How to Identify Devices on My Network

What to Know

• Enter your default gateway IP address into the web browser of your choice. Sign in, and look for a list of connected devices.
• Most routers will display a list of devices connected, but this page won’t be in the same place for all routers.

This article explains how to identify devices on your home internet network. There are many ways, spread across various devices and apps, to find out what’s connected to your network. The method below is the most straightforward and doesn’t require any extra software.

How Can I See All the Device Connected to My Network?

Regardless of what devices you use or have access to, if you have the internet at home and can access a web browser, you can easily find out what’s connected to your network. Before you can get going, you’ll want to make sure you have your router’s login information at hand.

If that doesn’t already sound familiar to you, chances are your login info is set to default. It’s usually a combination of “username” for the username field and “password” for the password field, but this does change depending on your router, so make sure you have the correct info.

If you haven’t already, make sure to change your router’s password so no one can make changes to your settings. The router’s password is different than the password used to log onto the Wi-Fi signal.

1. Find your default gateway IP address. It’s your router’s IP address (like http://192.168.1.1)you can use to enter into a web browser like a URL to access your router’s web-management setup.

2. Open up any web browser on a mobile device or a computer; type in your default gateway IP address, and press Enter. It may take a few seconds to load.

3. Once you’re at your router’s web management portal, you’ll need to log in. Either use your router’s default login info, if you haven’t changed it from default, or enter in your username and password.

4. Every router will handle its settings and set up pages differently, but a core feature of these pages is the ability to check what’s connected to your network.

   Navigate around and look for this list. Sometimes, routers will split up lists of connections by connection type, so if you have wired devices and WiFi devices, make sure you look for the suitable device type.

   
   

   Once you find your device list, don’t be alarmed if you don’t recognize the name of every device connected to your network. Some devices of your devices will have identifiable names, but others may come up as unknown or be named a random string of letters and numbers. Make sure to take a count of your internet-enabled devices to compare with the list you find.

FAQ

• How do I see connected devices on my network app?

  Open your router’s mobile app and look for a tab that lists all the devices connected to your network. It might say Devices or Device Manager. If your router doesn’t come with a companion app, try a free Wi-Fi analyzer app to monitor connected devices and the security of your network.

• How do I identify Amazon devices on my network?

  One option is to look for the device’s MAC address and search for this exact match from your router’s web portal or mobile app. On Amazon Kindle devices, locate it from Settings > Device info. Amazon Fire TV streaming devices list this information from Settings > System > About > Network. 

• How do I identify devices on my network using MAC and IP addresses?

  Use the ping command to reach a device on a local network and find its MAC address. You can also search a particular device’s settings for its MAC and local IP addresses and cross-reference this information in your router’s control panel. Learn more about using an IP address to find a MAC address.