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Knowledge document #3453

Unknown devices in the Mesh Overview

The FRITZ!Box shows all of the devices connected with the FRITZ!Box in the Mesh Overview. The table under "Home Network > Network" also displays all of the devices that have been connected to the FRITZ!Box.

Devices that obtain their IP settings from the FRITZ!Box via DHCP and send their hostnames to the FRITZ!Box are displayed with their hostname.

Devices that do not send their hostname to the FRITZ!Box, for example Android smartphones and devices with static IP settings, are displayed with their IP address (for example "PC-192-168-178-20") or powerline devices are displayed with their network device name.

Unknown devices and devices that are no longer in use can be deleted in the FRITZ!Box. If your FRITZ!Box still displays unknown devices, you can use the MAC addresses of the devices to determine the manufacturer, identify the devices, and give them unique names the FRITZ!Box.

You can prevent unwanted access by assigning new passwords, for example for your FRITZ!Box's Wi-Fi network. You will find instructions on how to do this at the end of this guide.

Note:All instructions on configuration and settings given in this guide refer to the latest FRITZ!OS for the FRITZ!Box.

1 Deleting unknown devices

  1. Click "Home Network" in the FRITZ!Box user interface.
  2. Click "Network" in the "Home Network" menu.
  3. Click on the "Network Connections" tab.
  4. In the "Idle Connections" section, click the (Delete) button next to the device that is to be deleted.

    Note:Instead, you can also use the "Remove" button under the list of network devices to delete all of the unused devices whose settings you have not changed in the FRITZ!Box.

2 Identifying unknown devices and assigning them a unique name

Identifying unknown devices

If the FRITZ!Box displays devices you are not familiar with after you already deleted the unknown devices, try to identify them by their access type and access time. If this is not possible, you can identify them by their MAC addresses or device information in the FRITZ!Box:

  1. Click "Home Network" in the FRITZ!Box user interface.
  2. Click "Network" in the "Home Network" menu.
  3. Click on the "Network Connections" tab.
  4. Click the (Edit) button for the unknown device.
  5. If it is not possible to use the information displayed after "Device information" to identify the device, make note of the MAC address of the device, for example 12:34:56:78:9A:BC. You can use the OUI Lookup Tool from Wireshark, for example, to find out the manufacturer of the device or its network adapter.

    Note:If the manufacturer cannot be identified for the MAC address, the device uses a random MAC address (Android) or a private Wi-Fi address (Apple iOS).

Assigning devices unique names

To ensure that you always recognize a device after you identify it, give it a unique name in the FRITZ!Box:

  1. Click "Home Network" in the FRITZ!Box user interface.
  2. Click "Mesh" in the "Home Network" menu.
  3. Click the (Edit) button for the device you want to rename.
  4. Enter a unique name of your choice in the "Name" field. The name may not consist of only numbers.
  5. Click "Apply" to save the settings.

3 Tips for additional security

To prevent unauthorized persons from connecting to your FRITZ!Box, observe the following security tips and adjust your settings, if necessary:

Installing the latest FRITZ!OS

  1. Install the latest FRITZ!OS on the FRITZ!Box.

Changing the FRITZ!Box password

To prevent unauthorized persons from logging in to the FRITZ!Box with the password on the underside of the device and changing its settings, configure a new password:

  1. Change the password for the FRITZ!Box user interface.

Change the network key

To prevent unauthorized persons from using the network key from the underside of the FRITZ!Box or a network key they may know to connect to the FRITZ!Box, change the network key and set up the Wi-Fi connections to the FRITZ!Box again:

  1. Click "Wi-Fi" ("Wireless") in the FRITZ!Box user interface.
  2. Click "Security" in the "Wi-Fi" ("Wireless") menu.
  3. Click on the "Encryption" tab.
  4. Enable the option "WPA encryption".
  5. Select "WPA2 + WPA3" or "WPA2 (CCMP)" for the "WPA mode".
  6. Enter a new password in the "Network key" field. Use numerals, letters, and other characters, and mix upper and lower case letters.
  7. Click "Apply" to save the settings.

Changing the powerline password

If you are using powerline devices, for example FRITZ!Powerline, change the powerline password so that unauthorized persons cannot use a password they may know to connect to one of the powerline devices over the electrical wiring and access your home network:

  1. Change the password for your powerline network. If you are using FRITZ!Powerline, change the password for the FRITZ!Powerline network.

Disabling WPS

To prevent unauthorized persons from connecting to the FRITZ!Box via Wi-Fi by pushing a button, disable the WPS (WPS - Wi-Fi Protected Setup) function in the FRITZ!Box:

  1. Click "Wi-Fi" ("Wireless") in the FRITZ!Box user interface.
  2. Click "Security" in the "Wi-Fi" ("Wireless") menu.
  3. Click on the "WPS Quick Connection" tab.
  4. Disable the option "WPS enabled".
  5. Click "Apply" to save the settings.



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