Restrict Access to the WI-FI Router in Your Apartment in Gainesville, Florida with MAC Address Filtering

Wireless routers are a common sight in residences nationwide and allow people to communicate quickly and freely on a wide variety of devices. Unfortunately, in apartments, the signals from WI-FI routers often reach outside of an individual unit, making it more difficult to control who can access the Internet and other connected devices through them. While encryptions such as WEP and WPA2 are a good first line of defense, MAC address filtering is another useful tool to prevent unauthorized devices from connecting to your router.

A MAC address is a unique 48-bit number, usually displayed as a string of six, two-digit hexadecimal numbers separated by colons, which is hardwired into every network adaptor and is used to identify each individual device connected to a router. Most home wireless routers have options in their control programs that can either block a specific MAC address and/or only allow connections to devices with authorized MAC addresses. The exact way your router’s filtering works will vary depending on the model, so it’s always a good idea to read through the owner’s manual to find out exactly how to access and use this option.

Before you implement MAC filtering, it’s a smart idea to find out all of the addresses of the devices you plan to connect. Most devices will display their MAC address in their network or connection menus, but a faster way is use your router’s control program, which usually has an option to display a list of the IP and MAC address of all connected devices. Simply connect and disconnect a device several times, refreshing the list to see which entry changed, and you’ll know your device’s MAC address. It’s important to remember that encryption and security protocols, like MAC filtering, require extra processing resources from your router and can potentially slow down its performance, so always make sure to add devices one or two at a time and test each thoroughly to ensure your connections are stable.

For more tips on how to make better use of technology at your apartment in Gainesville, Florida, you’ll find plenty of resources on Bellamay Grand’s website. We’re also happy to tell you more about our community and its amenities, so contact us and arrange a tour of our luxury apartments today.