How to see all devices on your Wi-Fi network on Windows

Short answer: your router's admin page shows connected devices, but the fastest PC-side way is a sweep of the local subnet plus the ARP table — a free tool like LAN Device Scanner does both in one click and lists IPs, MACs and hostnames.

Method 1: the router's admin page

  1. Find the gateway (usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1) — in Windows: ipconfig, the Default Gateway line.
  2. Open it in a browser and log in (the password is on the router's sticker if never changed).
  3. Look for Connected devices / DHCP clients / Attached devices — the name depends on the vendor.

Works everywhere, but: credentials, menus differ per model, and some ISPs lock the page entirely.

Method 2: ipconfig + arp (built-in, one view)

  1. ipconfig — note your IPv4 address and subnet mask.
  2. arp -a — the table of IP ↔ MAC your PC knows.

Catch: ARP only knows devices your machine recently talked to. To see everything you must ping the whole subnet first — dozens of manual commands. That is exactly what scanners automate.

Method 3: LAN Device Scanner — one sweep, honest statuses

Download free — LanDeviceScanner-Setup.exe

  1. Open it — the local address and scan range (e.g. 192.168.1.0/24) are detected automatically.
  2. Press “Scan network” — every address gets one ping; after that the ARP table adds sleeping phones and TVs.
  3. Read the list: IP, MAC, reverse-DNS hostname, and a status per row — online or in ARP — no ping reply. Copy any address with one click.

The tool is deliberately shallow: no port scanning, no probing — one ping per address and a local table read. No admin rights, nothing sent outside your network.

I see an unknown device. What now?

  1. Copy its MAC address — the first three octets identify the vendor (look it up in any MAC vendor database).
  2. Check your smart-home gadgets — the mystery device is usually a forgotten plug, bulb or TV.
  3. If it really is a stranger: block the MAC in the router's admin page and change the Wi-Fi password (WPA2/WPA3).

FAQ

Why do some devices show without “online”?

Sleeping gadgets skip ping replies; the ARP table still knows them. Treat in ARP as “recently active” — usually still on your network.

Can I scan from a phone instead?

Router pages work on phones; PC-side sweeps need a desktop tool. This app is Windows-only.

Is scanning my own network safe?

Pinging your own subnet is normal network hygiene — routers do it constantly. It is port scans and probes that look like attacks; this tool does neither.

More: how to find what is locking a file and how to find and remove empty folders.

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