How to Kick Someone Off Your Wi-Fi Network?

27/07/2022

Mac Filtering Explained

You’ve given your Wi-Fi password to a few people and suddenly regret it because some have taken advantage and overused your Wi-Fi network. In addition, there could be other people you don’t know, also using your Wi-Fi network without your permission. But now, you don’t know how to kick someone off your Wi-Fi network.

Be prepared to be labeled as an inconsiderate person when you kick them off your Wi-Fi with the help of our guide here.

How to Check Devices That Use Your Wi-Fi Network

The quick way to check if someone is using your Wi-Fi network is to check the router’s lights. Disconnect all your devices from your Wi-Fi network, and look at the router’s Wi-Fi and Internet indicators. If they’re still blinking, there is a good chance that an intruder is still using your Wi-Fi.

Finding your Router’s IP Address

But before you can log into your router, you need to find its IP address. These are the steps to follow to find it:

Press the Windows and the ‘x’ keys at the same time to see a menu.

You can also use the mouse to right-click on the Windows icon at the bottom-left. Alternatively, click on the Windows icon, then click on the Settings icon, and choose Network & Internet).

Select Network Connections from the menu.

Under Status, click on Properties.

Scroll down to the bottom to find the properties section.

Your router’s IP address is at the IPv4 DNS servers, and it looks something like ‘192.168.3.1‘.

You need to copy or memorize this address – you will have to use it to access the router’s GUI.

Login to Your Router

Use the IP address to log in to your router. Follow the steps below:

Connect to the internet.

Start the internet browser.

Type in the IP address you have copied or memorized earlier in the address bar at the top of the page.
Type in the username and password, which you can usually find in the router’s manual. Otherwise, look at the back of the router, and you can see the login credentials on a sticker.

Look for devices connected to your network under ‘Connected Devices’, ‘Attached Devices’, or ‘Clients List’.

From here, you will be able to see the name and MAC address of each connected device.

Now that you know who the intruders to your Wi-Fi network are, you need to get rid of them. Let’s discuss several ways to do that.

Change Your Wi-Fi Password

The easiest and fastest way to kick out devices using your Wi-Fi network is to change the network’s password. Once you change the password, the network will disconnect all devices attached to your network, including your own devices. You will need to reconnect them using the newly created password. No one else will reconnect to your Wi-Fi network without knowing the new password.

Use the MAC Address Filtering

Every electronic device (PC, laptop, tablet, phone, speaker, etc.) has a unique address called MAC (Media Access Control) address which acts as a unique identifier of that device.

Your device’s MAC address is usually listed under the device’s Properties. You can blacklist devices from connecting to your network by enabling MAC filtering.

Enter the MAC address of devices you want to block from connecting to your network. These devices will be kicked off your Wi-Fi.

On some routers you have the option to create the whitelist – you have to enter the MAC address of every device that you want to allow to connect. The downside of using this method is that you have to enter the MAC address of any new device that you want to connect to your Wi-Fi network.

How to Kick People/Devices Off Your Wi-Fi Network Using MAC Filtering and Access Control (TP-Link Router)

Use Third-Party Software Tools

There are several applications capable of kicking people off your Wi-Fi network, such as Netcut and JamWifi. These software tools will send de-authentication packets to unwanted devices and kick them off your Wi-Fi network. However, this is a temporary measure because those devices can still keep trying to connect to your network. No doubt the software will send the de-authentication packets over and over again, but it’s not a permanent solution to remove them from your network.

Reset Your Router

Resetting your router is a more foolproof way to kick someone off your Wi-Fi network. You will need to follow these steps to reset your router:

Disconnect your router from the modem (it’s not required if you use a 2-in-1 router/modem device).

Find the reset button at the back of your router. The button is located in a narrow hole, usually not bigger than a head of a pin.

Insert a pin into the hole and press and hold until the lights start blinking. Then, release the button, and the router will begin to restart.

Wait for a few minutes to allow the router to boot up.

Then connect your router back to the modem (again, ignore this if you use a single device).

Reconnect to your Wi-Fi network. You will need to use the original username and password (normally printed at the back of your router).

After resetting your router, go to your router’s management page and change your Wi-Fi password.

Create a strong password containing a combination of letters, numbers, and some special characters so that it’s difficult for others to break.

There you go – you’ve kicked someone off your Wi-Fi network, and no one can reconnect since you’ve reset the router and created a new password.

Call Your Internet Service Provider (ISP)

Calling your ISP is always the last resort when you have issues with your Wi-Fi network. It’s not like you cannot immediately call your ISP if you have such problems, but you can fix the problem on your own in many cases. It could be due to the hardware, cables, or settings. Anyway, getting help from your ISP will most probably fix your problem. Here’s how to contact your ISP:

Get some information ready for the customer service staff’s verification, such as your account number and correspondence address.

Tell the staff that other people are using your Wi-Fi network. If you use the router and modem provided by them, they can access the router remotely and kick them off your network.

If you want to change the password, ask the staff to configure a fresh password for your network.

At the same time, you may require fresh and updated security settings. The customer support staff will be able to do that to improve your network security.

What’s Next?

If you want to allow other people to use your Wi-Fi network, it would be best if you prepared a guest network for them. On most modern routers, you can set up a guest network. When your guests connect to your Wi-Fi network, they don’t get access to the main network. Instead, they connect to a sub-network using a separate password to gain access. You can always limit your guests’ access to the resources from your main network by disabling it in the settings.

How to Create a Guest Network (TP-Link Router)

Conclusion

You have learned how to kick someone off your Wi-Fi network. Some of the methods that we presented are temporary measures to get rid of unwanted intruders. Serious hackers can always regain access to your network through some advanced techniques.

We have also shown how to reset your router and create a new password that proves to be a better method to keep your Wi-Fi network secure.

Lastly, if you find the procedures involved too technical, you can call your ISP and ask for help.

About Nick

Nick is a Software Engineer. He has interest in gadgets and technical stuffs. If you are facing any problem with your Windows, feel free to ask him.