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Unknown Divices

Paul745
Community Member

I have a small number of devices connected to my Wifi that I am unsure what they are. Is there a suggested protocol for identifying them?

1 Recommended Answer
7 REPLIES 7

Paul745
Community Member

I'm not sure there is a great easy answer. Some understanding of private and public IP addresses is a start. In my case I found that one of the devices was a second router that is related to my sump pump system. Using the MAC address can confirm a match between the Home app and the actual hardware.

Duplo82
Community Member

I'm having the same issue. they can all be identified through your router settings🤙 @Paul745 

Paul745
Community Member

For a home it is typically that devices will connect to the internet via a router. When a device within the home is connected to the LAN it contacts the router and is assigned a private ISP address which normally has a format of AAA.BBB.CC.DD. Normally the AAA, BBB and CCC are the same for all of the devices in that particular home. The DD value is usually a two digit number that is assigned to that device by the router. If that device terminates its connection from the LAN that two digit number is released by the router and may be assigned to a new device that connects to the LAN. This means that the ISP address for a device may change from time to time. The router keeps track of what ISP addresses is assigned to each device.

Each device has a MAC address that normally has a format of AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF. The MAC address of a device is frequently indicated on the physical device and may also be available through a software interface, if there is one.

The router (Google Nest WiFi Pro) also attaches a “name” to each device. Mostly the name clearly is an indication of which device is referenced. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. It seems that each device does not contain a name and hence the router needs to assign one. I am sure that Google is doing their best to assign a meaningful name but failure at this task does occur. The name is not used for anything other than reports, so a misleading/incorrect name does no technical harm. The Home app allows you to enter/change the name of each device. The router retains the last name of each device. So, if you try to delete the device name it will be set to this previous value.

Reviewing what devices are connected to your LAN is a reasonable security act. Mostly the name correctly indicates what the device is. However, I did have one name that indicated it was an old cell phone. Review of the MAC address eventually showed it to be an iPad. I have no guess as to how this happened. I have a sump pump system that connects to the LAN. This has its own router that sits between the main router and the actual sump pump system. Both the sump pump router and the sump pump system have their own MAC address and are separately listed as devices in the Home app. The MAC address listed in the Home app can be searched at various web sites. This may identify a company name that can help identify what the device is. Another choice for identifying unknow devices would be to pause them in the Home app and see what stops working.

AbigailF
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey folks, 

Thanks for lending a hand, @olavrb and @Duplo82.
@Paul745, our apologies for the late reply. I wanted to follow up and see if you are still in need of any help. Please let me know if you are still having any concerns or questions from here, as I would be happy to take a closer look and assist you further.

Thanks,
Abi

Paul745
Community Member

Thanks Abi,I think I have what I need.

Paul

AbigailF
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hello Paul745, 

Awesome — glad to hear that your issue is fixed. It looks like we can consider this one complete, so I will lock the thread shortly unless I can help out with anything else. 

Best, 
Abi