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Airthings

Airthings Wave Plus

Battery radon and air quality monitor

  • Monitor
  • Battery
  • App only
  • Bluetooth
C-NRPP 2024/25 evaluation: Not includedSee the evidence

Best for, and skip if

Best for you if

  • You want radon and carbon dioxide, VOCs and humidity from one battery device.
  • You want to mount it on a wall or a ceiling, with no cable.

Skip it if

  • You want numbers on the device; it has a glow ring and no screen.
  • You want remote access without a second Airthings device; on its own it is Bluetooth only.
See how it compares: View Plus vs Wave PlusWho it fits
  • Airthings Wave Plus
  • Airthings Wave Plus, photo 2 of 5
  • Airthings Wave Plus, photo 3 of 5
  • Airthings Wave Plus, photo 4 of 5
  • Airthings Wave Plus, photo 5 of 5

Photos: Airthings

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  • PowerBattery
  • ReadingsApp only
  • C-NRPP 2024/25Not included
  • Every figure checked against the specifications Airthings publishes
  • Independent test results shown the same way for every product, unranked
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About this item

As Airthings states it

  • How it measures: Alpha spectrometry, passive diffusion chamber
  • Display and app: No display, phone app, Bluetooth
  • Power: Battery: 2 AA batteries, included
  • Units: Glow ring on the device; thresholds published in pCi/L and Bq/m³

The Wave Plus is Airthings' battery-powered, six-sensor monitor: radon, carbon dioxide, VOCs, temperature, humidity and air pressure, with a colored glow ring instead of a screen and Bluetooth to the Airthings app. C-NRPP's 2023 report listed it as passing its performance test; it was not part of the 2024/25 evaluation.

What you get

The box holds the detector, two AA alkaline batteries, an instruction manual and a mounting screw. The monitor weighs 7.7 oz (219 g) with batteries and is 4.7 inches across and 1.4 inches deep. Airthings offers a free 5-year extended warranty on its air quality monitors if you register them.

In the box and running costs

How it works

What it measures and how

The sensor, the sampling and the readings, then who has checked it

How it works

In our words, from the maker's documents

Radon reaches the sensor through a passive diffusion chamber and is measured by alpha spectrometry, over a range of 0 to 500 pCi/L, or 0 to 20,000 Bq/m³. The 2024 comparison in the journal Sensors tested a Wave Plus beside a calibrated professional monitor, and lists photodiode alpha spectrometry as the detection principle of the Airthings View Plus it tested alongside.

The air-quality sensors sample every 5 minutes. Carbon dioxide comes from a non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensor over 400 to 5,000 ppm. Airthings gives the carbon dioxide and total VOC readings a settling time of about seven days, so the first week of those numbers is not the steady state.

There is no number display. A glow ring shows red, yellow or green, and the numbers, graphs and notifications are in the free app for iOS and Android, with a web dashboard as well. On its own the Wave Plus connects by Bluetooth; linked by SmartLink to an Airthings hub, such as a View monitor, it can be reached from anywhere.

For radon decisions, the long-term average matters more than any color. For any consumer monitor, the guidance is to run it at least three months, ideally through the heating season, and decide from the long-term average. The EPA's reference points are a fix at 4 pCi/L and considering a fix between 2 and 4 pCi/L.

Airthings sells the Wave Plus as a smart monitor with six sensors and a battery lifetime of about a year and a half, and pairs it with tips on improving what is in your air. For radon specifically it is the same sensing approach as the Wave Radon and the View monitors; what the Plus adds is carbon dioxide, VOCs and air pressure, not a different radon measurement.

What the manufacturer says

Airthings's own statements, attributed

  • Airthings saysAirthings states radon accuracy and precision at 5.4 pCi/L (200 Bq/m³) of about 10% after 7 days and about 5% after 2 months.
  • Airthings saysC-NRPP's 2023 report lists the stated accuracy for the Wave Plus as ±10% after 7 days at 200 Bq/m³, and ±5% after 2 months of monitoring.
  • Airthings saysAirthings states battery life of 16 months on Bluetooth and 18 months on SmartLink with a hub.
  • Airthings saysAirthings states carbon dioxide accuracy of ±30 ppm ±3% within 60 to 95°F and 0 to 80% relative humidity.

These are Airthings's own statements, attributed to it. They are not our findings, and we have not tested this product ourselves.

Independent evidence

C-NRPP 2024/25, recalls and studies

C-NRPP 2024/25
Not included in C-NRPP's 2024/25 evaluation

The Canadian National Radon Proficiency Program's 2024/25 comparison of consumer monitors did not include Airthings Wave Plus. That is a fact about which devices took part, not a finding about this one: no result from that program exists for it either way.

Earlier round

C-NRPP's 2023 report listed “Airthings Wave Plus” as having passed its performance test.

Recalls
No Health Canada recall or advisory names this device.
Peer-reviewed studies
  • In a 54-day field comparison at Spain's Laboratory of Natural Radiation (1 July to 23 August 2023), against a calibrated AlphaGUARD reference monitor, the Wave Plus's average for the whole period was 11.0 percent above the reference's, and 6.1 percent of its expected readings were not recorded. In the study's response-time test, a sharp rise that the reference followed in about 8 hours, it reached only the 10 percent level of the rise, not the 50 or 90 percent levels.

C-NRPP is the Canadian National Radon Proficiency Program. Its 2024/25 results were published in May 2025.

Airthings Wave Plus

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Specifications

Specifications

Every figure as the maker states it

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The maker's figures

Type
Continuous monitor, battery, Bluetooth, six sensors
How it measures
Alpha spectrometry, passive diffusion chamber
First reading
Not stated by the manufacturer
Reading updates
Not stated by the manufacturer
Display and app
No display, phone app, Bluetooth
Power
Battery: 2 AA batteries, included
Units
Glow ring on the device; thresholds published in pCi/L and Bq/m³

What is in the box

The box holds the detector, two AA alkaline batteries, an instruction manual and a mounting screw. The monitor weighs 7.7 oz (219 g) with batteries and is 4.7 inches across and 1.4 inches deep. Airthings offers a free 5-year extended warranty on its air quality monitors if you register them.

What it costs to run

No lab fee; the app and web dashboard are free. The ongoing cost is two AA batteries roughly every 16 to 18 months, by Airthings' estimate. Remote access needs an Airthings hub device, which is a second purchase rather than a subscription. Registering the monitor on Airthings' website adds a free 5-year extended warranty on top of the standard one, so the main long-term cost is batteries.

Fit and setup

Who it fits, and how to use it

The fit, then setup and placement as the guidance asks

Who it fits

Good fit if, and look elsewhere if

Good fit if

  • You want radon and carbon dioxide, VOCs and humidity from one battery device.
  • You want to mount it on a wall or a ceiling, with no cable.
  • You are happy to read numbers in an app rather than on the device.
  • You already have an Airthings View monitor or Hub to give it remote access.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want numbers on the device; it has a glow ring and no screen.
  • You want remote access without a second Airthings device; on its own it is Bluetooth only.
  • You want a monitor that took part in C-NRPP's 2024/25 evaluation.
  • You need a result for a home sale; check what your state accepts before relying on any consumer monitor.

Setup and placement

3 steps

  1. It runs on two AA batteries, mounts on a wall or ceiling with the screw in the box, and pairs with the Airthings app, which supports the three most recent versions of Android and iOS. The operating environment is 39 to 104°F.
  2. For radon, the EPA's guidance for any home test applies: the lowest lived-in level, a room used regularly but not the kitchen or bathroom, at least 20 inches above the floor, and away from drafts, high heat, high humidity and exterior walls. C-NRPP adds a room used at least four hours a day.
  3. Because it reports carbon dioxide and VOCs too, the room you choose shapes what you learn. Radon is usually highest on the lowest floor; carbon dioxide and VOCs matter most where people spend their time. A lower-floor bedroom or family room serves both, where you have one.

How C-NRPP says to use any consumer monitor

  • Leave it in place for at least three months, ideally through the heating season, when indoor radon tends to be highest.
  • Put it in a room someone uses for at least four hours a day.
  • Decide about fixing your home from the long-term average, not a single day or week.
  • If you can only run a monitor for less than 91 days, follow up with a long-term test.

For where any radon test or monitor should sit in a home, see where to place a radon test.

Compare

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The same three rows for each, and the one difference that matters

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Questions

Questions people ask

6 questions about the Airthings Wave Plus, answered

Asked about the Wave Plus

Is the Wave Plus C-NRPP approved?

C-NRPP's 2023 report listed the Airthings Wave Plus as passing its performance test. It was not included in the 2024/25 evaluation, so there is no 2024/25 result for it either way.

What did the 2024 field study find for the Wave Plus?

In a 54-day field comparison in Spain in 2023, published in Sensors in 2024, the Wave Plus's average was 11.0 percent above a calibrated reference monitor's, and 6.1 percent of its expected readings were not recorded. In the study's test of a sharp rise, it reached only the 10 percent level of the change.

Does the Wave Plus have a display?

No. A glow ring shows red, yellow or green; readings and graphs are in the Airthings app and web dashboard.

How long until the carbon dioxide and VOC readings are reliable?

Airthings gives both a settling time of about seven days after setup. Expect the carbon dioxide and VOC graphs to drift during the first week; radon is a separate measurement, and for radon the useful figure is the long-term average built over months.

Can the Wave Plus go on the ceiling?

Airthings says it supports wall or ceiling mounting, with a mounting screw in the box. For a radon reading, though, the EPA's placement advice for any home test still applies: the lowest lived-in level, at least 20 inches above the floor and away from drafts and exterior walls, in a room people use.

How long do the batteries last?

Airthings estimates 16 months connected by Bluetooth and 18 months on SmartLink with a hub, on two AA batteries.

What to do next

Updated October 1, 2026