WiFi Access

missile

Hi,

I am trying to check if there is unauthorised hacking on my WiFi. I am not sure what these items are, the addresses do not appear to match my items.

I have changed my password will unauthorised access be blocked?

cerebus

Do you own iphones and an LG telly? Do your neighbours?

Where did you get the router from?

Chances are these are devices that are nearby broadcasting a wifi signal and have been picked up by your WiFi but not connected , does it show them as being connected ?

If you check your wifi on your phone and look for nearby devices do the same devices pop up?

Chances of somebody breaking your wifi password if it is a strong one is pretty remote , for starters they would have to be in relatively short distance for a long time

Changing your password is a good idea though as long as its as strong or stronger than the last one 

missile

Thanks for your response.

I do have an LG telly and it was connected to WiFi. Items greyed out are not connected? No idea what devices neighbours have. The ID for those phones do not match ID / settings on my iPhones.

I changed password so I hope any unauthorised devices will be logged out, or will they stay active until they are disconnected, then will not be able to log in? 

cerebus

missile said:

Thanks for your response.

I do have an LG telly and it was connected to WiFi. Items greyed out are not connected? No idea what devices neighbours have. The ID for those phones do not match ID / settings on my iPhones.

I changed password so I hope any unauthorised devices will be logged out, or will they stay active until they are disconnected, then will not be able to log in? 

Is your lg telly still connected to the WiFi since you changed your password? Do you own two iphones?

They don't log out but as soon as you change your password any device can't connect to your wifi

Where is that list from in your op ? Is that from your router? Is thar list showing what WiFi devices are broadcasting nearby?

Have you changed iphones in the past and/or lg telly sometimes old devices still show up as they were previously connected but obviously can't anymore

missile

Hi, Thanks again for your comments. LG TV still connected. I have 2 iPhones but settings says they are not those as shown on my photo. List is from PC per router. I don't really know what that list is showing. Devices I know are connected do not appear / have different ID.

I guessing as long as unauthorised devices stay switched on they will still be logged on and connected?

If I switch router off then on that should disconnect them?

400ixl

Rebooting the router will clear the leases.

Mobile devices these days don't use the main MAC address to connect to wifi networks, they use virtual ones which maybe why they look different.

Reboot and see what you then end up with.

You may find the LG then no longer connects and needs the new password as well as the phones.

pete-20-11

iPhones and some android phones have a privacy feature where they change the MAC address randomly. 

So the actual hardware MAC address in the device might not be seen by the Wi-Fi router, it gets a different ID that changes every so often.

it might be those disconnected grey entries are your devices but on a previous random MAC address.

you can turn the MAC address privacy feature off, I think per Wi-Fi network too, if you want. 

missile

Thanks for all your comments. I did the reboot and feeling safer.

Neil_Jones

pete-20-11 said:

iPhones and some android phones have a privacy feature where they change the MAC address randomly. 

Been an Apple feature since 2014, and a standard Android feature since Android 8, though it went walkies in Android 9 apparently (to the Developer Options apparently) and came back in Android 10 with a "per network" option.

Mr.Generous

When you log onto the router and refresh the screen only connected items show (unless this has changed??), so surely you can do this and switch off your items one at a time and refresh the screen to see what's what?

I just checked mine, one of the "unknown devices" was the wifi booster, a Virgin device on a Virgin router, but unknown.

Newcad

Also remember that your router/hub remembers all devices that have at one time been connected.

So if you have changed your phone(s). or any other devices, the old ones will still be showing there.

For example the not-connected 'Android' shown at the top of this is my old phone that hasn't been connected to my wifi in over 9 months. (My router labled it as an 'Android' device rather than just 'Unknown', the numbers after the dash are the address it had the first time it was connected).
My current phone is the (now named) Galaxy A13 which is shown as connected..

Similarly these are storage drives plugged into the USB port of my router/hub.
The first not-connected device was a USB thumbdrive that I had plugged in there as a temporary measure, the second connected device is the SATA SSD in a USB enclosure that I now have plugged in.

The point being that those two non-connected devices are unlikely ever to connect again, but the router still remembers them just in case they ever do.

PS. I usually name/rename my devices in the router now, (I didn't bother for that old phone), it makes it easier to identify what is/was what, particularly if you have smart-home/IOT devices connected.
You can rename them in the router control panel, you'll need to log in as the administrator.