WiGLE.net

Is there a simple way to search the Wigle database by MAC address? I've got about 4000 802.11 MAC addresses and would like to see if any of them are in the database. The current API seems to require that I provide a geographical location. The web-based query tool doesn't let me do more than a few lookups, then it says that I've done too many.

Thanks,

The query page has a lookup by MAC. http://wigle.net/gps/gps/main/query/

" The web-based query tool doesn't let me do more than a few lookups, then it says that I've done too many."

How do I get around this restriction?

It's a restriction for a reason

When I search for a MAC using https://www.wigle.net/gps/gps/main/confirmquery it works, however when I hit the "Get Map" link next to the result, I receive a 404:

Not Found

The requested URL /Map/onlinemap2/ was not found on this server.
Apache/2.4.16 (Amazon) Server at http://www.wigle.net Port 443

Since I see that on the first page we have

NOTE: this version of the site is slated for deactivation!

do we have to use some other location to search by MAC addresses?

P.S.
Just found from the main page that the url for maps is now /map? instead of /Map/onlinemap2/, so I guess that script needs the location adjusted.

Fixed, thanks for the bug report!

Great, thanks a lot bobzilla. I have one more question - what exactly is the threshold for searches prior hitting the limiter? I'm asking, because I hit it a few times last few days with my manual lookups and I wanted to limit myself for the future in order to avoid hitting it again.

The daily limits are done per-user heuristically. If you send a note to wigle-admin [at] wigle.net with what you are up to they can be raised.

I have been a big fan of Wigle for about 2 years now and have uploaded a lot of new Wifi points.

However Wigle seems to have lost my fandom for a few reasons:
- There is no real easy usable API
- There is a web-query but that is not the same. I just want to have an API that lets me send a BSSID and gives me the location back
- There is a limit restriction on the number of queries I can do.

Now I am devellopping an aplication that really needs this info.
And Wigle seems to limit this devellopment.

So I am moving away from Wigle and over to another wifi-database, which I really think is a shame.

The benefits of the other database are:

Totally open
downloadable database (not what I need however a nice extra) for off-line work
A full blown API that lets me do this:
"website.com/api/v1/bssids/XXXXXXXXXX"
Replace the XXX's by the bssid and I imeediately get a full response with lattitude and longtitude.

No retrictions on the API, so I can do as many calls as I like, even hundreds per minute.
You even do not have to have an acoount to use the API. ANYBODY can just plainly use it. That is what I call open-source.

So now I have to make the choice:
stay with Wigle and live with its limitations or go with the other service which has a smaller database but all the forementioned advantages..... The choice is easy.

I am not advertising the name of the other service as I like Wigle a lot. But the restrictions make me move away.

There was a mention that the restrictions are there for a reason. Well why aren't services like google who have a decent API do not have the restrictions.....

I can not understand why I am able to upload thousands of wifi-points to this service and am restricted to use it........

So I put a lot of effort in this service and am disapponted by it.

Can anyone please tell me why these restrictions are here ??

Johndoa

Hey johndoa, if it's not a secret could you, please, share the wifi database you're moving to? I'm interested to have a look as well, because it's a bit frustrating for me as well that I'm constantly hitting the queries limit with my manual lookups, I'm far from the idea to develop an app that will use up this limit in a matter of minutes.

Hey strasharo,

it is not a secret but I think it is a bit unethical to advertise/name this service
on the forum of Wigle.
I hope the develloppers will come back with an answer that helps me decide what to do in a short time.

Regards

Hi guys.
+1. I have a same questions as johndoa said.
«I can not understand why I am able to upload thousands of wifi-points to this service and am restricted to use it........»

Want use unlimited API calls like website do
But need some additional params for filtering - crypt, channel, QoS and so on.

Hi all,

this thread has led us to investigate, and we noticed that about a year ago, some important pieces of software stopped working. WiGLE takes anti-harvesting and anti-DDoS measures and generally we try and offer as much access to data as our hosting costs allow. We also recognize that some bad actors do not abide by the EULA, which imposes "drag" on all of us. We try build systems to reward good citizenship, limit abuse, keep the dataset growing and updated, and keep the community happy. The API has limits on number of results returned, and users have individual throttles for queries to keep our hosting bills under control. In response to the posts here, we've done the following:

1. We've released a major update that allows us to serve and search more efficiently (more performance gains to come, watch this space as we improve our deployment plan and hosting setup!).

2. We've audited and repaired the limit adjustments that have been broken, raising throttles for a large number of users, and included documentation of the API and capabilities.

3. Once we see how these releases shake out, we'll evaluate the basic query limits across the board, and see how we can better accommodate folks.

If you have special not-for-profit uses in mind, please contact us at WiGLE-admin@wigle.net, and we'll do our best to accommodate your use case (without crushing everyone!). If you're using the data for commercial purposes, well, please contact us and we'll figure out a way to make that work for you AND you can help to support the project and raise the query limits for everyone in the process!

Ok, let me state what I am doing.

I have made a geopositioning system.
It uses a chip which costs less than 2 dollar and has no need for gps, and is all the hardware you need besides a battery, a led and a switch. All in all about 2 dollar.

The chip takes the BSSID's in the environment and puts them in a file (onboard memomry in the chip).

At base location returned the file is uploaded to the PC and from there an API is called that translates
the BSSID's into geo-coordinates. This is done by a 400 line Python program I have devellopped and it
makes a google map out of the coordinates. So the API's will be called tens of times or maybe even hundreds depending on the size
of the file.

Now geopositioning this way is less accurate as a GPS but more as sufficient for bycicle, runners, walking,
remembering positions on a holliday or even tracking a car or whatever.

So I want to publish this all and put it in the public domain. Make an open source project from this.

Now this seems ok however there is no use for me using Wigle for this as no-one who builds this project like I did
can not use it through the restrictions of Wigle policy.
It is undo-able that anyone who wants to build one of these devices for themselves has to ask Wigle for lifting the restrictions.

It is even more strange as I have uploaded hundreds (maybe thousands) Wifi points and am not allowed to use it like I want.

There are competitors who have unfortunately a database with much less wifi-points but are accessible by unrestricted API's and even
make it possible to download the complete database for off-line use. And that is what I need for this project to succeed and for people
who want to build it and use it for themselves.

I do not understand what the problem of Wigle administrators is against putting it all open if the other databases can, and even Google has an unrestricted policy as long as you are registered. Oh and to set things straight, the other databases are free to use: no payment and no restrictions. You even do not have to register at their websites. It is all just open and free for anyone.

So to give my project a successfull start I need to know wether Wigle will open up for anyone and give unrestricted access or that I put my effort somewhere else with a smaller database but which will undoubtedly grow by the uesers of my project who will have the need of an as big as possible database and therefore undoubtedly will help growing the database.

For this I am even prepared to show my real name and website with a link to my e-mail adress so anyone interested can contact me.

Luc Volders
http://lucstechblog.blogspot.nl/ (wich has the link to my-emailadres in the right-side column)

How many times a day canI query the database? i.e whats the restriction.

Thanks