How To View Who Is Connected to Your Hotspot on Android

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See who is connected to your hotspot with a few handy apps

Co-authored by Cory Stillman

Last Updated: November 11, 2024 Fact Checked

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Settings

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Fing App

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Rooted Android Device

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Video

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Q&A

Hotspots are a handy way to help your friends out in a pinch, or to provide another one of your devices a crucial internet connection. No matter why you might be using an Android hotspot, you may also want to know who is connected to it. While you can use your Settings menu to view how many users are on your hotspot, seeing who they are is a bit difficult. Tech-savvy (or simply patient) Android owners can make it happen, however. It requires either a rooted Android, or access to at least one other device on the hotspot. This wikiHow article teaches you how to see who is connected to your Android device's active Wi-Fi Hotspot.

Things You Should Know

Several apps on the Google Play Store will claim to manage your hotspot and display who is connected, but no such app functions on the latest versions of Android.
The "Hotspot" section of your Settings will display the number of users connected to your Android's hotspot, but will not tell you who they are.
Connect a friend or family member's device to your hotspot and install the Fing app to view all other devices on the same network.
Root your Android device and install a command terminal app to run the ip neigh command and view all connected IP/MAC Addresses.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Settings

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1
Open your device's
Settings app. If you are content to simply know the number of users on your hotspot, you can find out via the Settings menu.
- Set up a hotspot if you have not already.
It is represented by the Wi-Fi icon.

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It is represented by a series of concentric circles.
4
Look for "Wi-Fi Hotspot". You can tap this option to set up your Wi-Fi hotspot. But from this page, you can already see the number of users on your hotspot. Just beneath this option's heading, you will see the number of connected users listed.^{[1]
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- If you believe there could be undesired users connected to your hotspot, try enabling encryption. If you already did it, then it's possible that your password has been compromised and should be changed.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Fing App

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We can use an app called Fing to see who else is on the same Wi-Fi network as us. Ask to borrow a friend or family member's phone to get started.
The app is available on both the App Store and the Google Play Store. Its full name is Fing - Network Tools.^{[2]
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Set the hotspot up if you haven't already. Then, connect the device you are borrowing to it.
The app may offer you a walkthrough when you first open it. Either take the time to learn about the app, or tap through the different options to continue.
Fing will quickly scan your device's Wi-Fi connection, pulling up a list of all other devices that are on the same network.
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Read Fing's list of devices. Comb through the list of devices to see who else is on your device's hotspot.
- You can repeat these steps at any time with any other device.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Rooted Android Device

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1
Root your Android phone or tablet. Rooting your Android allows you to take advantage of custom apps and extra memory that would otherwise not be available to you. It often requires a PC, but wikiHow can help you root your device without one!
- Rooting your device can be dangerous, as your Android could become unresponsive. You will also almost certainly lose your device's warranty, as rooting is in direct violation of it. Proceed with caution!
2
Download and install a command terminal app. There are several terminal emulator apps available on Android. We recommend Terminal Emulator for Android by Jack Palevich or Termux by Fredrik Fornwall.^{[3]
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- These apps can be found in the Google Play Store, and are available without rooting your device. However, the commands we will need to use to view who is on our hotspot can only be run with a rooted device.
  - Rooting an Android essentially involves restoring the Linux function that is removed from the device before it is released commercially. The Linux function is what allows us to run the command terminal.^{[4]
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Once the app is installed, open it to get started.
Type the command exactly as it is written, then hit Enter or Return to run it.
If entered properly, the command will return a list of all IP and MAC Addresses connected to your Android's hotspot. You will also see additional information, including the connection state (STALE, REACHABLE, etc.)

Community Q&A

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Question

How can I tell how many people are connected to my WiFi hotspot?

Community Answer

You can just count how many addresses/names are on the list with connected users.

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Question

When I check my hotspot it has one device tethered and it is showing up as Android system 10.32. What does this mean?

Community Answer

It is the model of the phone tethered, meaning that the phone's system has not been renamed by the user.

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Question

On Android 5.1.1 and later, the notification isn't shown anymore. How does one view the connected clients?

Community Answer

Install an app called "Portable Wifi Hotspot Manager" from Play Store. You can view who's connected, and also set usage limit for your Hotspot.

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