How to Monitor the Bandwidth Used by Every Device on a Network

Concurrent connections to a network for streaming, gaming, and video chatting, or any bandwidth-hogging applications running silently in the background can slow down an entire network. When the IP and MAC addresses of the devices connected to your network are known, you can see how much bandwidth is being used by each.

The most accurate way to monitor the bandwidth used by devices on your network is to head to the router. All devices connect to your router. In the router’s settings, you’ll be able to work out the data usage information for each device by using their IP and MAC addresses.

The MAC address is the unique number assigned to the chip of every device. The “Public” IP address of a device is its location on your network, and this will be the same IP address as your router. Therefore, all connected devices will also display the same public IP address.

Read on for the steps on how to find the IP and MAC addresses for all your devices, and how to confirm your router’s IP address to access its settings for the information you want.

How to Find the IP and MAC Addresses for Your Windows PC

To find the network addresses for a Windows 10 PC when connected to Wi-Fi:

1. To the far right of your taskbar, select the Wi-Fi icon on the system tray.
   
2. Select the “Network settings” link.
   
3. Select “Properties” from the “Settings” window.
   
4. Towards the bottom of the screen, the PC’s network information will display:
   
   • The IP address is the “IPv4 address.”
   • The MAC address is the “Physical address (MAC).”

When using a wired connection:

1. Navigate to “Settings,” “Network & Internet,” then “Ethernet.”
   
2. From the connections listed on the right, select the one you’re connected to.
3. Towards the bottom of the screen, the PC’s network information will display:
   
   • The IP address is the “IPv4 address.”
   • MAC address is the “Physical address (MAC).”

How to Find the IP and MAC Addresses for Your Windows 7 and 8 PC

To find the network addresses for your Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and 10 PC when connected to Wi-Fi:

1. Navigate to “Control Panel,” then “Network and Sharing.”
   
2. Click on the “Change adapter settings” option.
   
3. Right-click the connection, then from the context menu, select “Status.”
   
4. Select the “Details” option, from the “Ethernet Status” window.
   
5. The “Network Connection Details” will show the PC’s network information:
   
   • The IP address is the “IPv4 address.”
   • MAC address is the “Physical address (MAC).”

How to Find the IP and MAC Addresses on a Mac

To find the network addresses for your macOS X when connected to Wi-Fi:

1. Long-press the “Option” key and from the menu bar at the top and select the Wi-Fi icon.
2. There you’ll see your Mac’s IP address beside “IP address.” And other information regarding your wireless network will display.

You can also find these details whether you’re wirelessly connected or not by going to:

1. Click on the Apple menu then select “System Preferences” and “Network.
   
2. Select your network connection, then “Advanced.”
   
3. Click on the “TCP/IP” tab for IP address details, then the Hardware” tab for the MAC address.
   

How to Find the IP and MAC Addresses on an iPhone

To find the network addresses for your iOS device when connected to Wi-Fi:

1. Go to “Settings” then “Wi-Fi.”
   
2. To the right of a Wi-Fi connection, click on the “i” icon.
   

• The IP address details will show here. For your MAC address:

1. Go to “Settings,” “General,” then “About.”
   
2. Towards the bottom, your MAC address is shown as “Wi-Fi Address.”
   

How to Find the IP and MAC Addresses on an Android

To find the network addresses for your Android device when connected to Wi-Fi:

1. Select the “Settings” app.
2. Beneath “Wireless & networks,” select the “Wi-Fi” option.
3. Click on the menu button, then select “Advanced.”
4. The IP and MAC address details will display on the “Advanced Wi-Fi” page.

How to Find the IP and MAC Addresses for a Chrome OS Device

1. Go to the “Settings” screen.
2. Towards the bottom-right corner, click on the status area.
3. From the pop-up list, select the “Connected to [Wi-Fi Network Name]” option.
4. Then click on the network you’re connected to.
   • The IP address information is available under the “Connection” tab.
   • The MAC address information is available under the “Advance” tab.

How to Find the IP and MAC Addresses for a Linux PC

1. Locate and click on the network icon.
   
2. Click on “Connection Information.”
   
3. Here, the IP address and other network information will display. The MAC address will be shown as “Hardware Address.”
   

How to Find the IP and MAC Addresses for All Other Devices

For games consoles to set-top boxes, the steps to get the network details will be similar:

• Locate the “Settings” screen then:
  • For the details, look for a “Status,” “Network,” or “About” option.
  • If you’re not able to find the information for a specific device, carry out an internet search for that device.

Now that you have the information you need for the devices connected to your network you can take a look at what’s happening on your network router. You’ll need to access your router’s web interface to see the bandwidth information.

How to Find Your Router’s IP Address

You can use the IP address details for one of the devices connected to your network found previously. To verify that your router’s IP address is the same, do the following:

From Windows:

1. Access the “Command Prompt” then enter “ipconfig.”
2. Your router’s address will display under “Default Gateway.”
   

From macOS:

1. Select the Wi-Fi icon from the menu bar, then “Open Network Preferences.”
2. From the left-side menu, select “Wi-Fi.”
3. From the bottom-right corner, select “Advanced.”
4. Click on the “TCP/IP” tab, your router’s address will be under “Router.”

How to View Bandwidth Information for Devices Connected to Your Network

1. Launch a browser from any of the devices connected to your router.
2. In the URL bar, enter your router’s IP address.
   • Your router’s login page will display.
     
3. Enter the login credentials for the router.
   • These details are usually found on the back or underneath your router. If you’ve set your credentials, then enter those.
   • If you don’t remember your username and password, just reset the router and use the default ones.
4. After logging in, find the list of connected devices. Each router set up will be different, looking for the following or similar worded options:
   • Under “Wi-Fi.”
   • Under “Status.”
   • Under “Wireless Clients.”
   • Under “My Network.”
   • Under “Attached Devices.”
5. Once you’ve located the list, you can observe information like download/uploading speeds and the amount of bandwidth being used by each device.

Sniffing Out the Data Hungry Devices on Your Network

The opportunity to monitor your network’s bandwidth activity is useful for keeping an eye on the devices that consume the most data, verifying whether the devices connected to your network are authorized, and troubleshooting problems.

Now that you know how to identify the network addresses for the devices connected to your network, and how to access your router to monitor its bandwidth activities, were you able to find the information you were looking for? How useful was it? Let us know in the comments section below.