How to prevent neighbors from accessing your Wi-Fi network

Do you feel uncomfortable with your neighbors often asking for your password and access to your home's Wi-Fi network, but are afraid to refuse or don't want to say it? The article below will guide you with a few simple tips to solve this delicate problem.

How to see who is using your Wi-Fi

If you suspect that someone is 'illegally' using your Wi-Fi network but are not 100% sure, log in to your router's interface and check the list of authorized devices. connect. The way you log in and check will vary depending on the type of router you are using. Refer to the article below for more information on how to do this:

Once you see the access list, look for unfamiliar names that you find suspicious. These could be devices used by your neighbors. Some router models allow you to directly remove, block, or ban specific devices from this list by blocking their respective MAC addresses. This is an effective option, but not perfect because some devices like the iPhone provide random MAC addresses as a security measure. That means the device may not be blocked again in the next connection session.

Also, be aware that not all of your Wi-Fi devices will be clearly labeled. In this case, make sure you carefully review the MAC address of the unknown devices in the connection list with the MAC address of the device you own before implementing any ban or block. Otherwise, you could accidentally block an important device in your own household.

"Fire fighting" solution: Unplug your router or Modem

If you want someone to stop using your Wi-Fi immediately, unplugging the router is a somewhat 'extreme' but simple and effective solution. The router will turn off so no one can connect to your Wi-Fi network anymore.

Instead, in case you want to configure the router while temporarily blocking internet access, you can leave the router plugged in but unplug the internet cable or DSL modem (if applicable). After making the changes we'll talk about below, you can plug the modem back in and bandwidth thieves will be blocked from accessing it.

Turn off open Wi-Fi access

If you're running an open Wi-Fi hotspot that allows anyone to connect without a password, it may be time to reconsider this. If someone uses your internet connection to do something illegal online, you could end up having problems or worse, compromising data security.

To fix this, you need to log into the router's configuration interface and enable encryption (such as WPA2 Personal — or better yet, WPA3 Personal, if available) and connection password. After configuring a strong Wi-Fi connection password, don't give it to your neighbors. You will have to enter the new password on all devices you want to connect.

Uses modern encryption standards

Longstanding Wi-Fi encryption methods such as WEP, WPA1, and WPA2-TKIP are considered insecure at this time. WEP in particular is vulnerable to hacking using brute-force methods. So, if you are still using one of the encryption methods mentioned above, it is time to change to a new, more secure encryption method. We recommend that you use WPA2-Personal (or WPA3-Personal if available).

Using strong enough encryption standards will help prevent unauthorized access nearby, as well as neighbors being able to 'peep' into your internet activities.

Disable the router's guest account

Many types of Wi-Fi routers support guest accounts that are isolated from the main local area network (LAN), use alternate passwords, and may be subject to some other restrictions.

If a neighbor is stealing your Wi-Fi through a guest account, then you need to log in to the router's configuration interface and turn it off.

Even if your neighbor doesn't use a guest account for access, you should probably disable your guest account if you don't need it. They are often unsafe.

Change Wi-Fi password

The final, simple but effective tip is to change your current Wi-Fi password. To do so, you need to log in to your router interface. Look for a setting option with a title similar to 'Wi-Fi Setup'. Somewhere near the SSID, you will see a space to enter a new password. Choose a secure password and apply the changes to your router, rebooting if necessary.

When the router comes back online, you need to enter this new password on your computers and devices connected via Wi-Fi.

Hope the above tips can help the situation you are facing!

Kareem Winters

Update 17 October 2023