Who Is Connected to My Wi-Fi? Check the Device List and Block Strangers
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Every device that joins your Wi-Fi gets an address from your router, and the router keeps a list of them. That list is the honest answer to “who is connected to my Wi-Fi”: phone apps that scan the network can miss sleeping devices or guess names wrong, but the router sees everything that asked it for an address. Below is where to find the list on common routers, how to read it — including the confusing private addresses modern phones use — and how to remove a device that should not be there.
The Most Reliable Place: the Router's Device List
There are two ways in. The first is the router’s app or your provider’s app, if the router is linked to one: the list of devices is usually on the home screen. The second is the router’s web settings page, which every router has. Connect to your Wi-Fi, open the router’s address — typically 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 — and sign in with the admin login. If you do not know it, our default login list has the defaults by brand.
Look for a page called Attached Devices, Clients, Client List, Connected Devices or DHCP Clients. Some routers show only devices that are online right now; others also keep recently disconnected ones, which helps when the suspicious device comes and goes.
Where to Find the List on Popular Routers
| Router | Where the connected devices are |
|---|---|
| NETGEAR | Attached Devices on the web page; Device Manager in the Nighthawk app |
| ASUS | Network Map → Clients; also in the ASUS Router app |
| TP-Link | Network Map → Clients, or Advanced → Security → Access Control (devices online); Clients in the Tether app |
| Linksys Smart Wi-Fi | Device List |
| D-Link | Status → Client Info, or a Clients panel on the home page of newer models |
| eero, Google/Nest Wifi | Devices in the app (no web page) |
| Provider gateways | Devices or Connected Devices in the provider’s app |
NETGEAR’s Nighthawk app, for example, lists every device with its connection type — wired, 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz — and whether it is online or offline, which already tells you a lot about what a device might be.
How to Read the List
For each device the router usually shows three things.
The name is whatever the device announced about itself: “Johns-iPhone”, “LG-webOS-TV”, “ESP_3A2F1C”. Names are helpful but not proof — a device can call itself anything, and many smart-home gadgets announce only a chip maker or a random string.
The IP address, such as 192.168.1.23, is the local address the router assigned. It changes from time to time and does not identify the device by itself.
The MAC address, six pairs of characters like A4:83:E7:12:9B:40, is the device’s network hardware address. The first half often reveals the manufacturer: online “MAC vendor lookup” tools turn A4:83:E7 into the company that made the network chip. That is how an unnamed entry turns out to be your Roku, your Sonos speaker or your robot vacuum.
Count what you expect to be connected — phones, laptops, tablets, TV, console, speakers, printer, cameras, smart plugs — and compare. In most homes the list is longer than people think, and the “unknown” entries are their own forgotten gadgets.
Why Your Own Phone Looks Like a Stranger
Modern phones and laptops do not use their real hardware address on Wi-Fi by default. iPhones, iPads and Macs use a private Wi-Fi address: a different address for each network, which on some networks also changes over time. Android does the same with randomized MAC addresses. The goal is to stop networks tracking a device as it moves around, but it means the vendor lookup fails and your own phone can appear as an unfamiliar entry.
There is a quick tell. Randomized addresses are “locally administered”, and their second character is 2, 6, A or E — for example 2A:…, DE:… or F6:…. An unknown entry with such an address is very likely a phone, tablet or laptop rather than a smart-home gadget. To match it, open Wi-Fi settings on each of your phones and look at the Wi-Fi address shown for your home network; on Apple devices it appears under the network’s details as Private Wi-Fi Address.
How to Identify an Unknown Device
When an entry still cannot be explained, narrow it down instead of guessing:
- Turn things off. Switch off Wi-Fi on your phones and laptops one by one, or unplug a group of smart devices, and refresh the list. Whatever disappears was yours.
- Check the band and signal. A device on 2.4 GHz with no name is often a smart-home gadget; a phone-style random address that connects only in the evening may be a family member’s or a guest’s second device.
- Look at the router log if it has one. Some routers record when each device joined.
If after this something is still unaccounted for — especially a device that is online when nobody is home — treat it as unwanted.
Checking Without Router Access
If you cannot sign in to the router, a scanner app on a phone or computer, such as Fing, can list devices it finds on the network. It works by probing addresses, so it can miss devices that are asleep or that ignore probes, and its names are educated guesses. On Windows, the command arp -a shows devices your computer has recently exchanged data with — useful, but far from a complete list. Neither replaces the router’s own list, and neither can block anything.
How to Block a Device and Keep It Out
Blocking one entry is easy; keeping a determined person out takes one more step.
Change the Wi-Fi password first. This is the step that actually works. Anyone who knows the old password is disconnected and cannot rejoin, while you reconnect your own devices with the new key — see how to change your Wi-Fi password. Use WPA2-AES or WPA3 and a password of 12 characters or more.
Then block the device in the router. Most routers have Access Control, a block list or a deny list. On TP-Link, for example, you turn on Access Control under Advanced → Security, choose the block (deny list) mode and click Block next to the device in the list of online devices. ASUS and NETGEAR offer the same through their apps or the web page. Blocking works by MAC address, which is why it is only the second step: a person who knows your Wi-Fi password can change the MAC address of their device and get back in. A new password closes that door.
Switch off WPS if you do not use it. The push-button pairing feature lets devices join without the password, and some older implementations are weak.
Give visitors the guest network. A guest Wi-Fi with its own password keeps visitors’ devices away from your computers, printers and cameras, and you can change that password freely without reconnecting your own devices. A printed Wi-Fi QR code for the guest network makes sharing painless.
Finally, change the router’s admin password if it is still the default. Someone on your Wi-Fi who can also open the settings page could unblock themselves or read the new Wi-Fi password.
Frequently asked questions
Can I see what websites people on my Wi-Fi visit?
Not in detail on most home routers. Some show traffic per device or keep a log of visited domains with parental-control features; encrypted (HTTPS) pages hide their content either way.
Why does the same device appear twice?
Phones and laptops may use a different private address after a while, or connect to both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Old entries also linger until the router clears them.
Will blocking a MAC address stop a neighbour for good?
Not if they know your Wi-Fi password: they can change their MAC address. Change the password as well, then block the device.
My router lists a device as “unknown”. Is that a hacker?
Usually not. Smart-home gadgets and phones with private addresses often appear without a name. Use the steps above to match it to one of your devices before assuming the worst.
Can someone use my Wi-Fi without the password?
Not on a network protected with WPA2 or WPA3 and a strong password, unless WPS pairing is left on or the password was shared. An open network without a password lets anyone join.