Strange WiFi SSID

Looks like a google home device (nest speaker/clock/display hub) that has lost its connection to the router's SSID and reverted to its own SSID ready for pairing ... could be from a neighbour, rather than yours?

It’s definitely not mine! Signal strength suggests a close neighbour.

See if you can get your router or wireless access point to show you the mac address of the device.

Then you can look up the device manufacturer here:

The MAC address is showing on both sites as ‘Unknown’ :-(

Perhaps it's a Smart meter display in a neighbouring property?

One of our neighbours said something about getting a smart meter, it could well be them.

There are some other sites:

what about devices that deliberately change their MAC address repeatedly in an attenpt to defeat trackers?

(I'm looking specifically at iDevices and Android devices :-) )

(it causes no end of trouble for me when I set up a MAC address Allow list and block lists.... particularly when there is an update to the device's OS.)

Thanks, but it just shows up as ‘no vendor’ or ‘unknown’. I’m beginning to think it’s an anti tracker address, as suggested by SH (for which, thanks).

The neighbour concerned has a WiFi address of VMnnnnnnn and what seems to be a subset of that that shows up as VMnnnnnnn_EXT.

The former, presumably the main network, has been missing ever since the mystery broadcaster appeared, but now there are no WiFi SSIDs being broadcast at all.

I suspect that for whatever reason the main network has gone down, and now the other parts of the network have given up looking for it.

The only reason I discovered all this is that I’ve just put in a new router, and saw the WiFi networks when getting things set up.

Update:

The mystery SSID started broadcasting again, and I had time to open up the ‘information’ link and turn off Private WiFi address, getting the true MAC address, which the links suggested show it belongs to Apple Inc.

You may be able to learn more by running software such as Acrylic on a Windows device with Wifi hardware. It will show you the MAC addresses of any wifi SSISs.

Who else?

:-)

You may need to actually ask them, in case they are not aware of what is going on.

I had this careful with a blink Doorbell setting up its own wifi the other day. Weird. Brian

Well, I see no wifi activity from mine, its supposed to be using bluetooth. Brian

My printer transmits its own SSID, presumably to allow new computers to search for printers and then configure the PC to use that printer on the normal wifi. And it does so all the time, not just for a few minutes when it is put in "discovery mode".

Thats a virgin media router as they all have a default SSID of VMnnnnnn until you change it.

Given the ‘display’ detail in your earlier post (Sittingroom display?), plus the new Apple information, my guess would be they are using something like Apple AirPlay, either the real thing or a compatible system.

For those unfamiliar with Airplay - and I’m not an expert on the detail- it allows video etc to be set from an Apple device (usually a phone / iPad ), typically to a TV via Wi-Fi. I’ve never had need of it myself so that is about the limit of my knowledge.

If you have an iPhone, you could see if it detects any Airplay compatible devices nearby.

That was my thought, until Spike mentioned Apple.

I wondered if, perhaps, one of his devices had updated / reset and was sending two SSIDs ( not unknown) or it could be a neighbour doing the same.

Even (some) smart plugs have a mode when they set up a “weak” local network you connect to, enter the details of your secure, real, network, and it stores them for future use. I don’t recall seeing a smart plug ever transmitting it’s own network again- unless put into the mode- but I had an access point which seemed to have a mind of its own and would transmit the SSID I set up plus the default one from time to time. You could connect to it, with the pw for ‘my’ SSID. ??? A replacement did the same.