Neighbors Stealing Your Wi-Fi? (How to Stop Them for Good!)

Wifi theft is a common problem among neighbors, and it can be really frustrating when your signal keeps getting cut in and out. If you suspect that your neighbor is stealing your wifi, what can you do to stop them?

You can stop neighbors from stealing your Wi-Fi by first changing your wireless network’s password. Make it as complicated and difficult to guess as possible. You should also enable WPA2 or WPA3 encryption on your wireless access point to make it much harder for someone to steal your signal.

In this article, we’ll discuss step-by-step how you can see what devices are currently connected to your network. We also give you extra tips to secure your home’s wifi and make it more difficult for your neighbors to steal.

Neighbors

We love our neighbors, but do we love them enough to share our internet network with them? Probably not so much. In this section, we’ll look at how you can detect leaching neighbors and how to control your network.

How Do I Stop My Neighbor From Stealing My Wi-Fi?

The easiest option is to change your Wi-Fi password, which will usually kick off any devices you do not want on the network. However, if your neighbor is tech-savvy, there might be a few extra steps.

A foolproof option is to encrypt your Wi-Fi network. You should access the router and choose an encryption setting.

It’s usually recommended to use the WPA-2-Personal or WPA-3-personal setting.

How Do You Find Out if Your Neighbor Is Using Your WI-FI?

If you suspect that your neighbors are connecting to your Wi-Fi, check the list of connected devices. You probably already have a username and password for your router.

If you’re unsure how to log onto your router admin, use a free program like Wireless Network Watcher, which lists all the connected devices.

If you see a device you don’t recognize, it probably means someone is using your internet.

How Do I Stop My Neighbor From Using My Internet?

The best option would be to change your password. That should kick every device off the network and force you to enter the new password. Make it more complicated than your last password.

Changing your router’s admin username would also be a good idea. If you’re unsure how to do this, you can do a factory reset on your router.

This will kick off all devices from the network and force everyone to log in again.

What Do You Do When Someone Steals Your WI-FI?

When you notice someone stealing your Wi-Fi, you should try disconnecting them from your network as soon as possible. There are several ways to disconnect neighbors or anyone nearby who might be using your network.

In most cases, you should simply change the password of your modem. This forces every device to re-enter the password, which the internet thief won’t have.

The longer and more complex your password is, the harder it will be for hackers to guess.

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Check Who’s Using the WI-FI

You probably use WI-Fi every day. At work, at home, at Mcdonald’s, etc. It’s become a part of our everyday life.

Although many users don’t know how to control their network and check who is using it, let’s discuss what you need to know.

How Do I Check Who’s Using My WI-FI?

You can use the IP address of your Wi-Fi router to see who is connected to your network. You can find the IP address on your router or in your user manual, it usually starts with 192.168. 

Open a browser and type the IP address into the search bar. This will prompt a page where you must enter your administrative username and password.

On the next page, you will see a list of devices connected to your Wi-Fi network.

How to Tell if Someone Is Stealing Your WI-FI?

Turn off all your devices that are connected to the Wi-Fi. If there is a green light flashing on your modem, it means that a device is using the internet. Alternatively, you can use an app to check what devices are connected to your network. 

Many applications on the App store can give you a list of devices currently connected to your Wi-Fi network. If you see a device that you do not recognize, you should change your password.

How Do I See Who Is Using My Internet?

You can find a list of devices connected to your internet network on your modem’s administrative webpage. To access this webpage, you must type your modem’s IP address into a browser window.

Log into your modem’s domain with your administrative username and password. You should see a list of all the devices currently connected to your Wi-Fi network.

Check for any devices that you don’t recognize.

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How Can You Tell if Someone Is Connected to Your WI-FI?

If your Wi-Fi seems more sluggish than usual, it could indicate that someone else is connected to your Wi-Fi. Turn off all your devices that are connected to the Wi-Fi and check your router.

If you see a flashing green LED light, it means that the router is sending signals to the internet, which means that someone else is using your Wi-Fi.

If you think you might know who it is, you should approach the matter with a calm and reasonable attitude.

How Do I Control Who Is Connected to My WI-FI?

You can control who is connected to your Wi-Fi by logging in to the administrative webpage of your modem. On this page, you’ll see which devices are currently connected to the network.

From this page, you can also change the password of your Wi-Fi connection. This will force every device to re-enter the password.

Users who don’t have the new password will be unable to reaccess your internet network. 

Stop the Stealing

So you’ve followed our tips, and you realize that someone is using your internet without your permission, what now? Let’s discuss how you can block or disconnect someone from your Wi-Fi.

How Do I Block Someone From Using My WI-FI?

You can enable your network’s MAC (Media Access Control) Address filtering. This will allow you to deny any device access to your network. It’s the easiest way to block a specific device from using your Wi-Fi. 

Log in to your router’s Access Point control panel and go to the Wireless section. Here you should see the MAC Filtering option, make sure it is enabled.

Now you can add devices to the Address list that you want to allow or block from the network.

How Do I Disconnect Unknown Devices From My WI-FI?

Change the password of your Wi-Fi network to disconnect every device from the network. Known devices can be connected again by entering the new password, unknown devices will not be able to connect again.

To add an extra layer of protection, you can change the network name itself. Try not to make it too obvious, like “Jane’s Wi-Fi.”

If you’re more tech-savvy, you can access your router’s software (through the web portal) and manually disconnect unknown devices. 

How to Stop Wi-Fi Piggybacking?

The easiest option is to change the password or add a password if you don’t have one. This will force every device that is connected to re-enter the password. Also, enable WPA2 encryption on your router.

Never use outdated WPA encryption, as this is pretty easy to bypass. After changing the password, you can disable the SSID broadcast of your router. Essesiantly hiding it on “available Wi-Fi” lists.

How to Stop Neighbors From Using My Wireless Internet?

To immediately kick a neighbor off your network, change your password. This will disconnect all the connected devices )including your own). To connect to the network again, a new password will be required.

You must ensure your network is secure by enabling WPA2 or WPA3 encryption. This makes it a lot more challenging for a neighbor to use your WiFi.

Encrypting your network also makes internet traffic unreadable, so people can’t see what you’re doing on your network.

Prevention

Prevention is better than having to block your neighbors. Let’s look at how you can secure your Wi-Fi network to prevent any unwanted users from leaching off your network. It’s not as difficult as you might think.

What Are the Major Signs That Your Internet Is Tapped?

The first major sign that someone might be tapping into your Wi-Fi network is slower internet speed. Another sign is if you receive a much higher bill than expected, it usually indicates that someone is streaming or downloading on your Wi-Fi.

One of the easiest signs is to turn off all the devices in your house that are connected to the Wi-Fi and get your router user manual.

Most routers are programmed to have a flashing green light when the network is being used, so if all your devices are off, it means someone else is connected to your internet. 

How to Tell if Someone Is Messing With Your Internet?

There are two main ways to check if someone else is messing with your internet. The first option is to turn off all the devices in your house and check for flashing lights on your router – this indicates that the network is being used.

The second option is to type the router’s IP address into a browser window and log in to the administrative page.

Here you should see a list of devices/clients that are currently connected to your network.

How to Detect Your WiFi Is Being Stolen?

You can detect if someone is using your internet by typing your router’s IP address into a web browser and logging into the administrative portal. On this page, you can see a list of all the devices currently connected to your Wi-Fi.

If you notice an unknown device, immediately change your password. This will kick all devices off the network.

It’s advised to check this list frequently and make your password as complicated as possible.

Is There a Way to Kick Someone off Your WI-FI?

There is a way to kick a specific device off your Wi-Fi network without needing to change the Wi-Fi password. Locate the IP address of your router, this can usually be found on the modem or in the user manual.

Then open a web browser and type the IP address in the search bar. You should be taken to a login portal. You’ll find the login username and password in your user manual.

From this page, you should see a “connected devices” list where you can block specific devices.

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How Do I Find Out if Someone Is Stealing My Internet?

If you have a modern router, it probably works with a mobile app. This app can possibly show you a client list of connected devices. If not, you can log into your administrative control panel in a web browser.

This is relatively easy to do, and it shows you exactly which devices are currently connected to a Wi-Fi network.

If you find a device that you do not recognize, you can block it from your network and immediately change your password.

Related Questions

Is It Illegal to Steal WI-FI?

In the United States, each state has different laws regarding the legality of using Wi-Fi without the owner’s permission. A few arrests have been made for illegally connecting to an internet network.

Although most jurisdictions are not as strict on this matter since it is quite challenging to prove.

If the hacker uses a VPN or any encryption, it is almost impossible to gather evidence against them.

Can My Neighbors Slow Down My Internet?

If your neighbors are connected to your internet network (with or without your permission), and they download movies/games or stream online, it could significantly slow down your internet speed.

The easiest way to speed up your internet again is to change the password of your Wi-Fi. This forces all the devices to re-enter the password, and your neighbors won’t be able to slow down your internet anymore.

Can a Neighbor Hack Your WI-FI?

If a neighbor is close enough to pick up your Wi-Fi signal and is tech-savvy, they could hack your Wi-Fi. There are a few things that you can do to completely protect your internet, though.

If you don’t have a password protecting your Wi-Fi, set one up immediately. Your password should not be easy to guess.

Try mixing numbers, special characters, and capital letters. Lastly, you should also enable WPA2/WPA3 encryption on your router.

Final Thoughts

If you notice that your neighbors are using your Wi-Fi without your consent, immediately change the password and enable the WPA2/WPA3 encryption on your router.

This should be more than enough to disconnect your neighbor.