Wi-Fi CSI on a router: practical handbook (PDF) + reproduction scripts
Wi-Fi CSI on a router: practical handbook (PDF) + reproduction scripts
30-page Chinese edition, currently being expanded (v0.1): hardware selection, OpenWrt/mt76 build, flashing and rollback, CSI capture and parsing, performance troubleshooting (ATF / 40 MHz collapse), Python analysis and visualisation. Includes one-command scripts and checksums. An English edition is planned.
- Documents the data layout of this project's 10-minute raw capture
- Includes the
mt76-csideployment checklist and watchdog script - Free preview (Chinese): 5-page sample
The handbook collects every reproducible step from this project into one document you can execute offline. It is written for three kinds of reader:
- developers getting CSI for the first time (without reading papers first);
- researchers who want to deploy CSI in a real home or office;
- engineers who need to assess the approach for a team.
Try it free first: download the 5-page preview PDF — it includes the table of contents, the concepts chapter (what CSI is) and the hardware/build chapters.
The current edition is written in Chinese. An English edition is planned; the free articles on this site already cover the full route in English, and the scripts are language-neutral.
What the handbook covers
| Chapter | Content |
|---|---|
| 1. Concepts | CSI vs RSSI, what it can and cannot do, five hardware routes compared |
| 2. Choosing hardware | why the router form factor; the MT7986/MT7915 ecosystem and its limits |
| 3. Build | the mt76 CSI patch, firmware version selection, image build and verification (including fixes for two known build errors) |
| 4. Flashing | rehearsing U-Boot recovery, first-boot configuration, avoiding network conflicts |
| 5. Capture | frame-type filter, MAC filter, daemon deployment, the UDP format field by field |
| 6. Analysis | Python parsing, phase correction, heatmap/waterfall, motion metric, respiration/heart-rate basics |
| 7. Engineering | watchdog, stability criteria, CPU/bandwidth/storage budgets |
| 8. Troubleshooting (exclusive) | the full isolation flow for the ATF rate-recovery failure and the 40 MHz client / 80 MHz BSS collapse |
| 9. Compliance | privacy boundaries, patent and RF compliance notes |
What you get
- one PDF handbook (Chinese, 30 pages, with measured heatmaps and data tables, plus the full operation checklist and measurement log);
- one script bundle you can run directly (capture, analysis, watchdog, bandwidth switch);
- the 10-minute raw I/Q dataset (to validate your parser) [2];
- free updates within the same major version.
The handbook keeps growing with the project (target v1.0: 60+ pages); updates within a major version are free.
FAQ
Q: My router is not a GL-MT6000 — will it work? The core flow applies to any MT7986/MT7915 (mt76) device; the handbook clearly separates "device-specific" from "general" parts.
Q: Do I need extra hardware? No. You need one CSI-capable router and one client device (a phone is enough).
Q: How is this different from the free articles? The free articles give you the route and the conclusions; the handbook gives you command-by-command steps, checksums, the troubleshooting decision tree and the scripts — executable offline and shareable with a team.
Q: Refunds? Digital content is non-refundable once downloaded; please read the free articles on this site first.
References and data sources
Every external claim carries a source and an evidence grade (grading scheme). Grade E marks first-party, reproducible measurements from this project.
- Grade E · first-party measurement
Router CSI Toolkit — capture/analysis/watchdog scripts (MIT)
Router CSI Lab · 2026
csi.okwujun.pw/zh/tools/ · verified: Repository bundle has a SHA-256; scripts run on real hardware - Grade E · first-party measurement
This project's 10-minute raw capture (57,293 records / 600.0 s, SHA-256 00373f83…95e2)
Router CSI Lab · 2026
csi.okwujun.pw/zh/datasets/ · verified: Reassembled chunks verified byte-identical (2026-10-11)