Boot Someone Out of Your Network

There’s nothing more frustrating than a slow Internet connection, especially when that slow Internet connection is caused by a neighbor, housemate or intruder hogging your bandwidth. Your downloads are sluggish, your video streams are choppy, and your favorite websites are taking forever to load. When you can’t get a hold of the culprit, the only way to reclaim your bandwidth is to boot the bad guy from your network. The following methods will help you block unwanted guests and get back to stress-free browsing.

Steps

Changing Your Wireless Password

1. Connect to your wireless router’s web interface. Enter the IP address of your router into the address bar of your browser to connect.
   • Finding your router’s IP address from a Mac: Open the Apple menu and select System Preferences. Click the Network icon and highlight your Wi-Fi connection on the left side of the screen. You’ll see several IP addresses, but the one you’ll need appears next to the word Router.
   • Finding your router’s IP address from a PC: Press ⊞ Win + R to open a command prompt window. At the prompt, type ipconfig and press ↵ Enter. Look for your wireless connection (you may have to scroll up) until you see “Default Gateway.” The IP address next to that phrase is that of your wireless router.
2. Enter the admin username and password. If you don’t know this information, check the sticker on your wireless router. If there’s no admin username and password, call your ISP.
   • You can also check routerpasswords.com for a list of default router admin account information.
   • If you’ve changed your router admin password and then lost it, you’ll need to reset your router back to its factory settings.
3. Find the router’s wireless settings. The location of these settings varies depending on the manufacturer and model. Check your router’s manual (it may be accessible online). In general, the settings you’ll need should be in an area of the site with a name like Wireless, Wireless Setup or Wi-Fi.
4. Change the wireless password. In the wireless settings, look for an area called Wireless Security (or something similar). You’ll know you’re in the right place when you see a box that contains a password (sometimes called a key, passkey or passphrase). Enter a new password here and be sure to write it down. Click Save when you’re done.
   • Passwords are case-sensitive.
   • Be sure to write down the new password.
5. Turn the router off and then turn it back on. You can do this by unplugging/plugging the power cable from the back of the device.
6. Connect to your wireless network. Once the router has finished rebooting, reconnect to your wireless network. Because you have changed your password, you’ll be the only one who can get back online. Enter the new password to connect.

Blocking Their Mac Address

1. Connect to your router’s admin interface. Enter the IP address of your router into the address bar of your browser to connect. If you don’t know the address, here are a few to try: 192.168.0.1, 10.0.1.1, and 10.0.0.1. If none of these work, you’ll need to do a little sleuthing.
   • From your Mac: Open the Apple menu and select System Preferences. Click the Network icon and highlight your Wi-Fi connection on the left side of the screen. You’ll see several IP addresses, but the one you’ll need appears next to the word Router.
   • From your PC: Press ⊞ Win + R to open a command prompt window. At the prompt, type ipconfig and press ↵ Enter. Look for your wireless connection (you may have to scroll up) until you see “Default Gateway.” The IP address next to that phrase is that of your wireless router.
2. Enter the admin username and password. If you don’t know this information, check the sticker on your wireless router. If there’s no admin username and password, call your ISP.
   • You can also check routerpasswords.com for a list of default router admin account information.
   • If you’ve changed your router admin password and then lost it, you’ll need to reset your router back to its factory settings.
3. Find out who is connected. The list of devices connected to your network depends on the model and manufacturer of your wireless router. Browse to the router’s LAN or DHCP settings and view a list of connected devices or clients. In addition to your unwanted visitor, you’ll also see your own computer and other devices that are supposed to be there.
4. Turn off every device connected to Wi-Fi except your computer. This includes your smartphone, other smart devices, printers, wireless speakers, other desktops and notebooks in your house.
5. Determine the MAC (Media Access Control) address of the unwanted visitor. Every network device has its own unique MAC address, so figuring out which one belongs to the intruder will help you block them from the router. If you see a connected device besides your own, that’s the intruder (or a device you forgot to turn off—be thorough). Write down the MAC address of the device that shouldn’t be there.
6. Block the MAC address from your router. Depending on the manufacturer and model of your wireless router, the location of these settings will vary. Look for Firewall Settings or Security Settings. In one of these locations, you should find something called Address Filtering, MAC Filtering, MAC Access List (check your router’s manual).
   • Enter the MAC address of the device you don’t want connecting to your network. Select Block or Restrict, depending on the model.
   • Some routers don’t come with the ability to restrict access, so check your manual if you don’t see what you’re looking for.
7. Turn the router off and then turn it back on. Do this by unplugging/plugging the power cable from the back of the device.
8. Log back into your wireless network. Once the router has finished rebooting, connect to your wireless network. You can also turn on your other devices. The device whose MAC address you blocked will no longer be able to access your network.

Calling Your ISP

1. Prepare for the phone call. Gather information that the support agent will need to verify your identity, such as your account number or billing address.
2. Tell the support agent that someone is using your wireless connection. If your wireless modem/router came from your ISP, they can log into it and remove unauthorized users.
3. Decide whether or not you want to change your wireless network password. If you think someone is using your password, ask your support agent to configure a new one at this time. Remember, passwords are case-sensitive.
4. Ask the support agent to recommend the right security settings for you. If it’s been a long time since your router has been updated, your support agent may also take care of this now.

Tips

• Only share your wireless password with people you trust with your network. If someone uses your wireless network to hack or download illegal content, you could be responsible for the repercussions.
• Make your password hard to crack. Experts recommend a long password (at least 15 characters), using a mixture of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters, avoiding words that can be found in the dictionary.
• Some Internet providers, such as Comcast, may configure your wireless router to act as a Wi-Fi hotspot for other users of their service.. Users who connect to those hotspots do not share your wireless connection, so you won’t have to worry about them using your resources.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Add a Password to Your Wireless Internet Connection (WiFi)
• Make Your Wireless Internet Connection Faster (Comcast)
• Create a Mobile Hotspot on a Windows 10 PC
• Create a WiFi Hotspot Using the Command Prompt
• Set Up a Wireless Router
• Create a Wireless Network
• Build Antennas
• Hook Up Roku
• Set Up a D‐Link WBR‐2310 Wireless Router
• Tell If an Outside User Is on Your Wireless Network

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• Detect a Remote Access to My Computer