How many devices can be connected to one Wi-Fi access point? What is the range of the WiFi network? What router is needed to get maximum speed over a Wi-Fi network?

A large number of different client devices can connect to one Wi-Fi access point. This means connecting devices simultaneously. But exactly what quantity depends on the access point itself and restrictions. For example, MikroTik access points are programmatically limited to 2007 clients.

You just need to understand that in most situations it is not recommended to create such a large number of connections due to a number of features wi-fi works protocol. That is, this is not because of the access point itself and its characteristics, but precisely because of the Wi-Fi protocol. Everything is due to the fact that user devices such as laptops, smartphones, and so on operate precisely according to some standard from the entire 802.11 family and they cannot support specially created polling mechanisms and protocols to speed up the operation of the radio part, because they are not regulated by the 802.11n standard itself ( +p). For example, client devices do not support airMAX, iPoll, NV2, and so on. And without such protocols and mechanisms, when a large number of clients are connected, the total data transfer speed decreases sharply due to division between all connected clients, delays increase, and the like. Wi-Fi uses a half-duplex medium. Constant RTS/CTS negotiation is required and retransmissions during collisions and other reasons will reduce the speed. The speed decreases even when 2 users connect, and when each new user connects, the speed will also decrease. Now RTS/CTS does not really help the situation, especially when interference occurs due to the presence of reflections, interference and physical obstacles in the path of signal propagation in the form of walls, trees and other things.

The access point hardware itself can also limit the number of connected clients. But it all depends on specific situations. Let's figure out what affects the number of connected client devices to a wi-fi access point:

The performance built into the access point (how quickly the software code is processed and what hardware it is equipped with);

What capabilities are included in the access point in terms of radio communications. That is, is it implemented MIMO technology, works in one or two ranges at once, what is the channel width, is the guard interval short, is the modulation high, and so on;

What is the model of the point Wi-Fi access involved and what kind of specifications. Again, does it have MIMO, large channel width, short guard interval, high modulation, and so on;

Active requirements for information transfer speed for each connected client, taking into account even those actively transmitting traffic;

The type of TCP/UDP traffic, what are the packet sizes, is VPN encryption enabled when the access point works directly with the tunnel, and much more.

To summarize everything that has been said, we will express our recommendations. So, if you are interested in the question of how many devices can be simultaneously connected to one access point, then we recommend connecting from 10 to 40 clients. If needed high speeds, then 3-7 clients. More accurate calculations can only be made based on a specific situation. The most accurate way to determine this is through experiments on the spot, so to speak. Make a simulation and see what speed will be distributed to how many devices.

When creating a professional radio network, where specialized access points are used using polling protocols, high speeds are achieved and the decrease with an increase in the number of users occurs much more slowly.

I'll try to answer today interest Ask, which I think a lot of people are interested in. Let's try to figure out how many devices can be connected to the router at the same time. By wireless network Wi-Fi and network cable.

How many different computers, phones, tablets and other equipment can be connected to one router, how will this affect its operation, and whether it will work at all.

Let's get straight to the point. And, first, let's figure out how to connect devices via a LAN network cable. As a rule, ordinary modern routers have 4 LAN connectors. For example, I have it on hand, now I’ll take a photo of the LAN connectors.

This means that you can connect 4 devices to it. For example, or.

You won’t be able to connect more devices due to the limitation on connectors. This, I think, is understandable.

Maximum number of devices on Wi-Fi?

This is where it gets more interesting. There is no physical limitation when connecting via a wireless network. Compared to network connectors.

But this does not mean that you connect 20 laptops to the router and everything will work fine.

Yes, there is a limitation. And I think it's maximum amount IP that can be issued by the DHCP server on the router. For example, by default, Asus has a final IP address 192.168.1.254 :

And Tp-Link, for example, 192.168.0.199 :

It turns out that, for example, you can connect 99 devices to Tp-Link, and more than 250 to Asus. But I think that these numbers mean nothing in practice. At all. This is a theory. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

I think that not a single router, even the most modern and powerful one, can handle 99 devices :) He simply cannot physically provide them with access to the Internet. Moreover, stable access.

I didn’t have to test it, but I think that if you connect even 10 devices to the same popular device and start downloading something or opening sites on them, it will simply freeze. The Internet will disappear everywhere, and only a reboot will save it. His processor simply cannot withstand such a load. Even if I run games on several computers, I’m not sure that it will maintain a stable connection. Even a torrent on one computer can load the router. I already wrote how to deal with this ““.

This applies not only to the TL-WR841N, or to TP-Link, this applies to all routers. If, for example, we take its younger brother TL-WR741N, then things are even worse there (it's cheaper and weaker). Very often I come across complaints that the Internet simply stops working. Only a reboot can save you, and not for long. This is a clear example of the fact that the router simply cannot withstand the load created by the devices that you connected to it.

If we take more expensive models, for example Asus RT-AC66U, TP-LINK TL-WDR3600, then the situation with the number of simultaneously connected devices and network stability will be much better. Since these models are much more expensive and more powerful. They have more powerful processors, power supplies, etc.

And mobile 3G routers (almost all models), have restrictions on connecting devices via Wi-Fi. Typically, this is up to 5 devices. For example: Huawei EC 5321u-1 Rev.B, Sierra Wireless AC802 – up to 5 devices. But to Easo M8 you can connect 50 devices, but 5-7 are recommended. It’s clear that it will never handle 50 devices.

Afterword

When choosing a router, you should already know approximately how many devices you will connect to it. If you have, for example, two computers and several smartphones, then you can take a not very expensive model, such as the TL-WR841N, or another from this price category.

But, if you want to build a wireless network in a large house (where there are many devices), in a small office, dorm, etc., then I advise you not to save money. Take a router that costs more than 1000 UAH. (4000 rub.) . So that everything works stably and without failures.

Otherwise, your Internet connection will begin to disappear, and you will have a long and tedious search for the answer to why this is happening. And the answer will be very simple, your router will simply not withstand the load that the devices will create. Especially if you are going to play Online Games, watch the video in high quality, or download (distribute) torrents.

I will be glad to see your questions, comments and additions in the comments. Best wishes!

Also on the site:

How many devices can be connected to the router via Wi-Fi and network cable? updated: March 28, 2014 by: admin

Almost every apartment has computers, laptops, tablets, Cell phones and other devices. To ensure that all these devices have access to the Internet, owners create home wireless networks and install Wi-Fi routers. Today, the issue of protecting these networks from illegal exploitation by other users remains relevant. In this article, I will tell you how to find out who has connected to your network.

Reasons for concern

  • You should be alarmed by the regular decrease in data transfer speed on the Internet. Joining another user to wireless connection- not the only reason for low speed. But it doesn’t hurt to monitor the situation.
  • If you are sure that all devices in the apartment are disconnected from the wireless network, and the indicator on the router continues to flicker intensely. This is another reason to find out if any of your neighbors are connected to my Wi-Fi.

How to check how many devices are connected to the router

1st method

To find out who connected to Wi-Fi, you need to go to the router settings. To do this, open your browser and address bar enter the IP address of your router. If you are logging into settings for the first time, you will need to enter your username and password. You can find out the IP address, login and password yourself. To do this, you need to look at the sticker on the back of the device.
You can also find this information in search engine by entering your router model. Provided, of course, that you have not changed them before. On the start page, select advanced settings, and then the “DHCP” tab. This tab displays all devices that are in this moment work from your router. You can use the MAC address to find out whether someone else is connected to the wireless network.
The ability to administer the network is provided. By removing the MAC address, I will prevent someone else's device from accessing my Wi-Fi. Watch a detailed video on how to determine who is connected to a Wi-Fi router, for example, a router from D-Link:

2nd method

Using the program Wireless Network Watcher. Download on the Internet free utility WNetWatcher. Launch it. The program will scan the network and show who is connected to your Wi-Fi router. First on the list are my computer and router, followed by the devices that are connected to my Wi-Fi.
For each device, the name, MAC address, and manufacturer are indicated. You can find out who is using your network by the device name. Another option is to look at the MAC addresses of your devices and compare them with the addresses given by the program. The advantage of this utility is not only that you can see who is currently connected to your network. This program works in background. If someone tries to use your Wi-Fi, an alarm will sound.

Disadvantages of wireless network watcher:

There is no option to block an unknown user. Even if you find that an attacker is connected to your router, you will not be able to stop it. For the program to work, at least one device must be connected by cable to the router. Watch a detailed video on using the program:

How to improve your wireless network security

  1. Always change your router login username and password. The passwords that manufacturers provide can be easily hacked by attackers. To change the password, go to the advanced settings, on the “System Tools” tab, select “Password”. In the tab that opens, you can edit the current password.

2. In the “Wi-Fi/Wireless Mode” menu, select the “MAC Filter/MAC Address Filtering” tab. On the Filter Mode tab, select Allow.
In the Wi-Fi router's memory, enter the MAC addresses for which you leave access to the wireless network. After this, no device will be able to connect to your network, even if the person knows your password. Using the tips in this article, you can in a convenient way see who is connected to the wireless network without your knowledge and block access to the free Internet.

Since its inception wireless technologies And Wi-Fi routers, the problem of traffic leakage has become especially urgent. It would seem that you are not downloading anything, but the statistics show that several hundred gigabytes have been downloaded over the current day/week/month.

If not you, then who did it?

Option 1: The OS downloads updates and then installs them. This option can only be considered if the total amount of traffic does not exceed 1–2 GB per day.

Option 2: someone has shamelessly connected to your network via a Wi-Fi connection and is pumping out gigabytes of data from the Internet without a twinge of conscience. And there may be several such people.

So, how can you see who is connected to your wifi router?

Let us say right away that it will not be possible to recognize the “criminal by sight.” But the circle of suspects can be narrowed down to several MAC addresses (a unique number for PCs and other digital devices).

Let's look at several examples famous models routers.

How to see who is connected to your wifi D-link?

First you need to go into the settings of the router itself. For these purposes, enter the standard set of numbers of the IP address (192.168.0.1) in the browser. If the system starts to “quarrel”, then change the address to 192.168.1.1.

You will see a typical dialog box in which you need to enter your login and password.

The windows may differ from each other, but their essence is the same. Login – admin, password – admin.

Go to the main router settings menu.

Immediately you need to switch from basic settings to extended, otherwise you won't see anything. For these purposes, there is a corresponding menu at the bottom right.

We are interested in the “status” item and the double arrow to the right of the name. Click on it until you come across the “client” link. That's what we need.

Here you can see a complete list of all devices and gadgets that consume traffic via Wi-Fi. Count how many of them belong to you. In particular, the following can work from the router:

  • laptop;
  • smartphone;
  • tablet;
  • TV;
  • game console, etc.

If the number of subscribers significantly exceeds the number of “allowed” devices, it means that someone has illegally “sucked in” to your source. There are 2 options to solve the problem:

  1. Setting a password;
  2. Changing it to a more complex one.

Important! Password your access point if you haven't already done so. Firstly, you will benefit in data transfer speed, because traffic will not be scattered to unauthorized users, and secondly, you will protect yourself in the future.

If the password is weak (1111, qwerty, etc.), change it to a more complex one. At the same time, do not tell anyone this chaotic set of numbers and letters, otherwise all your efforts will go down the drain.

Now you know how to see who is connected to my wifi dir 300 and other D-link models.

How to see who is connected to your wifi TP-link?

Perhaps the most famous company supplying network hardware. Setting it up and also viewing the list of connected devices is not difficult.

So, how can I see who is connected to my wifi tp-link? At first, you will be required to enter the same standard IP, i.e. 192.168.1.1.

Note! If you have not previously changed either your login or password, then enter “admin” in both columns.

In order not to tinker with all the settings and search for parameters at random, switch to the “Wireless” tab. Next, click on the “Wireless statistics” sub-item.

Here is a list of all devices that are currently connected to your Internet network via Wi-Fi (in this case, 2). You can see 3 columns:

  1. MAC address;
  2. Encryption type (same for all);
  3. Number of packets transmitted.

The choice of options is, of course, meager, but this is all the available statistics.

Besides Wi-Fi connections You can also look at those who are powered from your router “the old fashioned way”, i.e. via cable. To do this, open the “DHCP” - “DHCP Client List” tab.

There are also 3 data columns available here:

  1. PC name;
  2. MAC address;
  3. IP address.

Thus, you can “detect by IP” someone who has not quite legally connected to your network and is blatantly stealing traffic.

And just in case, change your router access password or enable this function if you have not done so before.

How to see who is connected to your ASUS wifi?

No less well-known supplier of routers to the CIS markets. To find out who else shares traffic with you, just go to the router settings (192.168.1.1).

You are taken to the main menu with a list of settings.

We are interested in nothing more than a “network map”. It shows in detail how many people are “powered” by your router, the names of the devices and the IP addresses of each.

This screenshot shows that all subscribers are on the same subnet, i.e. There are no “outsiders” here. But if they appear, they can simply be deleted or blocked.

As a last resort, password-protect your access point or change the login key to a more complex one.

If you are told that it is impossible to determine the number of “illegals” who steal traffic for personal purposes, you can safely laugh and prove the opposite.

Some router models allow you to limit the number of simultaneously connected devices, vary the data transfer speed, and more.

In any case, ask about additional settings from the seller or look for similar information on the Internet.