How To Check How Many Users Are Connected To Your Wi-Fi/Router

This is a common request, especially on congested Wi-Fi networks with lots of devices connecting. How can we quickly tell how many devices are really connected to your Wi-Fi router at any moment?

You can very rapidly find this information from within the settings pages of most routers.

Here are the quick steps to find the number of users connected to a wireless network:

Log into your router (192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 in browser)
Enter the router admin/password
Find Devices/Connected Devices/DHCP Clients
It tin can likewise be under Wireless Clients
A list of connected devices should appear.

Some users are put off by having to mess effectually with the router, just logging in and finding this information is really very easy, and nosotros'll accept you through each footstep in detail. Most all routers have the pick now to view connected devices, although a few really older models may not.

Stride #1 – Find Your Router Login Details

If you have direct access to your router, this is easy. There'southward usually a sticker on the back that has the router login IP, admin and password. Find them and note them all downwards; it'll look something like this:

If y'all don't have direct access to the router, and then you can Google your router make and model if you know information technology, or perhaps your ISP and router, and it should exist possible to find your router login and admin/password, as long equally they haven't been changed from the defaults. If they've been changed, then you'll take to become the details off the person who knows or do a full factory reset of the router to reset all login/countersign details to default.

In any event, the router login IP is ordinarily 192.168.0.1, 192.168.1.ane or 192.168.one.254 in N America and Europe, though it tin vary.

Step #2 – Log Into Your Router

Once you've got the login details, you just need to find any device with an internet browser and proceed as follows:

Log in to your router, using the login IP/admin/password y'all plant in Pace #1. Start by typing the login IP into any browser address bar. The router login is oft 192.168.0.i, 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.i.254 or may exist something different. Check the sticker on the dorsum of your router.

Type in the admin and password – again will be on the router somewhere or online.
See here for our assist guide if y'all are struggling to login to the router setting folio.
If someone has changed these and so you'll need to get the details off them or exercise a total factory reset of your router to reset all logins to default.

Stride #iii – Find The Devices Card

Once you are inside the router, y'all are looking for a Devices or Connected Devices or Wireless Clients carte du jour, which displays a list of connected devices, with their MAC addresses (unique physical identifiers). Like this:

As with nearly router settings however, unlike brands and models have unlike menu structures and volition display this setting nether different names.

For case, on some routers, connected devices will be displayed under the DHCP Clients List under DHCP Settings, similar here on a TP Link router:

Others might display it under Attached Devices. At that place are other routers that also brandish this data at a glance under Wireless Settings, especially if Dual Band is enabled . Sometimes, for example, if you lot merely go to the Dual Band Wireless settings folio, it will brandish, at a glance, how many users are connected to the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

Similar this:

You lot can then click through to meet more information, similar the MAC address of the devices.

Sometimes, this information will also be cleaved down into online and offline devices, telling you which devices are (or are not) actually using the router this very minute.

Identifying Connected Devices

When this information is commencement presented, it tin all exist a bit meaningless, especially for non technical users, because some devices may take a totally nondescript device name that doesn't at all tell yous what device it is, or who it belongs to. Or it might just be listed equally unknown device, which also isn't much use.

Therefore viewing a list of connected devices tin exist an excellent manner of organizing devices better, actually giving them identifiable names so it's easier to see which device belongs to who.

To do this, firstly see this definitive guide to finding the MAC address for whatever device to sort out which device belongs to who.

One time you lot've figured this out, you lot tin actually assign proper identifiable names to each device (eg. John'due south PS4, Jane's Tablet, Home PC etc), so you can better differentiate devices on a network and ameliorate spot devices which shouldn't exist on the network (more than on this further beneath).

About routers allow y'all to do this – on the connected devices folio you should be able to edit the name of each device to something more recognizable. Look for an option for Edit or Change Name/Change Hostname near each device.

Software For Detecting Connected Devices on A Network

Still, all this beingness said, there are other ways of finding out which devices are connected to your network, without logging into your router. That are quite a few programs which have been designed for this purpose, to scan your Wi-Fi network for connected devices.

Here are some programs you lot can use to do this:

Nirsoft'southward Wireless Network Watcher – Free downloadable plan that will scan your wireless network and list all connected devices, and listing IP, MAC address and device proper name, exactly every bit a router would.
SoftPerfect Network Scanner – Another downloadable program that scans your network and lists connected devices. The free unlimited trial version only lists up to x continued devices though.
AngryIP Scanner – Another free program that scans local wireless network for devices.
LANScan – Local network scanning app for Apple devices only. Free to apply.
GlassWire Pro – Premium program ($49 per PC), but is much more advanced, showing you connected devices, bandwidth usage for each device and app, plus alerts whenever a new device connects to the Wi-Fi network – particularly useful for security conscious users.

Be aware though that with the free tools at least, they will merely show you devices which are currently using the Wi-Fi (online devices). If yous to view all devices which connect to a router, whether they are currently online or non, you are better off viewing the devices list on the router itself.

Connected Devices & MAC Spoofing

It's also important to exist at least peripherally aware of MAC Spoofing, where an experienced hacker can clone or "spoof" a MAC address to gain access to a network. In consequence, they are stealing the MAC address of a device and taking it'due south place on the network, which tin can prevent the real, legitimate device connecting equally the router will often block duplicate MAC addresses.

This is possible, merely in reality is quite rare, every bit there aren't many people with the cognition and the intent to do this, but at least be aware of it and see our guide on making your Wi-Fi network more than secure for some good tips that will make you network much harder to go into in the first place. Setting stiff Wi-Fi and router login passwords and disabling WPS are 2 steps yous can take that will right away make your Wi-Fi network much more than secure.

The bottom line is that in virtually all cases, the list of connected devices displaying on a router or program will be accurate. In rare cases, where yous've got a pesky hacker nearby, they may have stolen one of your real device'due south MAC addresses and be using your network. In the next section we'll embrace how to go rid of them.

Removing Unwanted Devices From Your Network

What to exercise if in the course of checking the devices connected to your Wi-Fi router, you find devices that don't even vest there, like a neighbor who's hacked into your Wi-Fi and using it without permission? Or yous simply accept devices that are in the aforementioned business firm, just are but hogging the bandwidth, and you lot desire to kicking them off the network?

We've covered this in detail in some other article, but there are actually quite a few ways you can remove unwanted devices from your Wi-Fi. Here is a summary of the chief methods:

Method #1 – Change Wi-Fi password – To cake access for unwanted devices. Scan effectually the menus to notice the place where you change your password. This may be under Wireless Settings/Security/Advanced, or at that place may be a specific choice/push button to alter password. Make sure you also modify the router login admin/password as well though, to end the hacker gaining control of the router.

Method #2 – Disable Dual Ring Wi-Fi – A variation on option i. If your router is broadcasting both a ii.iv GHz and five GHz signal, and you can place by the MAC address which devices you lot desire to remove, yous can simply disable the band it's on, and only give the password for the other remaining band to the devices you want to allow on the network. The router screenshot higher up is a good example of where you lot can do this – only view the devices on each ring, and disable the ring the unwanted device is on. You might need to change the password for the remaining band for added security.

Method #3 – Use MAC Filtering – Near routers take a MAC Filtering menu that allows you to enter MAC addresses and either allow or block access to the network. Once again relies on you being able to identify which device is the unwanted one. See this definitive guide to finding the MAC address for whatever device to sort out which device belongs to who. Tin be got around by experienced hackers, but a skilful bones measure.

Method #4 – Set Up a Guest Network – A more center-ground solution, where yous don't desire to kick a device off birthday, but you don't desire them on the aforementioned network equally you for security or other reasons (eg. guests or lodgers). Yous can sometimes set upward a Guest Network within the router, that is separate to yours.

Method #5 – Prepare Time Limits – Another eye-ground solution, where you lot aren't boot a device off altogether, but limiting the times it can utilize the router. Might have it'south own menu or come nether MAC Filtering. You tin but let access to a device at sure times of the day.

Method #6 – Delete Wi-Fi password on the device – If you've got physical access to the device yous want to kick off the network, then yous can go into the Network/Wi-Fi settings of the device and delete the password for the Wi-Fi network, so it will take to be re-entered in lodge to connect once more. You tin then change the Wi-Fi password for an extra level of security.

See our full commodity on boot devices off your Wi-Fi, for a complete breakdown of how to do all these things, plus other solutions, complete with pictures and videos where appropriate.

Source: https://weakwifisolutions.com/how-to-check-how-many-users-are-connected-to-your-wifi/