How to Scan Your Home Network for All Connected Devices

Your home WiFi may have more devices connected to it than you realize — phones, tablets, smart TVs, IoT devices, and potentially devices you don't recognize at all. Here's how to see everything on your network in under a minute.

Scanning your home network is useful for security checks, troubleshooting, finding a device's IP address for configuration, or simply satisfying curiosity about what's using your bandwidth. This guide covers the fastest methods available in Windows — from built-in command tools to a dedicated free scanner.

Why Scan Your Home Network?

There are several practical reasons to know what's connected to your network:

• Security check — Identify unauthorized devices that may be using your connection without permission
• Find a device's IP address — Needed for configuring printers, NAS drives, smart home hubs, and security cameras
• Troubleshoot slow internet — See if an unknown device is consuming your bandwidth
• IoT inventory — Smart homes accumulate devices quickly; a scan gives you a complete inventory
• IP conflict detection — Two devices sharing the same IP causes intermittent connectivity failures
• Network documentation — Useful before a router change or ISP switch

Method 1: SterJo Wireless Network Scanner — Easiest & Most Complete

SterJo Wireless Network Scanner is a free Windows tool specifically designed for this task. It uses ARP-based scanning — more reliable than ping — which means it detects smartphones, smart TVs, IoT devices, and other hardware that may not respond to standard network pings.

Step-by-Step:

1. Download SterJo Wireless Network Scanner (installer or portable, 1.3 MB)
2. Make sure your PC is connected to the WiFi network you want to scan
3. Run the tool — it automatically detects your wireless adapter
4. Click Scan
5. Within seconds, every active device appears in the list
6. Review the results — each device shows IP address, MAC address, hostname, and MAC vendor

What the Results Tell You

For each device found, the scanner shows:

• IP address — The device's current address on your network (e.g. 192.168.1.105)
• MAC address — A unique hardware identifier burned into the device's network adapter
• Hostname — Often the device's name as it appears in your router or OS (e.g. "DESKTOP-AB12C" or "Johns-iPhone")
• MAC vendor — The manufacturer identified from the MAC address prefix (e.g. "Apple", "Samsung", "TP-Link")

Method 2: Your Router's Admin Panel

Every home router has a built-in device list. This is the most authoritative source — the router knows every device that has been assigned an IP address, even briefly.

How to Access Your Router's Device List:

1. Open a browser and go to your router's admin IP — usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1
2. Not sure of the IP? Press Windows + R, type cmd, run ipconfig and look for the Default Gateway
3. Log in with your router credentials (often on a sticker on the router itself)
4. Look for a section called Connected Devices, DHCP Clients, or LAN Clients

The router method shows devices that may have connected recently but are no longer active. The network scanner only shows currently active devices.

Method 3: ARP Command (No Tools Needed)

Windows has a built-in ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) cache that stores recently seen devices. You can view it instantly without any downloads.

Steps:

1. Press Windows + R, type cmd and press Enter
2. Type arp -a and press Enter
3. You'll see a table of IP addresses and their associated MAC addresses that your PC has recently seen

Method 4: IP Scanner for a Custom IP Range

If you need to scan a specific IP range — useful on larger home networks or when troubleshooting specific subnets — SterJo Fast IP Scanner lets you define any start and end IP address for the scan. See our guide on How to Scan an IP Range on Windows for full details.

How to Identify Unknown Devices in the Scan Results

After scanning, you may see devices whose names or IP addresses you don't immediately recognize. Here's how to identify them:

1. Check the MAC Vendor

The first three bytes of a MAC address identify the manufacturer. SterJo Wireless Network Scanner shows this automatically. "Apple" means it's an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. "Samsung" is likely a phone or TV. "Amazon Technologies" is an Echo or Fire device. "Espressif" is a cheap IoT board used in many smart home products.

2. Check the Hostname

Hostnames like "DESKTOP-AB12C", "JOHNS-IPHONE", or "AMAZON-ECHO" make identification easy. Generic names like "android-abc123" or no hostname at all indicate mobile devices or IoT hardware.

3. Cross-Reference with Your Known Devices

Make a list of every device you own that connects to WiFi: phones, laptops, tablets, smart TVs, game consoles, printers, smart speakers, security cameras, thermostats. If the scan shows more devices than your list, investigate the extras.

4. Look Up the MAC Address

For any device you genuinely can't identify, search the full MAC address on a site like macvendors.com. This reveals the hardware manufacturer, which usually narrows down what type of device it is.

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