How can I see all devices on my network?

QI enjoyed your recent Cover Feature on Wi-fi (see Issue 565) and I’m particularly interested in discovering what devices are connected to my network. However, my BT router only seems to show selected devices. Is there a program that will reveal all connected devices? Barry Jameson

AFirst, try refreshing the connected devices window in your router’s settings – it sometimes takes a minute or so for it to find all devices. If that doesn’t do the trick, download the Fing app ( www.fing.com - free for Android and IOS, but it does contain adverts).

Make sure your phone is connected to your wireless network, then open the app and press the refresh button (a circle with an arrow). Fing will now hunt down all devices currently connected to your network - you’ll see the device name and IP address, along with the manufacturer of the device, which helps you identify devices listed with unrecognisable names.

If you want something more powerful, go to your PC and download Nirsoft’s Networkconnectlog ( www.snipca. com/33078 - the download link is towards the bottom of the page). This small program requires no installation, so just open the EXE file once downloaded. It will then scan your home network, listing all the devices it finds.

Networkconnectlog will continue to periodically scan your network as long as the program is open, showing when new devices connect (identified as First Scan Detection in the Event Type column - see screenshot). It also shows you when known devices disconnect and then reconnect, giving you a complete overview of what’s connected to your home network. To change the frequency of scans, press F9, then adjust the ‘Number of milliseconds to wait…’ setting accordingly. Also within this screen, you can choose to create a log of all network activity. Tick ‘Automatically export…’, then choose where to save the log.

Do you need our advice on what software to use? Just email us at letters@computeractive.co.uk