简体中文
English
Website review
This review may include AI-generated content and is not individually verified. Domain, certificate and other facts come from the observed data on this page.
What is ADS-B Exchange?
ADS-B Exchange is a live aircraft-tracking website built on crowdsourced ADS-B and Mode S receiver data. You open the map, click an aircraft, and see its position, altitude, speed, track, squawk and signal details; the same page offers flight history and playback of recent traces. It is aimed at people who want raw, unfiltered tracking coverage — including military, government, business and other aircraft that some mainstream trackers choose not to display.
ADS-B Exchange
What you can actually do with it
- Follow a specific airframe in real time by searching its registration, hex ID or callsign.
- Replay a recent flight by clicking the trace line to start playback.
- Inspect technical fields such as altitude, groundspeed, vertical rate, track, squawk, RSSI and message rate.
- Export KML files if you want to view a track in Google Earth.
Practical trade-offs
- Coverage depends on volunteer receivers, so low-altitude or remote areas can have gaps.
- Some targets appear only as anonymized MLAT contacts, with no registration or type attached, and some hex IDs are dynamic and cannot be tied to a specific airframe.
- The interface is dense and data-heavy. Casual users may find simpler trackers friendlier; enthusiasts and researchers tend to value the extra fields and the broader unfiltered feed.
If you are tracking a particular flight, start by searching its registration or hex ID rather than scrolling the map, then use the history panel to see where it has been. If you need to identify an unfamiliar aircraft, check whether it has a valid ICAO 24-bit address first — that determines how much the site can tell you.
How can I track a specific aircraft's live flight path on ADS-B Exchange?
Use the search box on the live map to find one aircraft by its registration, callsign, or ICAO 24-bit hex code, then select it to follow its current position and open its details panel. On ADS-B Exchange, selecting an aircraft also opens its trace and flight-activity history, which is where you read the path rather than just the current dot.
A practical tracking routine
- Search a specific identifier. Registration (e.g. a tail number) or callsign is easiest for a known flight; the hex code is the unique transponder address and avoids ambiguity when callsigns are reused.
- Click the aircraft to open the details panel. Confirm the type, altitude, groundspeed and track match what you expect before trusting the rest.
- Read the trace line on the map. The history controls let you replay the path and change playback speed, so you can step through a route rather than watch a single instant.
- Check the flight-activity history for the UTC day, with previous/next navigation. If it shows no history for that aircraft, you only have the live position to work from.
- Use the map filters when the target is hard to isolate — altitude bands, data source, and database flags help narrow a crowded view.
What the fields actually tell you
| Field | What it answers | Practical caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Registration / type | Which airframe and model | Shows "n/a" when the hex ID can't be matched to a registration |
| Altitude | Height, with barometric and WGS84 variants | Barometric and geometric altitudes differ; pick one and stay consistent |
| Groundspeed / track | Movement over the ground | Ground speed is not airspeed |
| Squawk | Assigned transponder code | A code alone doesn't identify a flight |
| Signal source / RSSI | How the position was received | MLAT positions are calculated, not directly broadcast |
Where the data comes from, and why it matters
Positions arrive from aircraft broadcasts and from multilateration (MLAT), which needs a Mode S transponder heard by at least four receivers. That has two consequences for tracking a specific aircraft: MLAT-derived contacts can appear as non-ICAO hex IDs that can't be tied to a registration or type, and some hex IDs are dynamic, so they won't reliably identify the same airframe across days. If your target shows an anonymized MLAT result, treat the path as approximate.
Reader scenario
Suppose you're following a friend's private flight. You know the tail number, so you search the registration, click the aircraft, and use the trace playback to see the route so far. If the aircraft is outside receiver coverage or only picked up by MLAT, the trail will have gaps or the flight history may be empty — that's a coverage limit, not a fault in your search.
Next step
If the registration search returns nothing, switch to the hex code; if that also fails, the aircraft may not be broadcasting ADS-B, may be outside coverage, or may be using a dynamic hex ID. For a second view of the same flight, compare with Flightradar24 or Plane Finder, which use different receiver networks and may fill gaps.
What is a hex ID and why does it matter for identifying an aircraft?
A hex ID is the six-character code that identifies an aircraft in Mode S / ADS-B radio messages. It is usually the ICAO 24-bit address assigned to that airframe — a global, permanent identifier that stays with the aircraft regardless of which airline paints its name on the side or which registration it carries. On ADS-B Exchange, the aircraft panel shows this value alongside registration, type code, and airline fields; when those fields read "n/a" but a hex ID is present, the site is telling you it received the transponder message but could not tie that code to a known airframe in its database.
Why it matters for identification:
- It is the message's own identity, not a lookup result. Registration and type come from database matching. The hex ID comes off the air. That makes it the most reliable field on the panel when the others are blank or wrong.
- It links an aircraft across flights. A registration can change with a sale, lease, or rebrand; the hex ID generally does not. For spotting a specific airframe over weeks, the hex is the better key.
- It exposes gaps in coverage. A hex ID with no registration or type usually means a miscode, a military or government aircraft, a new delivery not yet in the database, or a non-ICAO target.
The site's own notes point to two distinct cases that look similar but are not:
| What you see | What it likely means |
|---|---|
| Non-ICAO hex, "Anonymized MLAT result" | Position derived by multilateration, identity withheld |
| Non-ICAO hex, "ATC contact broadcast" | A code used for air-traffic contact, not a real airframe address |
| Hex ID but no registration/type | Valid address, no database match yet |
| "This hex ID is dynamic and can't be connected to a type or registration" | The code is reused or reassigned, so it identifies nothing stable |
That last case is the important trap: a dynamic hex can appear to track one aircraft when it may represent different ones at different times. The page also notes that MLAT needs a Mode S transponder and reception by four receivers, so an MLAT-only contact with an anonymized hex is a position estimate, not a confirmed identity.
As a practical next step, when a panel shows "n/a" for registration and type, don't read it as "unknown aircraft" — read the hex ID first, then check whether it is flagged as non-ICAO, dynamic, or anonymized. If the hex is a clean ICAO address with no match, treat it as a real airframe awaiting database resolution; if it carries one of those flags, treat the track as an anonymous or approximate contact and avoid attributing it to a specific aircraft.
What is MLAT and how does it enable tracking of aircraft without full ADS-B?
MLAT (multilateration) is a technique for locating an aircraft by comparing the time at which its transponder signal reaches several ground receivers. No single receiver knows the aircraft's position; the system calculates it from the small differences in arrival time. The site's own help text explains that MLAT requires a ModeS transponder and reception by four receivers, which is why coverage varies by region and altitude.
How it differs from ADS-B
- ADS-B: the aircraft broadcasts its own position, so one receiver can display it directly.
- MLAT: the position is computed by the network, so it depends on how many receivers hear the signal and how well they are spread around the aircraft.
- Consequence: MLAT targets often appear with no registration, type or airline, because the transponder reply carries an identity code rather than the full flight data.
Why some aircraft appear without full ADS-B
ADS-B Exchange notes that some hex IDs are non-ICAO and dynamic, meaning they cannot be tied to a type or registration, and that a non-ICAO hex may represent an MLAT contact for the same aircraft. Military, government and some older or privately operated aircraft are common examples: they may transmit ModeS but not full ADS-B position data. UAV data is also shown under Part 107 rules.
Practical scenario
Suppose you are watching an area where a known military transport route passes. An aircraft appears with a callsign but "Reg.: n/a" and "Type: n/a", and its position updates more slowly than nearby airliners. That pattern is typical of MLAT: the position is inferred from receiver timing, so it can lag or drop out when the aircraft flies beyond the four-receiver threshold or at low altitude.
A useful next step
Use the map's filters to separate sources and DB flags, then compare an MLAT target with a nearby ADS-B target. If the MLAT aircraft's position jumps or disappears while an ADS-B aircraft stays steady, you are seeing the coverage limit rather than the aircraft changing course. For deeper checking, the site's FAQ and map help explain the data labels, and Flightradar24 and Plane Finder are alternative networks whose receiver coverage may differ in the same region.
How can I improve ADS-B coverage in my area using ADS-B Exchange?
The short answer: you don't improve coverage using ADS-B Exchange as a viewer — you improve it by feeding data into the network from your own receiver. ADS-B Exchange aggregates crowdsourced feeds, so local coverage grows when more people in your area run receivers and share their data. The map view at ADS-B Exchange is where you confirm the gap exists and later verify that it closed.
What the map tells you about your gap
Load the map and look at your own area at a typical cruising altitude, then at low altitude. The page's own readouts are the diagnostic: aircraft show fields like Altitude, Speed, Source, RSSI (signal strength), Messages, Msg. Rate and Last Seen. A receiver that is hearing an aircraft poorly shows a weak RSSI and a low message rate; an area with no receiver at all simply shows no targets, or targets that appear only above a certain altitude.
Two signals on this page are worth understanding before you spend money:
- MLAT entries. The page notes that MLAT requires a ModeS transponder and reception by four receivers. Aircraft shown only as MLAT contacts are being multilaterated, not directly received by one nearby station — a sign your area has thin direct coverage.
- Non-ICAO hex / anonymized targets. The page flags hex IDs that are dynamic, anonymized or not tied to a registration. These still count as traffic but tell you less about what you're hearing.
The practical route to better coverage
- Identify the gap. Note whether you're missing low-altitude traffic, traffic on the far side of a ridge or city, or everything. Low-altitude gaps usually mean you need a receiver closer to the aircraft, not a better one farther away.
- Put a receiver at the gap, not at your house. Height and line of sight matter more than antenna gain. A rooftop, a hilltop friend's house, or a club site beats a window sill.
- Feed the network. Sharing your feed is what actually adds coverage for everyone, including you. Coverage is a two-way bargain: you contribute, the aggregate map gets better.
- Check back on the map. After a few days, revisit the same area and compare target counts at the same time of day. The History and playback controls on the page let you review a trace over time rather than judging from one glance.
Trade-offs to expect
| Approach | Gain | Cost or limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Better antenna, same location | Modest range increase | Won't fix terrain or obstruction |
| New receiver site nearer the gap | Largest real coverage gain | Needs power, network, permission |
| More feeders in the area | Better MLAT and low-altitude coverage | Depends on others participating |
| Paid tier on the site | Removes ads, adds map layers | Doesn't change physical coverage |
Note that the site lists a premium option (ad-free viewing, satellite layer) and a login; that's a viewing convenience, not a coverage fix. If you want to compare how another community network handles receiver hosting and coverage maps, FlightRadar24 runs a similar feeder programme, though its data-sharing terms differ.
A concrete next step
Pick one corridor you care about — an approach path, a training route, a rural strip — and watch it on the map for a week at the same hour. If targets consistently vanish below a few thousand feet, your problem is receiver placement, not equipment quality. Find a higher, clearer site within a few kilometres of that corridor, put a receiver there, and feed it in. Then re-check the same corridor at the same hour.
What features does ADS-B Exchange Premium offer compared to the free version?
ADS-B Exchange's free map is an unfiltered live view of aircraft, including many that other trackers hide. The page's own controls point to what a Premium account changes: the map shows an "Improve Coverage" prompt and a "Premium Login: no ads / Sat. Layer" line, meaning the paid tier removes advertising and unlocks satellite imagery as a base layer. Everything else visible on the page — aircraft selection, altitude and source filters, column choice, search, playback of flight history, KML export and unit/icon settings — is part of the standard interface rather than a listed Premium extra.
ADS-B Exchange
What the free version already gives you
- Live positions with altitude, speed, track, squawk, vertical rate and signal strength fields.
- Filters by altitude, data source and database flags, plus "interesting" filtering.
- Flight history playback for the selected aircraft and KML export of tracks.
- Non-ICAO and anonymized MLAT targets, which is the main reason people choose this network over mainstream trackers.
- Coverage improvement and Discord community links.
Where Premium fits
The evidence on this page only supports two concrete differences: an ad-free map and a satellite base layer. Treat any broader feature list — API access, historical data downloads, higher map limits — as something to confirm on the account page, since it is not stated here. Pricing is not listed on this page either.
How to decide
If you use the map occasionally to follow a specific flight, the free version covers it. If you keep the map open on a wall display or work with satellite imagery as a backdrop for terrain and airport context, the ad-free satellite view is the practical reason to upgrade. A flight-following hobbyist checking one tail number gains little; a journalist, drone operator or aviation photographer tracking movements over remote terrain gains more.
Next step: open the map, search a live aircraft, and try the playback and KML export first. If those cover your needs, stay free; if the ads or the missing satellite layer are what interrupt your workflow, sign in and compare the account page directly.
Cloudflare
Microsoft 365
User reviews (0)