How to Check Who’s Connected to My WiFi

If you often notice that your WiFi connection is dropping and the speed is getting slow, that might indicate that someone else is trying to log in or is already using your WiFi. And do you often ask how to check who’s connected to my WiFi? If, thus far, you haven’t found a reliable way to do that, this is the end of your search. This article holds the answers, and that’s not all, but you’ll also learn what to do if you find out someone is using your WiFi.

How to Check Who’s Connected to My WiFi

You were wrong if you thought it impossible to check who’s connected to your WiFi. You’ll be surprised to learn that there is a way, and we bring you three simple and effective methods for that, and they are:

• Using your router
• Using the Command Prompt
• Using third-party applications

You can try one, two, or even all three methods to check if someone is using your WiFi for free. These methods are explained below, so keep reading to learn and finally stop asking yourself how to check who’s connected to my WiFi?

Using your router

The easiest way to find out who’s connected to your WiFi is by using your router. Make sure you don’t forget to disconnect all your devices from your WiFi network to find the intruders quicker. So, here are the steps:

1. Firstly, find the IP address of your wireless router. Once you find it, write it in any browser from a device already connected to your router. And if you’re unsure what your router’s IP address is, check the back of the device, and you’ll find it written there.
2. Secondly, you must log in using the admin and password info that’s also written on the back of your router. If you’ve changed them, use the ones you’ve set.
3. After you log in, you’ll get immediate access to all connected devices to your WiFi.
4. If anything seems strange or you notice connected devices that aren’t yours, immediately change your password and restart your router.

Using the Command Prompt

Using the Command Prompt is another way to see who is connected to your WiFi network. So follow these guidelines whether you’re a Windows or Mac user.

Using Command Prompt on Windows

If you use Windows, there’s a quick way to find out who’s connected to your WiFi effortlessly. You can do that with a few clicks, so let’s see how exactly.

1. Press the Windows key, and type CMD.
2. The Command Prompt will open in front of you.
3. Then type “arp-a”, and you’ll get access to all the IP addresses connected to your router.
4. Anything you don’t recognize is probably an intruder.

Using the Terminal on Mac

If you use a Mac, you can also do the same thing and find the IP addresses, so let’s see how you can do that.

1. On your Mac, open the “Finder“.
2. Click on the “Go” tab that you can find at the top of the screen, and choose “Utilities” from the drop-down menu.
3. Open the Terminal and type the command “arp-a”, which will give you access to the connected IP addresses to your router.
4. Take a good look at the IP addresses and ensure you know each one. If you don’t, then someone else is also using your WiFi.

Third-party applications

You can always download a third-party app showing you every address logged into your WiFi network. Even if you pay for them, they aren’t expensive and are very easy to use.

The way they work is pretty simple. These applications act like scanners, so after you install and open it, the application will scan your network and show you every device connected to your WiFi.

Don’t worry because these are so popular that plenty of them are available for Windows, Linux, or Mac. You can even find apps available for all three systems simultaneously, so checking who’s connected to your WiFi isn’t as hard as you might have thought it would be.

So, consider installing a scanner, as thanks to it, you’ll always be able to check and keep track of your devices and the security of your network.

What to Do If You Don’t Recognize a Device Connected to Your WiFi?

Before doing anything, disconnect each of your devices from your WiFi to ensure that a device you don’t recognize isn’t yours and that you haven’t simply forgotten its name.

Then, run the chosen method to check if someone else is connected to your WiFi. If you find a device you can’t recognize and are sure it’s not yours; it’s time to take action and eliminate its access to your WiFi.

So, the best thing you can do is to secure your WiFi network, so let’s see how.

Read more: How to Control Devices Connected to Your WiFi

How to secure your WiFi network

The best and simplest way to secure your WiFi network is by setting a strong password, one that’s hard to be cracked. And there are some things you should include while doing that.

The things you should pay attention to when creating a new password are:

• Use a minimum of eight characters
• Include numbers and a combination of lowercase and uppercase letters
• Use special characters
• Do not use the same password for other devices and accounts
• To not make the password of something evident to you

After doing all this, don’t forget to restart your router and reconnect all of your devices.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you can finally stop wondering and searching how to check who’s connected to my WiFi and find out, thanks to the above methods. It doesn’t matter which way you decide to give it a try. They’re all practical and reliable and will provide you with the information you’re searching for.

So don’t waste more time looking for a solution because you have found it. Find out if someone uses your WiFi; if someone does, secure your network and protect yourself.