Rogue devices showing up on windows 8 network in file exporer.

Ok.... So then how come i only see phones... I never see another PC doing the exact same thing. Or why does windows say possible devices to connect instead of the random devices saying just a MAC address? Why is there not a easily accessible setting to change this? I mean only Android devices pop up, even with our Windows phones (Windows 10 and 8.1) never show up. I also never see anyone's devices that they own show up. I mean yes your phone finds available Wi-Fi but they should bus find the radio signal and not have to try connecting. Now Wi-Fi sense is a thing where it connects to popular wifi but it never connects to ones that require a password unless you have successful signed in. (sorry for the bad grammar, any Microsoft browser on mobile and PC have a pain trying to delete in these boxes... Fix it Microsoft) all I'm saying is that it seems really dumb for this "feature" (windows connect now) makes phones try to connect when they might not be owned by me.

First, phones, especially Android Devices, are the devices that continously send out packets.  Second, computers with WiFi, that are already connected, are generally stationary, so they have no regular need to be doing continuous scans.  Third, Android devices are defaulted to do this, while Windows and I believe iOS phones are defaulted not to do this.  Fourth, generic, or non-major brand Android Phones/Devices often times show up by the countries Manufacturer names when check by MAC address, rather than the Phone ID, example, many BLU devices come up by their CHIP ID, which often times is from China, Japan, Australia, and other places over America, even though device itself is in fact an American one.

Finally no one is fixing this, because it is not an issue for everyone;  many of us like the fact it shows up this way, so we can have a double way of checking to ensure which devices are AND are not on our network, but COULD be.  If Microsoft has not made any changes in this since 2013, in Windows 8, and we are not in 2016 in Windows 10 and I might add the last Windows, and this FEATURE still exists, then don't hold your breath on them changing it now for the few who do not like it.  Six pages of posts since 2013 certainly does not constitute a mass request for the disabling of this feature.

Also if you disable the WCM how does that prevent a phone from still (even if it is just a random thing aka a glitch) from connecting? Doesn'tjust keep it from seeing the devices(thebPC from seeing the random phones?-- again slow and very painful to edit on here )

just saying why would anyone in America have a phone from Australia trying to connect one day and then a phone from Germany the next day or the next phone that comes up on the network page.. Especially when we don't sell those in Illinois. Are we sure there is no possibility that there is some kind of glitch?

Ok.... So then how come i only see phones... I never see another PC doing the exact same thing. Or why does windows say possible devices to connect instead of the random devices saying just a MAC address? Why is there not a easily accessible setting to change this? I mean only Android devices pop up, even with our Windows phones (Windows 10 and 8.1) never show up. I also never see anyone's devices that they own show up. I mean yes your phone finds available Wi-Fi but they should bus find the radio signal and not have to try connecting. Now Wi-Fi sense is a thing where it connects to popular wifi but it never connects to ones that require a password unless you have successful signed in. (sorry for the bad grammar, any Microsoft browser on mobile and PC have a pain trying to delete in these boxes... Fix it Microsoft) all I'm saying is that it seems really dumb for this "feature" (windows connect now) makes phones try to connect when they might not be owned by me.

I'm replying to the OP, even though I suspect the OP is not reading these anymore.

This is not a glitch with Windows.  This is in fact by design.

Windows Connect Now searches your network not only for devices that are currently connected, but also for any devices that may potentially be capable to being on your network (if you give them permission.)

These ghost devices in a sense have been on your network, and are continously so.  Here's why:  Phones and some other WiFi devices, but especially phones, are continously scanning for available networks, even when they are connected to one, to try and find possibly a better one (there's some technical babble of what's they are doing, but basically in laymans terms this is the best way to describe it.)   Because of this, your WiFi network is continously being scanned intermittently by these devices, and your WiFi network is acknowledging of course that it is available.  This will even occur if your network is a hidden one by the way.  This is how a phone (or any other WiFi device for that matter) can actually even begin to connect to a WiFi network.  

When you are out and about, and you may need to connect to a WiFi network at say a friends house, or Restaurant even, you first have  to pull down the list of available networks to actually connect to it.  If you ever notice, depending where you are at that time, there usually is at least one more, and often times, numerous other networks besides the one you're trying to connect to available.  Most of the time those devices are listed very quickly for you.  This is not because your phone is the fastest searcher in the world.  This is because in the background while you were doing other things, or it was in your pocket, it was also searching the area for these, so it could have it available to you at a moments notice.  This feature on some phones can be turned off, and those wishing to save battery power even more may look into that, however, that for another post.

The thing is, in order to get the device list, the phone/device sends out a 'packet' of data requesting devices info, that other WiFi devices and routers recognize, and respond to with information that is appropriate, in the case of a router for instance, it SSID (the WiFi network name) and type of security challenge that will be needed if that device wishes to join.  The initial sending out the information will almost always include it's MAC address, which is USUALLY assigned to a Manufacturer.  I could go on and on about this, however, it's Googly information that is even longer winded than I am.

With Windows Connect Now, it goes and does some further work so you don't have to.  It's does similar to what the phone does when you click on the Network in your 'File Explorer', Windows Connect Now, sends out a 'packet/beacon' to not only get a list of the current devices connect to your network, but also 'POTENTIAL' other devices that respond back to it's request via whatever WiFi outlet was available to send the beacon.  Also, it reads the logs you usually can not see yourself from a router to see what has within a certain amount of time send out one of those packets, to try and give you the fullest list available of all possible devices you may connect to, if you, and that device BOTH have the proper authority to do so.  With Windows Connect Now off/disabled, you only see the actual devices that are currently on your network.  In this regard, WCN is not necessary as a feature, so it does not hurt at all to have it off, however, it does make it convenient when you want to connect to a tablet or other WiFi device that really is on your network, or at least you want it to be, then it shows you at a glance if the device itself is at least throwing off it's own beacon.

I know this is long winded, sorry for that, but hopefully in it's entirety it will help someone understand why they see these devices.