Why is my internet so slow? Why does Netflix suddenly stop and start? Why is my game slow? Most likely, you have asked yourself this question at least once.
The answer may be that more people are using your WiFi than it should be. Let’s see how to deal with this.
How do you know who should be using your WiFi
Before you can determine who should not be connecting to your Wi-Fi, you need to figure out who to be. Start by taking an inventory of every device that can be connected. Laptops, PCs, phones, and tablets are common suspects. Don’t forget about smart devices like cameras, house helpers, smart bulbs, refrigerators, and god knows what else.
Write them all down as a list. Then you will need to find the Media Access Control (MAC) and IP address for each device, if possible, and write them down. The MAC address of our devices never changes, but the IP address can change frequently. That’s why we need both.
Once you have all this information, we will connect to our Wi-Fi router to compare what it shows there against our list. To connect to it, we need the IP address of our router, we will see how to find it below. Then we will block everything that is not on our list.
First, let’s take a look at how to get the IP and MAC addresses of our devices.
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Find the MAC & IP Address of the Computers and Router
This will focus on the Windows computer. We have another article on how to find the MAC address of an Apple computer
- Open CMD Command Prompt
- Enter the command ipconfig / all and press Enter.
- Find the entry related to WiFi. In this example, this is called a Wi-Fi wireless LAN adapter.
- Find a physical address. In this example it is 9C-B6-D0-10-CF-D8
- Find the IPv4 address (192.168.2.12).
- Find the default gateway (192.168.2.1). This will be the IP address of your WiFi router.
Find MAC and IP Addresses of Phones
The process will be different for different manufacturers and phone models. The information we are looking for will be related to the Wi-Fi settings.
- Go to “Settings”.
- Find Wi-Fi settings and a way to get more advanced WiFi settings.
- Once you find the advanced settings, find the MAC and IP address. In this example, the IP address is 192.168.2.17 and the MAC address is 10: F1: F2: 4D: F0: 1C
Find the MAC and IP addresses of other connected devices
This process will vary widely. There are so many different types of devices that can connect to Wi-Fi networks. Cameras, doorbells, light bulbs, refrigerators, pet feeders, weather stations, and possibly kitchen sinks.
We will need to look at the documentation for the device or search the Internet for how to check each device. You can get an idea of ??the IP addresses by logging into the WiFi router. We will do it now.
MAC Filtering on WiFi Router
One of the best ways to prevent unauthorized access to your WiFi is by filtering MAC addresses. You can create a list of MAC addresses that are allowed to access Wi-Fi. If the MAC address of a device is not listed, it cannot log in.
Mind you, this is not ideal. There are ways to make a device look like it has a different MAC address This is called MAC address spoofing. But MAC filtering will stop everyone but the most persistent.
When we got the MAC address and IP address for our computer, we got the default gateway IP as well. This is the IP address of our Wi-Fi router. Most Wi-Fi routers have a web administration interface that we will now connect to.
Please note that different routers will have different screens and navigation. Consult your user manual for the make and model of your router.
- Open a web browser and enter the IP address of the default gateway in the address bar.
- A web page should open asking for a username and password. This is what was set up when you first purchased your router.
- The router’s management site will have a place that lists all the devices currently connected to the router. Find the ones that are not in your MAC address list and write down their MAC addresses.
- Find a location on the router’s management site where you can enable MAC address filtering. Once there, make sure the MAC addresses of the rogue devices are blocked and your devices are not blocked. This will prevent them from accessing your Wi-Fi.
Once they are blocked, there are a few other things you need to do to prevent unauthorized devices from reconnecting to your network.
Stop SSID Broadcast and Change Password
If you really want to keep the nosy neighbor out of your WiFi, stop broadcasting the SSID, change the SSID and access password.
From the router’s management site, find a location where you can turn SSID broadcast on or off. Turn it off. This helps prevent anyone from even seeing that your network exists. Then change the name of your network. Now nosy neighbors don’t even know which network belongs to you.
However, you will need to reconnect your devices to the new SSID and you will need to enter a new name in order for the devices to find the network.
Make sure you also change your Wi-Fi password. Recent research has shown that the best passwords are generally passphrases. Come up with a favorite song, quote, or maybe the name of your favorite food and drink. The point is that the phrase contains 3 or 4 words. This makes the password easy to remember, but very difficult to crack.
Exit and Exit
Now you know exactly who is on your network and who is not. You did your best to keep it that way. You also know how to check if you suspect a nosy neighbor has reconnected to your Wi-Fi. Let’s call it what it is. They are not curious, they are thieves.
None of us here are lawyers, but you want to make sure your assets are protected. You don’t know what the thief is doing with your Wi-Fi. If they are doing something illegal, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will trace it back to your router. So if you see the same MAC address on your Wi-Fi all the time, write it down with screenshots including date and time. Then contact your internet service provider to inform him of the situation.
It may also be a good idea to pass this information on to the local police. Then, if something happens, you can say that you did everything you could to prevent it.
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