MetalHunt: Wall Scan & Studs for iPhone and Android

Overview

What it is, in plain words.

MetalHunt: Wall Scan & Studs uses your phone's magnetometer to find iron studs, steel pipes, rebar, screws and nails before you drill. Instead of one live number, Wall Map scans a whole wall in a grid and draws a heat map of it. It reads magnetic field strength in microtesla and works fully offline, with no account, ads or analytics.

What is it?

MetalHunt: Wall Scan & Studs is a wall scanner and magnetic field meter that detects ferromagnetic materials behind a surface.

What problem does it solve?

Drilling blind into a wall can hit a steel pipe, a stud edge or hidden hardware. MetalHunt maps the studs, works out their spacing and marks the gaps between them, so you can see where it is safe to drill.

Features

Everything it can do.

Stud and metal detection
Find iron studs, steel framing, steel pipes, rebar, nails, screws and bolts by their effect on the magnetic field.
Wall Map
Scan a wall in a grid to get a heat map of the whole surface, save a map per wall and export it as an image (beta).
Stud Assist
Classifies the shape of a signal so you can tell a stud edge from a pipe.
PDF report
Turn any scan into a document for a client or your renovation notes.
EMF Inspector
Measure the field around a microwave, router, fridge or bed and compare it with typical published ranges.
Lab Mode
Run five guided experiments with the raw magnetometer signal.
Feedback tools
Use sonar audio feedback, peak hold, a home screen widget and quick actions.
Calibration
Calibrate by swinging the phone in a figure eight until the app confirms it.

Screenshots

See it up close.

How it works

Up and running in three steps.

Calibrate
Swing the phone in a figure eight until the app confirms calibration.
Scan the wall
Hold the phone against the wall and sweep at an even pace, or use Wall Map to scan in a grid.
Mark and confirm
Mark the finds, save or export the map, and confirm with a proper stud finder before you drill.

Who it is for

Is it for you?

Homeowners and DIY builders hanging shelves or drilling into walls, renovators who want a report for a client, and curious people who want to measure magnetic fields. It is not a medical or safety device.

Get the app · App Store Get the app · Google Play

Privacy and permissions

Private by design.

The store listing says there are no accounts, ads or analytics, that nothing leaves your phone and that the app works fully offline. It does not list the permissions the app requests, so check the store listing and the linked privacy page for details.

Read the privacy policy

No ads
No tracking
Works offline

FAQ

Questions, answered.

What can MetalHunt find?

It finds iron and steel studs and framing, steel pipes, rebar, nails, screws, bolts, magnets and steel tools, and magnetic fields from motors, microwaves and transformers.

What can it not find?

It cannot find gold, silver, copper, aluminium or brass, because it reacts only to iron, steel and nickel. It does not measure depth either.

Do I need to calibrate it?

Yes. Swing the phone in a figure eight until the app confirms calibration, because until then a reading can show a find on an empty table.

Is Wall Map accurate?

Wall Map is in beta. Rows are divided by time rather than distance, so the map is faithful only if you sweep at an even pace.

Can I rely on it before drilling?

No. Always confirm with a proper stud finder before you drill.

Does it work offline?

Yes. The store listing says it works fully offline and nothing leaves your phone.

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