You have leeching neighbors and YouTube addicted roommates to handle as well. Imagine, you wake up one day to find that the internet pack has been drained dry. Man, that would be a nightmare. Not to worry, we at Guiding Tech, have a neat and easy solution on how to block devices from your home WiFi network. We will be exploring two methods to control the home WiFi system. The first is through MAC address filtering and the latter is through a third-party app on your Android phone. So, let’s begin.
1. MAC Address Filtering in PC
Media Access Control or in simple terms, MAC Address are unique addresses assigned to a system by its manufacturer. Unlike IP Address, the MAC address of a system remains same throughout and doesn’t change. First, you’d need to obtain the MAC addresses of all the connected devices.
1. Scan Network
Wireless Network Watcher is a nifty app which can help you in scanning the devices connected to your WiFi. All you need to do is download the app and run the scan. The scan which roughly takes only a couple of seconds to complete lists all the connected devices. Once done, double click on the trespassing MAC address and copy it to a clipboard.
2. Block MAC
Now that the MAC addresses have been noted, login to the router’s admin page, head over to the Wireless section. and select Wireless MAC Filter. Once inside the page, choose Reject and match the MAC address against the one you have noted. Click on Apply and you are all set, to enjoy a distraction-free WiFi network. Another alternative is to whitelist only the recognized devices. Select Accept and include only the familiar MAC addresses. Once saved, though the WiFi network will continue to show, no new device will be able to connect to your network. If your router homepage doesn’t contain a link to MAC filter, you might find it in the advanced setting.
2. Block Through Android
The second method makes use of a popular app called NetCut. A very popular app for analyzing WiFi connections, it’s catch is that it works only on rooted Android phones. Once the superuser permission has been granted, NetCut will show all the available devices. Akin to the first method, you’ll need to obtain the MAC addresses first. Now all you have to do is tap on the chosen address and slide the WiFi bar to zero. The best thing about this app is that the changes occur in real time which means that as soon as you slip the slider down, the connection to the user will cease.
Calling It a Wrap!
So, these were some of the methods by which you can offload freeloaders from leeching on your home WiFi network. Given the state of privacy and security these days, it’s imperative that we have a finer control over the WIFi usage. So, which is your favorite method? See Next: 3 Simple Steps to Turn Off Public WiFi Notifications The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
