All of a sudden your usually fast WiFi connection has slowed down, you call your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and things are normal that side. You might need to find out if someone is using it without your permission. In this article, lets show you how to find out exactly who you’re sharing your WiFi network with, and how to kick any intruders off it forever.
There are ways to check if someone is stealing your WiFi without using much tech at all. We shall start with the traditional way of checking. Your wireless router should have little blinking lights to indicate that there is activity. If you use your phone as a WiFi hotspot it can show you the number of devices connected. What you’ll want to do is disconnect every device that would normally be connected to it as you may end up removing your own. That means all smartphones, laptops, any smart TVs and games consoles and anything else with a WiFi connection.
For your router, if the lights are still blinking, there’s a very good chance someone is connected to your router and stealing your WiFi. If disconnecting all your devices seems like too much hassle, there is another way.
See who is using your WiFi
You can use an app to find out who’s using your WiFi.
- The first thing you need to do is make sure you’re connected to the WiFi network you wish to monitor.
- Next, download the network monitoring app Fing from the Play Store or the App Store.
- Open app, and you will see the name of your network on the home screen, along with the Refresh and Settings buttons. To see all the devices connected to your WiFi network, tap Refresh.
- You will see a list of devices, along with an indicator that tells you if it’s a smartphone, PC, or another device.
- Tap any device on your network to bring up a list of options for interacting with that device. These include sending pings or Wake on LAN signals, and you can even log when those devices connect and disconnect from the network.
Block who is using your WiFi
How to block trespassing devices
If one of the devices connected to your network is unfamiliar or suspicious, you can block it forever. The same app, Fing shows you the MAC address of each device connected to your network (the number will follow this format and be made up of numbers and letters: ‘xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx’). Make a note of this number.
- On the computer that is connected to your router, enter your router IP into the browser, then enter your router login details on the next page (to find out your router IP, use this guide)
- Once logged into your router, find the Security options (its location varies between routers and may be located under Advanced Settings)
- In Security, click MAC Filtering, then Add Device
- Enter the MAC address of the device you want to ban in the MAC field, give it a name if there is such an option, then click Apply, Save or OK
- While you’re logged into your router, it might also be worth changing your WiFi password, seeing as your last one may have been compromised.
