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

Hi Phil,

 

When you click on Network in File Explorer it goes out and does a Network Discovery scan of the local subnet and reports and machines occupying an IP address within the same subnet.

 

I can't explain why you are not seeing them in your router though, unless the Network Discovery results aren't accurate.  They couldn't get an IP address unless they were able to authenticate at some point.

 

Try to ping one of the IP's from a command prompt:

 

1. Press [Win key] + [X] then select Command Prompt.
2. Type ping xxx where xxx is the IP address.
3. Hit [enter].

 

Do you get request timed out or replies?

 

If you get request timed out then that device is no longer connected to the network.  If you get replies then it is still connected to your network.

 

Let me know if this helps.

 

 

Hi Steve,

Thank you for the quick reply. The funny thing is that these devices are not issued an IP, it just shows the device and then the MAC id.  So, I would have nothing to ping.  I took a screen shot that I could post, but not sure how to do it.  The correct computers and router show up correctly, but then there is a third section called phone and this is were the device shows up.  Now it doesn't stay there all the time, it will just show up sporadically.  And then sometimes a different phone/device shows up.  This usually will happen when the computer is shut down and then turned back on later.  It might be easier if I could figure out how to post a screenshot. 

Phil

i got a fix for phone showing in windows 8.1 before you check your network it is phone it showing in Network  go control panel then Administrative tool then services then look for  windows connect now right click on it  go to Properties then startup select disabled and click on apply then stop and ok and see your network you will not see a phone

OK, for the people who are scared for no reason, please read this.

All wired and wireless devices have MAC Addresses.

Any wireless device has to be able to touch any wireless router, that's how things work. However, that does not mean they are given access into your network. The only way they are given access into your network is after authenticating your SSID with the correct passphrase and only then will they be given an IP address.

Your Windows computer can sense these devices 'touching' your wireless router by their MAC address. That's about where it all ends. Your computer see's devices out there that are close enough to touch the wireless signal your router is putting out in the world. That in no way means they have been authenticated onto your network.

What could Microsoft do about this? Well perhaps they could install an option in networking to "Not Display Wireless Devices until authenticated through the router".

Just know that for Wi-Fi to work, every wireless device has the ability to ATTEMPT to connect to every other wireless device. That does not mean they are authenticated on that Wireless Network connection. Windows is so smart that it see's these devices and puts that information in the "Network" devices page.

I see a neighbors Vizio TV and HTC phone randomly in my "Network Devices" and when I right click and choose properties only the devices "Brand Name and/or Model" and "MAC address" are listed. This is perfectly normal. It is my PC seeing wireless devices out there through my router, NOT wireless devices out there seeing into my network.

Even if you block that MAC address from connecting to your network in your router settings, that device still has to "Touch" your router, once that happens it will be blocked from obtaining an IP address even if it has the right credentials to connect. Windows will always be able to see devices touching your router.

Just remember to never leave your Wi-Fi "OPEN" without passphrase protection and you're going to be ok.

I appreciate that this thread has been running for quite a while, but having just found a 'rogue' phone on my 'network', I, too, have been hunting a solution.

Strangely, this is the only thread of all the forums I have searched that actually has the solution - but a lot of people seem to have missed it.

If, when you right click on the device and select 'Properties' you get something that looks like the image posted by SPTC on February 16, 2015 (a device with a Name, Model and Model number and a MAC address, but nothing else - especially no IP address), then the solution is in the first post on that same page, from chinups3 on September 24, 2014.

I hope they forgive me, but I have restructured [and added to] their response as follows, as it was easy to overlook:

I have a fix for a 'phone' [ or other unknown device] showing in windows 8.1 [ and 7, and 8 and 10] 'Network'.  Before you check your network for strange devices, if it is showing as a phone [or some other unrecognised device] in 'Network', do the following:

Go to 'Control Panel';

then 'Administrative Tools';

then 'Services';

then look for 'Windows Connect Now [- Configure Registrar]';

right click on it and select 'Properties';

set 'Startup type:' to 'Disabled' and click on 'Apply';

then click ''Stop' and 'Ok'.

Close the pop-up and all the Control Panel windows and refresh your 'Network' display and you will not see a phone [device].

There are no strange phones out there trying to attach to your network; it's nothing to do with your router; it's not a conspiracy by your neighbours to access your network.  It's a Microsoft "feature", and I shall be logging it with them, as they do not read any of these forums!!

My own suspicions is that the above service is 'seeing' your router and somewhere along the line it is detecting the chipset manufacturer of the router and looking that up in it's database of devices and finding a 'match' (in my case Huawei).  But the lack of an IP address is the key, as it means you'll never find it as a real device because it doesn't exist in the real world and therefore is not on the network.  It's a figment of Microsoft's imagination.

I have just seen this issue and the only thing that seems to have stopped it happening is hiding the SSID on my router.  So, I guess that would suggest it is phones reading the broadcast SSID. How and why that gets translated into a visible device in Windows 8.1 (just upgraded) I don't understand, because my own phone, which is connected with an IP address, does NOT show up in the network panel...

My SSID has always been hidden and I still see these strange devices pop up (2 so far). They appear then disappear. I'm sooo glad I found this forum as I was going crazy trying to determine how the heck phones made it on my network (or the appearance thereof). The phone I see is "zte_nex". I also saw an LG phone a couple days back. Same conditions...no ip is assigned, not on router list, but has a MAC address listed in device properties.

My router has WPA2 with a very strong password, mac address filtering, no SSID broadcasting, block connection by default, guest network isolation, etc...so the whole 9 yards. I was so freaked out by this that i ended up reformatting my computer yesterday only to see the phone show up again. As you could imagine I was heated!

Anyway, good to know I'm not the only person with this issue. Took some time after hours of Google searching to land here.