention.

NetAlly EtherScope nXG Pros review quotes

RU

Consulting Engineer at CDW

Oct 19, 2020

The whole product is valuable because it's really a bunch of features that make up the one testing utility. Between auto tests, wireless assessments, its ability to do iPerf speed and traffic testing, as well as packet captures — all of those really contribute to a very successful product and allow me to do my job in a better manner.

Read full review

reviewer1349703

Test Engineer at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

May 14, 2020

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.

Read full review

SS

Independent Consultant at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees

May 14, 2020

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.

Read full review

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Free Report: NetAlly EtherScope nXG Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about NetAlly EtherScope nXG. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.

881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

MT

Movses Tovmasyan

Engineer Support at Cisco

Aug 19, 2020

Another good thing I really liked was that it would not only tell me the IP address, but it would tell me more info. It would grab the CDP off of the CDP profile and read all the info it could get, so I knew what I was looking at.

Read full review

KK

Owner at Camber Integration

Aug 23, 2020

The most valuable part is absolutely being able to assess existing WiFi networks quickly. You get very powerful details of networks, details that you couldn't see unless you had multiple pieces of software and hardware. This does it all in one thing.

Read full review

AD

Systems Engineer at IT Management Corp

Aug 31, 2020

The most valuable feature is the ability to identify the switchboards, when you plug the EtherScope into the network drop, and all other details about the switch. This is very useful because when you are not in that IDF or network closet but far away from that switch, you can identify the board and then configure the board for your needs, remotely.

Read full review

JD

Senior Network Engineer at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

Aug 30, 2020

When it comes to that remote troubleshooting perspective of being able to survey an area to see if there are problems, make adjustments, and then have that same individual resurvey that same area, I don't have to send people to a week long class on how to use the device. I know I am getting consistent results, which can verify near real-time, and whether or not the changes that I have implemented solve the problem.

Read full review

WI

Field Support Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Nov 4, 2020

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.

Read full review

DA

Network Engineer at a engineering company with 10,001+ employees

Nov 17, 2020

The most valuable features are the WiFi troubleshooting, network validation, and cabling validation, and the fact that it's an all-in-one tool. You don't have to carry different tools. The multi-technology functionality and its ability to do WiFi and wired Ethernet analysis in one device are the best aspects.

Read full review

reviewer1768290

Network Team Lead at a mining and metals company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Jan 25, 2022

The wireless aspect of it has been super valuable. The AirMagnet Survey feature is very useful for site surveys. For a long time, it used to be done on laptops, and now, we can do this simply on a handheld with one technician. The data automatically gets uploaded to the cloud so that our more experienced technicians can review the data and pull it into AirMagnet. This feature has saved tons of time. It's not easy to approximate the time saved, but for each survey, I'm taking a junior technician and getting him to do a role that a senior technician used to do. So, there is a cost-saving of at least 50%.

Read full review

Show 10 more reviews (out of 23)

NetAlly EtherScope nXG Cons review quotes

RU

Consulting Engineer at CDW

Oct 19, 2020

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

Read full review

reviewer1349703

Test Engineer at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

May 14, 2020

The one thing that it doesn't do well, when it's doing airtime utilization measurements, is that it will classify things as non-802.11, and that isn't correct. What it could do better is make sure that it classifies all traffic that's in the air correctly.

Read full review

SS

Independent Consultant at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees

May 14, 2020

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.

Read full review

NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Free Report: NetAlly EtherScope nXG Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about NetAlly EtherScope nXG. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.

881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

MT

Movses Tovmasyan

Engineer Support at Cisco

Aug 19, 2020

If I could reset it remotely, meaning reboot the unit, that would be helpful. One time, the test would not respond; the script would lock up. I had to go and manually reboot it. If I could have sent a command to reboot and it would have automatically connected to the wireless, that would have made it perfect. That was the only thing that it did not do.

Read full review

KK

Owner at Camber Integration

Aug 23, 2020

There is room for improvement in the battery life and price.

Read full review

AD

Systems Engineer at IT Management Corp

Aug 31, 2020

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.

Read full review

JD

Senior Network Engineer at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

Aug 30, 2020

I would love to see port profiles. This is something I've expressed to them. The ability for a technician to plug it into a switch port, and say, "Okay, this port will be an access point or this port will be a phone and desktop PC," thus choosing a profile. It will then push a configuration to the device it's connected to and verify that the switch port is correctly configured, so I can hand this to a phone tech who doesn't have any access to a network switch to be able to make changes. They can go out and plug this into a port, then they are able to push a profile to the switch port through the device. That would be pretty fantastic as a next step for this device.

Read full review

WI

Field Support Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Nov 4, 2020

The battery life could be better. There have been a couple of times that I used it and put it down, then I went to pick it up and the battery was dead. So, I need to take the power cord with me in order to continue using it.

Read full review

DA

Network Engineer at a engineering company with 10,001+ employees

Nov 17, 2020

The user interface could be a little bit more streamlined, a little bit easier. Sometimes it's hard to find a specific thing that you're looking for. In terms of hardware-based improvement, the battery would be the biggest issue. The battery goes out very quickly.

Read full review

reviewer1768290

Network Team Lead at a mining and metals company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Jan 25, 2022

One point of contention might be that when we were starting it up for the first time, there was a little bit of confusion about registration and getting the proper support plans applied. So, that could be more streamlined, but that's not uncommon in the industry.

Read full review

Show 10 more reviews (out of 23)

Product Categories

Product Categories

Network Diagnostics

Network Troubleshooting

Popular Comparisons

Popular Comparisons

AirMagnet Survey PRO vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Wireshark vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

LinkRunner vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

AirCheck G3 vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

LinkSprinter vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

IxNetwork VE vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

OneTouch AT Network Assistant vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

See all alternatives

Product Categories

Product Categories

Network Diagnostics

Network Troubleshooting

Popular Comparisons

Popular Comparisons

AirMagnet Survey PRO vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

Wireshark vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

LinkRunner vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

AirCheck G3 vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

LinkSprinter vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

IxNetwork VE vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

OneTouch AT Network Assistant vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG

See all alternatives

Related questions

56

Recommended tool to perform network topology discovery

39

Which Network Analyzer and Network Configuration Manager do you recommend?

21

What is the future of the Network Operation Center (NOC)?

11

When evaluating Network Diagnostics, what aspect do you think is the most important to look for?

43

How has the Facebook outage (October 2021) happened? Could it have been prevented?

11

Why is Network Diagnostics important for companies?