I'm trying to keep my PC or laptop hidden from my phone on the same local network (LAN). Both my PC, which runs Windows 11, and my Android phone are connected to the same Wi-Fi. I've already tried turning off network discovery and file sharing, plus I've set my network profile to public. Is there a way I can make my PC undetectable by other devices on this network?
3 Answers
You can't completely hide a device on Wi-Fi because of how it all works—each device has to handshake with the access point. But if your goal is to keep the phone from seeing your PC, consider blocking traffic with a firewall. This way, while your PC can still connect to other devices, it won’t respond to discovery searches from them, making it less visible on the network.
Setting up a separate VLAN might be your best bet if you're serious about isolation. The specifics will depend on your router or firewall. If you're using RouterOS, I found some instructions [here](https://forum.mikrotik.com/viewtopic.php?t=143620) that could help you get started!
Just out of curiosity, why do you want to hide your PC in the first place? If it’s just two devices, enabling 'device isolation' on your Wi-Fi access point could work too. This setting allows devices to connect to the network but not see each other—simple and effective!
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